NWS looking for cooperative observers

Are you interested in measuring the rain outside your window today?

If so, you may want to look into becoming a cooperative weather observer for the Twin Cities NWS. The catch is, at least for now; you have to be near one of the following locations.

Farmington, Minnesota (Dakota County)

Clara City, Minnesota (Chippewa County)

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Henderson, Minnesota (Sibley County)

Willmar, Minnesota (Kandiyohi County)

Weyerhaeuser, Wisconsin (Rusk County)

So what does being a cooperative weather observer mean? Here's how the Twin Cities NWS describes the job.

"Being a NWS Co-Operative observer can be a demanding job. To provide accurate and complete weather data, observations are required seven days a week, 365 days a year. This does not mean that someone has to be monitoring the "weather" all the time; instruments are provided to monitor temperature and precipitation. However, someone should be available to record the daily maximum and minimum temperature, the precipitation, and snowfall. This generally is done around 7am, but observation times can be shifted to fit the observer's schedule.

This information is recorded on a form which is mailed monthly to the local NWS office for quality assurance before forwarding to the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) in Asheville, North Carolina."

If you live in one of the areas above and are interested in being an observer, there is contact information here to get in touch with the Twin Cities NWS office.

If you've ever wondered how the data is collected and what kinds of instrumens are used, check this page out from the Twin Cities NWS.

Rain adding up in southern Minnesota:

Tuesday's rainfall is adding up along the Minnesota River where more persistent bands of rain have been moving through. So far the Twin Cities is reporting amounts on the order of .10" to .20" with NEXRAD storm total rainfall painting an expanding area of 1" plus amonts just north of the Minnesota River near New Ulm.

[image]

Storm total rainfall shows heavier one inch plus totals near New Ulm.

Expect a few more waves of rain through the overnight hours before the system begins to wind down early Wednesday.

PH