A Valparaiso University professor of meteorology will present a training session in November for volunteers interested in joining a national network of backyard weather observers. Dr. Teresa Bals-Elsholz, assistant professor of geography and meteorology, will present a training session on Saturday November 14 in Valparaiso for volunteers interested in joining the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS).
Sponsored by the National Science Foundation, CoCoRaHS seeks to build a dense network of volunteer rain gauge observers to take accurate measurements of precipitation. The precipitation information is posted online daily and helps weather researchers and forecasters provide more accurate information to the general public and those who depend on precipitation for their livelihood.
The Nov. 14 training session will begin at 1:00 p.m. at Valparaiso University in Kallay- Christopher Hall Room 112 at 1809 Chapel Drive.
The training session will last between 60 and 90 minutes. Those planning to attend should send an e-mail to Teresa.Bals-Elsholz@valpo.edu or call (219) 464-6003 in order to ensure enough free rain gauges are available to distribute to volunteers.
Anyone interested in weather, regardless of age, is invited to attend a training session and become a volunteer.
Dr. Bals-Elsholz is the CoCoRaHS regional coordinator for Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties. More information about CoCoRaHS is available online at www.cocorahs.org.