Temperature, Citizen Science, and CoCoRaHS(T)

The CoCoRaHS Network originated in 1998 as a result of the Fort Collins, Colorado flash flood in 1997, which demonstrated the need for a high-density rain gauge network. CoCoRaHS has been able to leverage the power of the Internet to promote the mission of citizen science. By 2013, the number of CoCoRaHS active participants is over 19,000, making CoCoRaHS the single largest source of daily high-quality, manually-measured year-round precipitation (rain, hail and snow) in the U.S. Continuing science-based education of all interested participants is a core value of the project. A low-cost air temperature sensor system is under development to be compatible with the CoCoRaHS network's observational approach and interactive web interface. If this is successful, tens of thousands of CoCoRaHS volunteers could be reporting microclimate data, primarily in urban residential spaces, creating a revolution in the availability of urban micrometeorology data and urban climate learning opportunities in the USA. This ongoing work is discussed, and feedback is solicited from the meteorology community.