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Items 2007 Winter field project receives overwhelming response from volunteers
Public response to NSSL’s invitation to participate in a winter field project, the Winter Hydrometeor Classification Ground Truth Program, has been overwhelming.
Volunteers are asked to report their exact location and time, and what kind of winter precipitation they are currently observing (rain, freezing rain, snow, sleet/ice pellets, drizzle, freezing drizzle, graupel or snow grains) through a link on NSSL’s Website. Over 2500 observations of winter precipitation around central Oklahoma have been reported since the project began with the first winter storm of the year at the end of November.
The information collected from the public will be compared with winter precipitation data measured by dual-polarized Doppler radar. The project will help NSSL researchers refine and develop winter precipitation radar techniques and products.
The call for volunteers first went out to schools, and was expanded to include the entire public. Local broadcast meteorologists and newspapers spread information about the need for volunteers, and the Norman National Weather Service Forecast Office provided announcements on NOAA weather radio and a link to the project Web site from their home page.
Researchers estimate they have data from 300 to 400 different locations, with more than half of the reports coming from the Oklahoma City metro area. These observations closer to the radar are especially valuable because the radar beam is still low enough to the ground to capture the characteristics of what the observers report.
Volunteers are asked to check NSSL’s home page for the “Project Status.” If the project is “Active,” they can spend as little or as much time as they want making observations. Hourly observations are ideal.
Significance: Involving the public in data collection is an effective way to increase awareness of winter weather hazards, winter weather safety and NSSL’s efforts to improve techniques that identify these hazards.
2/12/07