Backyard Hydroclimatology: Citizen Scientists Contribute to Drought Detection and Monitoring

Abstract The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow (CoCoRaHS) network is a well-regarded, trusted source of precipitation data. network’s volunteers also provide weather climate observations through daily comments, significant reports, condition monitoring reports. Designed to meet need for local information about drought events their impacts, “condition monitoring” was initiated as pilot project in North Carolina South 2013 launched nationally October 2016. Volunteers regularly report on how precipitation, or lack thereof, affects environment community by ranking current conditions seven-point scale ranging from severely dry wet sharing written narratives. This study assesses the usefulness these reports decision-making, drawing >7,100 submitted Carolinas between 2016 June 2020. period encompasses Carolinas’ patterns extreme such droughts, wildfires, hurricanes (“drought busters”). Three aspects were evaluated reports: extent which volunteers’ assessments dry-to-wet correspond objective indicators (EDDI, SPI, SPEI) typically employed drought; qualitative depict changing conditions, focusing two flash droughts 2019; actual use National Weather Service offices, State Climate Offices, U.S. Drought Monitor authors, response committees. Although ­report content can vary widely, findings show that reflect meteorological on-the-ground details are being incorporated into existing processes.