Maple Grove Weather Watcher Helps Maintain Accuracy in Snow Data
The heavy snowfall that started Tuesday night and continued into Wednesday morning gave an amateur weather watcher a chance to practice his trade.
Benton Jackson, a Maple Grove resident, is part of a national network of volunteer weather watchers.
It’s called the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network, and Jackson is one of 26,000 active members.
Jackson, who is also a pilot and ham radio operator, records daily snow or rainfall levels.
Benton Jackson holds a water collection device in his back yard. He records daily precipitation levels and reports them to the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network.
“Once a week, what I do is, I measure the snow pack and I also take a core out in the snow some place, preferably where it’s average, and I measure how much water is in the snow,” Jackson said.
Once he has collected the daily data, he sends it in to the network. Experts can use the data to predict spring flooding events.
“Well I think citizen science is really important because the scientists themselves can only do so much,” Jackson said.
He measured an average of about four inches of snow in his yard on Wednesday, and a total of about 23.9 inches for the year.
See also: New Hope Weather Observer: Fall 2024 Could Be Warmest on Record
