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BEMIDJI — Minnesota again dominated the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network volunteer drive held each March. This is Minnesota’s sixth straight win, anchoring the CoCoRaHS Cup for another year, a bragging right earned by eager volunteers.

Keeping in line with the event’s name, the Minnesotans rallied to add 378 new volunteers, 284 more than second-place Wisconsin at 94. Minnesota has added over 2,300 volunteers since 2020, far more than any other state in that time frame.

"All these other states that are competing against us keep asking, 'How do you do this? How do you keep winning, year after year after year?' And we told them exactly what we're doing," said State Climatologist Luigi Romolo. "We're talking to (newspapers), we're tweeting, we're getting National Weather Service offices to talk about it."

Minnesota's approach is not much different than other states’, yet it continues to gather more volunteers.

"I think that is more of a testament to the everyday Minnesotan caring about the environment, willing to be a volunteer and having that mindset of, 'Hey, I can do something that will really make a big difference,' " Romolo said. "We should be very proud of Minnesota."

Now that the recruitment drive is over, the real work begins.

Volunteers will begin monitoring rainfall as winter transitions into spring, helping the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the State Climatologist Division of Ecological and Water Resources monitor statewide rainfall.

"This data is invaluable for us," Romolo said. "It fills in the gaps between national weather service stations; some of these gaps are pretty large. We only have a little over 200 of those stations across the state, so adding all of these volunteers in between helps our mapping endeavors."

Here is how it works:

During a rainfall event, the state could observe 1.5 inches of rain at one location and 3 inches 100 miles away. With volunteers, the state can observe rainfall between the two locations to learn about and better understand the weather systems traveling through Minnesota.

The data helps complete the map to better understand rain patterns, depict drought conditions and access flooding events.

One might wonder if measuring snowfall is a part of this program and if that data is viable and valuable.

Romolo explained that although most volunteers stick to rainfall, monitoring snowfall is possible and that data is just as valuable.

"In the winter, we recommend you take the cover and the inner cylinder out of your gauge and just leave it as an open cylinder," he said. "Snow will catch inside the rain gauge, and then you can melt that and measure the water equivalent of how much precipitation fell. You can also go out and measure the depth of the snow with a ruler. A lot of people do that."

To make measuring snowfall easier, Romolo recommends placing a board on the ground, referred to as a "snowboard." The snow will collect on the board, providing a more accurate reading of snowfall, as long as the board is flat. Then, the volunteer can melt what sits in the rain gauge to finalize the snowfall data.

Soon, all data collected will help the state better understand climate changes.

"We're seeing two things in Minnesota: we're seeing warmer winters, and we're seeing an increase in precipitation, and when I say an increase in precipitation, I mean the total amount of precipitation measured over an entire year," Romolo said. "We're also seeing an increase in the number of higher-level events."

A higher-level rainfall event is any rainfall between 1 to 3 inches. These events are typically more scattered and can be missed by the National Weather Service stations. Rainfall above 3 inches is typically more pronounced and better monitored.

Minnesota's network of volunteers provides a tremendous amount of support, but there is always room for improvement, Romolo said.

"We have pretty good coverage here in Minnesota. On any given day where rain is occurring over much of the state, not just a portion, we can get up to 1,500 reports in one day, which is incredible," he said.

"But we're trying to get more people in rural areas. When we do these recruitment campaigns, we inevitably end up getting a lot of people who are in metro areas. We probably have 150, maybe closer to 200 (volunteers) that are spread across counties that don't have big urban centers."

There is a clear need for more volunteers in areas like the Northland. Each new volunteer helps fulfill the CoCoRaHS goal of one rural observer per 36 square miles and one urban observer per square mile.

Those interested in becoming a rain monitor volunteer can do so year-round by visiting cocorahs.org and filling out a form by clicking on the "Join CoCoRaHS" link.

The website offers training videos and special opportunities, like becoming a local county coordinator, for those interested.

The grassroots organization also accepts donations through the website to help continue the rain monitoring program. Donations could be monetary, educational help, or supplies.

A 4-inch rain gauge is the only required material. It can be purchased online, but the organization would accept rain gauges as a donation. Some states hand out free rain gauges during the Rain Gauge Rally to encourage folks to volunteer. A 4-inch gauge is specifically needed to ensure all rain is collected with the same tools for the most accurate data.

Once volunteers finish the sign-up process, secure a 4-inch rain gauge and familiarize themselves with the CoCoRaHS website, they will place their rain gauge in a good spot and report any rainfall via the website.

"It's really simple; we have people doing this who are in grade school," Romolo said. "A lot of our volunteers are retirees who are looking for a way to contribute in helping our environment. Some of these people are educators who get their students involved in real science.

"It's a great way to contribute to something simple that makes a huge difference."