PITTSBURGH (TNS) — The Rev. Robert Miller, better known as Father Bob, stood outside St. Benedict the Abbot Church in Peters Township chatting with parishioners after a Saturday mass.
As churchgoers exited on May 11, 2024, the Catholic priest looked briefly at the sky and saw an unusual cloud formation.
“Is that a rotating wall cloud?” he wondered.
When he returned to the rectory and checked weather reports on his phone, he found that a tornado had touched down about a mile away.
As a volunteer for the National Weather Service’s SKYWARN program, he got in his car to check and report storm damage.
Dwarfed by St. Benedict’s sanctuary and an 84-foot-high bell tower, a 6-foot tall weather station near the rectory is frequented daily by Miller, an avid science lover who measures snow and rainfall.
His weather station includes two rain gauges and other instruments that record temperature, dew point, wind speed and direction and other meteorological conditions.
He is part of a legion of volunteer weather watchers nationwide for the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS), a nonprofit that measures and maps precipitation for the National Weather Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, emergency managers, utilities, ranchers, farmers and others.
Steve Fazekas, a volunteer weather watcher for the National Weather Service, with weather equipment at his home in Winfield, Butler CountySteve Fazekas, a volunteer weather watcher for the National Weather Service, with weather equipment at his home in Winfield, Butler County(courtesy of Steve Fazekas)
Steve Fazekas is another dedicated CoCoRaHS weather watcher who meticulously reports conditions daily at his home in Winfield, Butler County.
Before he starts his job in heavy construction operations equipment, he checks and reports precipitation and other weather measurements.
“Weather is cool,” he said. “It’s the one thing that can impact your day more than anything else.”
Miller and Fazekas upload their weather reports daily.
“I love the science,” Miller said. “I like to make a difference in people’s lives because this data is used by the National Weather Service and other places to make forecasts.”
Both men have been busy measuring snow this winter. There was snow on the ground every day from Jan. 2-31, Miller reported.
“That hasn’t happened in a very long time, but the amount of snow is below average,” he said, easily rattling off the snow depth for each day.
Weather equipment to measure rain and snow at the National Weather Service Pittsburgh office in Moon Weather equipment to measure rain and snow at the National Weather Service Pittsburgh office in Moon (John Darnley / National Weather Service)
The CoCoRaHS program attracts some serious weather enthusiasts, said John Darnley, observation program leader at the National Weather Service Pittsburgh office in Moon.
There are 176 volunteer weather observers in Allegheny County alone. Westmoreland has 79 and Butler has 62. With only 28 observers in Mercer County and 24 in Lawrence County, the weather service could use more volunteers in those counties, Darnley said.
Most volunteers file electronically by 10 a.m. each day, and those reports are fed into the NWS main weather information platform and a NWS river forecast center in Ohio. The river center uses the precipitation reports to determine runoff and impact on area rivers and creeks.
“Even at zero with no rain, that helps them with their forecasts. Zeros are just as important as 3 inches in 24 hours,” Darnley said.
Those forecasts are used for flood watches and warnings to the public.
“It helps us understand what is happening in areas that aren’t co-located with some of our other equipment, like automated rain gauges,” Darnley said.
Volunteers’ granular data reports not only inform NWS on variations in rain or snow in different areas, they provide estimates of total precipitation in an area as well as microclimates.
“The rain doesn’t fall the same on all” is a popular saying among CoCoRaHS volunteers.
“Weather is a science that involves a moving target,” Fazekas noted.
‘Every day is different’
Miller has been reporting his weather observations for volunteer NWS programs since 2000. He has more than 5,359 records in Peters Township alone.
Ordained in 1992, he arrived in 2011 at St. Benedict, part of St. John XXIII Parish.
The weather reports on rainfall, snowfall and snowpack don’t add much to his day, maybe 5 minutes or so. Measuring snowfall takes a little longer.
A rain gauge for CoCoRaHS volunteers to report precipitation to the National Weather Service A rain gauge for CoCoRaHS volunteers to report precipitation to the National Weather Service (courtesy Henry Reges)
“I’ve always been interested in weather since I was young…. Look at Venus and Mars. I took the time to look at the sky.
“Just to be aware of things around us, you can see God’s effect around us,” he said.
Miller said he has an active brain and likes to use it for weather monitoring, winemaking and brewing authentic espresso. Like his weather reports, he shares his wine and excellent coffee with others.
His parents supported his love of meteorology, driving him for visits with a NWS hydrologist in Darlington, Beaver County. He took precipitation measurements with his home rain gauge and reported them to the National Weather Service.
When deciding on his life’s work, he had to choose between meteorology and the priesthood.
“God called me to this path,” he said.
Miller is pastor to a flock of about 11,000 parishioners currently. He still finds time for his volunteer science hustle and doesn’t seem satiated yet.
“Every day is different. Every star is different,” he said. “I love to see the difference each day and how it unfolds.”
His daily weather monitoring is proof positive of the nuances.
“I like the sense of contributing to science.”
Proud ‘weather geek’
Fazekas has been a CoCoRaHS volunteer for about six years. Also a ham radio operator, he has volunteered for other weather programs, including the SKYWARN program.
Fazekas admits he’s a weather geek, which isn’t a bad thing.
He has his own weather station mounted above his garage to monitor temperature, dew point, wind speed, wind direction and humidity. It’s Bluetooth-enabled and communicates data via a computer in his kitchen and a phone app.
He’s the go-to weather guy at work.
Fazekas parlayed his weather fascination as a teenager into earning a merit badge as an Eagle Scout. That’s when he built his first weather station.
“I made weather observations and had to come up with a forecast to match up to what [WTAE-TV meteorologist] Joe DeNardo was saying back in the day.”
He and other volunteers enjoy “ground-truthing” for the weather service; they are the people on the ground taking the most accurate readings possible.
CoCoRaHS volunteers capture what the National Weather Service can’t.
Although the weather service can assess conditions via remote equipment and plane flyovers, calibration with ground equipment is still needed, Darnley said.
John Darnley, observation program leader at the National Weather Service Pittsburgh office, measures snowpack in the Laurel Mountains near Laurel Hill State Park in 2018. John Darnley measures snowpack in the Laurel Mountains in 2018. (Tom Greene / National Weather Service)
That means in desolate areas someone needs to hike into the mountains with equipment to measure snowfall and snowpack and sync the information with airplane assessments.
The CoCoRaHS network was born out of necessity.
In 1997, a storm stalled above Fort Collins, Colo., dumping 14.5 inches of rain in 31 hours. At least five people died.
CoCoRaHS was founded by Nolan Doesken, the former state climatologist for Colorado after the center pieced together the details of those storms with critical reports from private citizens.
“The storm in Colorado was underestimated because the indicators of precipitation were below the lowest level of radar detection,” Darnley said.
Fixed weather radar facilities oscillate at varying volume patterns. They can’t detect weather formations closer to the ground.
Fixed radar is still the industry standard. NWS Pittsburgh has a Doppler radar installed at its office in Moon.
“The fixed radar at our office gives good coverage, but with the curvature of the earth, the radar beam doesn’t capture the lowest level of the precipitation.
“In fact, in the mountains, such as in Davis, W.Va., it could be snowing and we would not see anything on radar,” Darnley said.
‘Data is very, very important’
On-the-ground observation — or ground-truthing — is the key to detecting dangerous storm conditions and impacts.
“The data is very, very important,” Darnley said.
Volunteers’ daily reports focus on precipitation, but the watchers also note strong winds, thunderstorms and other weather conditions.
The primary measurement for CoCoRaHS is rainfall and liquid precipitation. The terms sound synonymous but are not.
Rainfall is easily measured with a standard 4-inch rain gauge. Snowfall totals are determined by using a measuring stick with a 1/10-inch incremental scale in snow accumulated on a surface cleaned every 24 hours.
There’s snowpack, too.
Volunteers invert the cylinder from the rain gauge and cut into the snowpack to take a “biscuit,” melt it down and measure.
Snowpack measurements help determine how much liquid is locked into the snow to more accurately forecast runoff for potential flooding of small streams and rivers, a major weather issue in the Pittsburgh area, Darnley said.
Jessie Hernandez watches crews clean up after flooding on West Brady Street in Butler in July 2017. Jessie Hernandez watches crews clean up after flooding on West Brady Street in Butler in July 2017. (Post-Gazette)
Then there’s the 24-hour snowfall liquid equivalent: A 4-inch cylinder catches snowfall, which is then measured by melting the snow in another tube with a measurement scale of 1/100th of an inch.
On average, 10 inches of snow equals about 1 inch of rain in 32-degree weather.
“The colder the temperature, the higher the ratio of snow to water. If the temperature is above freezing, the wet snow would have a lower ratio of about 6 to 1, Darnley said.
‘Help our neighbors’
Volunteer observations are critical to assessing flooding and the impacts of snowfall for NWS alerts and warnings.
“If we have a forecast for 4-6 inches of snow along the I-80 corridor, but not seeing snow falling after an hour, and then receive reports of the snow, the forecaster has to decide if they should cancel the forecast warning,” Darnley said.
“They need ground truth beyond the weather models, and these observations help with those decisions. It adds value to the CoCoRaHS program.”
The program also contributes to the community in other ways.
The volunteer monitoring sites can become established climate stations with historical climate information used by city and community planners and the general public.
CoCoRaHS reports are verified records of weather in communities.
“For example, we have a weather system with high winds coming in and high winds topple trees or break off branches onto someone’s roof,” Fazekas said.
“Insurance companies are guaranteed to look at the weather and CoCoRaHS is one source that is recognized as accurate.
“It’s a way that we can serve our communities and help our neighbors.”
CoCoRaHS is recruiting volunteers to monitor the weather. To learn more about the program and how to volunteer, visit cocorahs.org.
Posted: Mar 4, 2025
Slug: PG-Weather-geeks-These-volunteers-brave-snow-and-rai
Mary Ann Thomas
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
(TNS)
Mar. 4—The Rev. Robert Miller, better known as Father Bob, stood outside St. Benedict the Abbot Church in Peters Township chatting with parishioners after a Saturday mass.
As churchgoers exited on May 11, 2024, the Catholic priest looked briefly at the sky and saw an unusual cloud formation.
“Is that a rotating wall cloud?” he wondered.
When he returned to the rectory and checked weather reports on his phone, he found that a tornado had touched down about a mile away.
As a volunteer for the National Weather Service’s SKYWARN program, he got in his car to check and report storm damage.
Dwarfed by St. Benedict’s sanctuary and an 84-foot-high bell tower, a 6-foot tall weather station near the rectory is frequented daily by Miller, an avid science lover who measures snow and rainfall.
His weather station includes two rain gauges and other instruments that record temperature, dew point, wind speed and direction and other meteorological conditions.
He is part of a legion of volunteer weather watchers nationwide for the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS), a nonprofit that measures and maps precipitation for the National Weather Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, emergency managers, utilities, ranchers, farmers and others.
Steve Fazekas, a volunteer weather watcher for the National Weather Service, with weather equipment at his home in Winfield, Butler CountySteve Fazekas, a volunteer weather watcher for the National Weather Service, with weather equipment at his home in Winfield, Butler County(courtesy of Steve Fazekas)
Steve Fazekas is another dedicated CoCoRaHS weather watcher who meticulously reports conditions daily at his home in Winfield, Butler County.
Before he starts his job in heavy construction operations equipment, he checks and reports precipitation and other weather measurements.
“Weather is cool,” he said. “It’s the one thing that can impact your day more than anything else.”
Miller and Fazekas upload their weather reports daily.
“I love the science,” Miller said. “I like to make a difference in people’s lives because this data is used by the National Weather Service and other places to make forecasts.”
Both men have been busy measuring snow this winter. There was snow on the ground every day from Jan. 2-31, Miller reported.
“That hasn’t happened in a very long time, but the amount of snow is below average,” he said, easily rattling off the snow depth for each day.
Weather equipment to measure rain and snow at the National Weather Service Pittsburgh office in Moon Weather equipment to measure rain and snow at the National Weather Service Pittsburgh office in Moon (John Darnley / National Weather Service)
The CoCoRaHS program attracts some serious weather enthusiasts, said John Darnley, observation program leader at the National Weather Service Pittsburgh office in Moon.
There are 176 volunteer weather observers in Allegheny County alone. Westmoreland has 79 and Butler has 62. With only 28 observers in Mercer County and 24 in Lawrence County, the weather service could use more volunteers in those counties, Darnley said.
Most volunteers file electronically by 10 a.m. each day, and those reports are fed into the NWS main weather information platform and a NWS river forecast center in Ohio. The river center uses the precipitation reports to determine runoff and impact on area rivers and creeks.
“Even at zero with no rain, that helps them with their forecasts. Zeros are just as important as 3 inches in 24 hours,” Darnley said.
Those forecasts are used for flood watches and warnings to the public.
“It helps us understand what is happening in areas that aren’t co-located with some of our other equipment, like automated rain gauges,” Darnley said.
Volunteers’ granular data reports not only inform NWS on variations in rain or snow in different areas, they provide estimates of total precipitation in an area as well as microclimates.
“The rain doesn’t fall the same on all” is a popular saying among CoCoRaHS volunteers.
“Weather is a science that involves a moving target,” Fazekas noted.
‘Every day is different’
Miller has been reporting his weather observations for volunteer NWS programs since 2000. He has more than 5,359 records in Peters Township alone.
Ordained in 1992, he arrived in 2011 at St. Benedict, part of St. John XXIII Parish.
The weather reports on rainfall, snowfall and snowpack don’t add much to his day, maybe 5 minutes or so. Measuring snowfall takes a little longer.
A rain gauge for CoCoRaHS volunteers to report precipitation to the National Weather Service A rain gauge for CoCoRaHS volunteers to report precipitation to the National Weather Service (courtesy Henry Reges)
“I’ve always been interested in weather since I was young…. Look at Venus and Mars. I took the time to look at the sky.
“Just to be aware of things around us, you can see God’s effect around us,” he said.
Miller said he has an active brain and likes to use it for weather monitoring, winemaking and brewing authentic espresso. Like his weather reports, he shares his wine and excellent coffee with others.
His parents supported his love of meteorology, driving him for visits with a NWS hydrologist in Darlington, Beaver County. He took precipitation measurements with his home rain gauge and reported them to the National Weather Service.
When deciding on his life’s work, he had to choose between meteorology and the priesthood.
“God called me to this path,” he said.
Miller is pastor to a flock of about 11,000 parishioners currently. He still finds time for his volunteer science hustle and doesn’t seem satiated yet.
“Every day is different. Every star is different,” he said. “I love to see the difference each day and how it unfolds.”
His daily weather monitoring is proof positive of the nuances.
“I like the sense of contributing to science.”
Proud ‘weather geek’
Fazekas has been a CoCoRaHS volunteer for about six years. Also a ham radio operator, he has volunteered for other weather programs, including the SKYWARN program.
Fazekas admits he’s a weather geek, which isn’t a bad thing.
He has his own weather station mounted above his garage to monitor temperature, dew point, wind speed, wind direction and humidity. It’s Bluetooth-enabled and communicates data via a computer in his kitchen and a phone app.
He’s the go-to weather guy at work.
Fazekas parlayed his weather fascination as a teenager into earning a merit badge as an Eagle Scout. That’s when he built his first weather station.
“I made weather observations and had to come up with a forecast to match up to what [WTAE-TV meteorologist] Joe DeNardo was saying back in the day.”
He and other volunteers enjoy “ground-truthing” for the weather service; they are the people on the ground taking the most accurate readings possible.
CoCoRaHS volunteers capture what the National Weather Service can’t.
Although the weather service can assess conditions via remote equipment and plane flyovers, calibration with ground equipment is still needed, Darnley said.
John Darnley, observation program leader at the National Weather Service Pittsburgh office, measures snowpack in the Laurel Mountains near Laurel Hill State Park in 2018. John Darnley measures snowpack in the Laurel Mountains in 2018. (Tom Greene / National Weather Service)
That means in desolate areas someone needs to hike into the mountains with equipment to measure snowfall and snowpack and sync the information with airplane assessments.
The CoCoRaHS network was born out of necessity.
In 1997, a storm stalled above Fort Collins, Colo., dumping 14.5 inches of rain in 31 hours. At least five people died.
CoCoRaHS was founded by Nolan Doesken, the former state climatologist for Colorado after the center pieced together the details of those storms with critical reports from private citizens.
“The storm in Colorado was underestimated because the indicators of precipitation were below the lowest level of radar detection,” Darnley said.
Fixed weather radar facilities oscillate at varying volume patterns. They can’t detect weather formations closer to the ground.
Fixed radar is still the industry standard. NWS Pittsburgh has a Doppler radar installed at its office in Moon.
“The fixed radar at our office gives good coverage, but with the curvature of the earth, the radar beam doesn’t capture the lowest level of the precipitation.
“In fact, in the mountains, such as in Davis, W.Va., it could be snowing and we would not see anything on radar,” Darnley said.
‘Data is very, very important’
On-the-ground observation — or ground-truthing — is the key to detecting dangerous storm conditions and impacts.
“The data is very, very important,” Darnley said.
Volunteers’ daily reports focus on precipitation, but the watchers also note strong winds, thunderstorms and other weather conditions.
The primary measurement for CoCoRaHS is rainfall and liquid precipitation. The terms sound synonymous but are not.
Rainfall is easily measured with a standard 4-inch rain gauge. Snowfall totals are determined by using a measuring stick with a 1/10-inch incremental scale in snow accumulated on a surface cleaned every 24 hours.
There’s snowpack, too.
Volunteers invert the cylinder from the rain gauge and cut into the snowpack to take a “biscuit,” melt it down and measure.
Snowpack measurements help determine how much liquid is locked into the snow to more accurately forecast runoff for potential flooding of small streams and rivers, a major weather issue in the Pittsburgh area, Darnley said.
Jessie Hernandez watches crews clean up after flooding on West Brady Street in Butler in July 2017. Jessie Hernandez watches crews clean up after flooding on West Brady Street in Butler in July 2017. (Post-Gazette)
Then there’s the 24-hour snowfall liquid equivalent: A 4-inch cylinder catches snowfall, which is then measured by melting the snow in another tube with a measurement scale of 1/100th of an inch.
On average, 10 inches of snow equals about 1 inch of rain in 32-degree weather.
“The colder the temperature, the higher the ratio of snow to water. If the temperature is above freezing, the wet snow would have a lower ratio of about 6 to 1, Darnley said.
‘Help our neighbors’
Volunteer observations are critical to assessing flooding and the impacts of snowfall for NWS alerts and warnings.
“If we have a forecast for 4-6 inches of snow along the I-80 corridor, but not seeing snow falling after an hour, and then receive reports of the snow, the forecaster has to decide if they should cancel the forecast warning,” Darnley said.
“They need ground truth beyond the weather models, and these observations help with those decisions. It adds value to the CoCoRaHS program.”
The program also contributes to the community in other ways.
The volunteer monitoring sites can become established climate stations with historical climate information used by city and community planners and the general public.
CoCoRaHS reports are verified records of weather in communities.
“For example, we have a weather system with high winds coming in and high winds topple trees or break off branches onto someone’s roof,” Fazekas said.
“Insurance companies are guaranteed to look at the weather and CoCoRaHS is one source that is recognized as accurate.
“It’s a way that we can serve our communities and help our neighbors.”
CoCoRaHS is recruiting volunteers to monitor the weather. To learn more about the program and how to volunteer, visit www.cocorahs.org.
