We are currently in full swing of our March Madness recruitment drive for CoCoRaHS. From now until the end of March, we are trying to get more volunteers to help take rainfall observations across the state. We've made it fun, and have a contest going to see who can recruit the most volunteers. So, if you know anyone that might be interested in participating in CoCoRaHS, now would be the perfect time to point them in our direction.

NOAA's Flood Safety Week takes place March 14-18 this year.If you'd like more information on the flood products issued by the National Weather Service, the 'Turn Around! Don't Drown!' campaign, or general flood safety information, visit: http://www.floodsafety.noaa.gov/.

Over the past few weeks, a few observers have had a small email from me in their inboxes with the subject line: 'Question about your CoCoRaHS Observation.'  We are currently going through a beta testing phase of some new quality control efforts on our CoCoRaHS observations, and Florida was one of the states selected to take part. So far, we've only had a handful of observations that were flagged. Some were flagged because of decimal issues, another was a multi-day report entered as a daily precipitation report, and a couple we contacted the observer to verify the amount they reported. Nothing major, and nothing that couldn't be fixed with a few quick clicks.

If you receive an email from me with that subject line, please take a moment to answer me back. And if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Rainfall totals for February were below normal in most areas (Table 1). Rainfall totals in central and southern areas were generally below one inch. Key West recorded only 0.01 inch during the month. The monthly total at Jacksonville (4.06 in) was pushed above normal by two record daily amounts on the 8^th and 10^th (Table 2). A band of above normal monthly rainfall extended from the Gulf coast near Cross City northeastward to the Atlantic coast near Jacksonville (Figure 1). 

I had the pleasure of taking part in the WeatherFest Open House at the University of North Florida, hosted by the Jacksonville National Weather Service on February 26. It was a great event, with booths from the North Florida AMS Chapter, the Department of Forestry, the Red Cross, the Florida Department of Emergency Management, NWS Jacksonville and the Southeast River Forecast Center. A Coast Guard helicopter flew in for the event, and there were weather stations, balloon launches, and my favorite event: Weather Lingo!  Think Bingo, but with weather terms that you had to match with definitions as they were called out.

Along with help from two undergraduate students, Mr. Daniel Gilford and Ms. Johna Rudzin, I demonstrated two experiments that were part of a NASA 'Satellites-To-Go' take-home kit. I also answered questions about Florida's climate, the unseasonably cold temperatures (despite La Niña and our projected forecasts), the current state of the drought... and of course, CoCoRaHS!  A special thanks to the observers who stopped by to chat - it was great to see you!

Florida Climate Center/Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies
Florida State University 
232 R.M. Johnson Building 
Tallahassee, FL 32306-2840

850) 644-0719
griffin@coaps.fsu.edu