Be Wellesley’s official snow total taker

I’ve been mildly surprised at how difficult it is to find official stats on total snowfall in Wellesley this winter, as well as historic numbers. Yes, I’ve come by the occasional numbers on TV weather maps, but haven’t had much luck finding a go-to source.

I’ve hit up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Weather Service (NWS) and Northeast Regional Climate Center (NRCC), among other places, but specific Wellesley snowfall data wasn’t available.

“You are correct that our listing of reports is dependent on whether we hear from a spotter in Wellesley,” wrote Glenn Field of the NWS in Taunton.

Meanwhile, Jessica Spaccio a climatologist with the NRCC, replied that “I’m looking for stations in your area, but unfortunately they seem a bit sparse.  We used to have an observer in Natick, but haven’t received data since July.  We do have data from the Norwood Memorial Airport, but they don’t report snow (only the liquid equivalent)….”

If anyone in Wellesley is interested in becoming an official observer you should contact the Cooperative Observer Program.

Spaccio also pointed me to CoCoRaHS, a network of volunteer weather observers. Anyone can join CoCoRaHS, she says, and even though these observers aren’t official NWS stations, their data is being used more and more by outfits such as the NRCC and NWS.  You have to purchase an official gauge and enter your data online: http://www.cocorahs.org/application.aspx