National Weather Service Coop Observers
The National Weather Service Cooperative Observer Program (COOP) is a network of 11,000 volunteers that record official weather observations across the United States. Data is taken from a multitude of geographic regions and topography, and sent to the National Weather Service and National Climatic Data Center for official records. In making these reports, observers use a specialized set of jargon and slang to describe their observations.
Cooperative weather observers often double as storm spotters. Some are also river and coastal watchers, typically reporting gauge readings.
Read more about this topic: Weather Spotting
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