Becoming an Observer


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NWS Nashville Cooperative Observer

The Cooperative Observer Program (COOP) is based on a network of volunteers. It requires minimal time, is fun, and more importantly, plays a vital role in helping to define the climate of your local area and Middle Tennssee. Using an Internet-based website or an automated phone system, observers send daily high and low temperatures as well as 24-hour precipitation totals directly to the NWS. At the end of each month, a form with all the recorded weather elements is sent to the NWS. These data are then sent to the National Center for Environmental Information, where they are digitized, quality controlled and subsequently made part of the official national climate database.

A cooperative station is a site at which observations are taken or other services rendered by volunteers or contractors who are not NWS employees. Observers are not required to take or pass observation certification examinations. Equipment used at NWS cooperative stations is provided and maintained by the NWS.

If you or anyone you know is interested in volunteering daily for this unique NWS program, please contact Mike Davis at (615) 754-8500 or e-mail him at michael.davis@noaa.gov.

NWS Nashville Storm Spotter

National Weather Service Nashville is responsible for warning and forecast responsibilities for all of Middle Tennessee. A wide variety of extreme weather occurs throughout the year. Reports from volunteer spotters improve our products and services in a number of ways.

A lot of Middle Tennessee is rural and our current network lacks the spatial resolution necessary to cover the entire mid-state. Observers are clustered around cities and major highways, with many areas void of observers. This network of storm spotters is independent of the Cooperative Observer Program, but many coop observers are also storm spotters. Storm spotters report tornadoes, funnel clouds, hail, winds 50 mph or greater, flooding, snowfall, ice accumulation, and any hazardous weather causing injury, death or damage. Spotters can call a toll free number 1-888-386-7637 or use a storm report form on our webpage. Please note, however, you will be required to attend an online or an in-person SKYWARN spotter training course developed by the NWS; it takes approximately 2 hours to complete. Check this page for the latest list of online and in-person spotter classes.

Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network

CoCoRaHS (cocorahz) is in Tennessee! The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) was begun in Colorado in 1998. This supplemental network allows volunteer weather observers to enter rainfall, snowfall, hail and snow reports into a web-based system. The result is displayed on maps and can be accessed by anyone with Internet capabilities.

National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologists in Nashville have used the network for several years. The near real-time capabilities allow forecasters to monitor reports and use the information in the warning decision making process. CoCoRaHS is not intended to replace the NWS cooperative observer program, but to supplement it. For more information on this network to sign up, see the CoCoRaHS web page: https://www.cocorahs.org/