April 8, 2024

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Today’s Forecast

65º |15% chance of rain | Sunrise 6:26 a.m. | Sunset 7:32 p.m.

☔ Right as rain

A person clad in winter garb stands in the snow looking over an icy lake.JPG

The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network monitors precipitation. | Photo by 608today

Take a rain check, literally.

The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) is seeking local citizens to act as scientists and measure precipitation totals.

Anyone can do it, it takes only a few minutes of one’s time, and can help natural resource, education, and research professionals. Here’s how it works.

Who?

CoCoRaHS is a national network of volunteers who measure precipitation at their homes and record their observations into a national database.

Participants provide a detailed spatial pattern of precipitation across the country to better diagnose drought conditions, flooding concerns, and soil moisture for growers.

“I value this data so that we better understand where precipitation has fallen, how extensive and thick the snowpack is, and current drought conditions across Wisconsin,” Wisconsin State climatologist Steve Vavrus said.

Rain drops on a window with a tree in the background.jpeg — Observations made by CoCoRaHS volunteers helps weather professionals in a variety of ways. | Photo via City of Madison

What?

Volunteer observers simply measure and record the precipitation collected in their gauge every day and enter it onto the CoCoRaHS database for mapping and processing. It takes two minutes.

“CoCoRaHS observations are one of the most important pieces of data I use for assessing how much precipitation fell, and I look at it every day,” Milwaukee National Weather Service senior service hydrologist Sarah Marquardt said.

Why?

Weather affects us all. “Your report of heavy rain as it’s falling may help us get that flash flood warning out to the public sooner, allowing people more time to move away from rising rivers, flooding roadways and to seek higher ground,” Marquardt said.

Bare trees laden with snow in a snow covered park.JPG — Volunteers can measure the amount of snowfall and enter it into a national database. | Photo by 608today

Where?

Anyone, anywhere can participate. Marquardt mentioned that Madison and the surrounding area, including Mount Horeb, Stoughton, and Marshall, could use more observers.

How?

Fill out an application and get a standardized rain gauge. Weather you want one or not, maybe have a good umbrella handy.

Asked

What is the all-time state record for 24-hour rainfall?

A. 11.72 inches
B. 15.33 inches
C. 8.25 inches
D. 6.59 inches

Wet do you think?

Events

Monday, April 8

Wingra Wind Quintet | Monday, April 8 | 3-4 p.m. | Stoughton Opera House, 381 E. Main St., Stoughton | Free | Spend the afternoon with the world-traveling, Madison-based quintet as they perform some of classical music’s finest works.

Tuesday, April 9

Spring Wonder Bugs | Tuesday, April 9 | 11:15 a.m.-12:30 p.m. | Aldo Leopold Nature Center, 330 Femrite Dr., Monona | $72-$144 | For wee tots ages 2-4, this is a time to learn about the outdoors through songs and stories.
Próxima Parada | Tuesday, April 9 | 8 p.m. | High Noon Saloon, 701 E. Washington Ave., Madison | $20-$25 | The Ohio-based indie-folk band, which has played Bonnaroo and Mountain Jam, will be joined by Oliver Hazard.

Wednesday, April 10

Cocktail Class | Wednesday, April 10 | 5:30-6:30 p.m. | The Cider Farm, 8216 Watts Rd., Madison | $30 | Sample three cocktails and then go home and make them yourself after learning about apple brandies.
Vinyl Listening Session: Billie Holiday | Wednesday, April 10 | 8:30-9:30 p.m. | Lola’s, 617 N. Sherman Ave., Madison | Cost of purchase | Spend your night with Lady Day, listening to “Lady in Satin” over cocktails and fine bites.

Thursday, April 11

The Wizard of Oz | Thursday, April 11-Friday, April 12 | 7 p.m. | Monona Grove High School, 4400 Monona Dr., Monona | $11-$15 | Somewhere over the rainbow is as close as Monona, as students perform the beloved classic.

Events calendar here

Click here to have your event featured.

News Notes

Plan Ahead

Set your watch for 2:06 p.m. today. That’s when the maximum solar eclipse will be over Madison, covering the sun at 89% totality. You can also watch it via NASA’s livestream. (Wisconsin State Journal)

Announced

SZA is making her debut at Milwaukee’s Summerfest on Saturday, June 22 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets go on sale on Wednesday, April 10 at 10 a.m.

Edu

The Universities of Wisconsin will increase tuition for the 2024-25 academic year. After a decade-long freeze, the Board of Regents approved a 3.75% increase, a rate similar to inflation.

Sports

Bo Ryan, who coached the Badgers men’s basketball team for 14 seasons (2001-2015) and took them to the NCAA Final Four twice, has been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of its Class of 2024.

Traffic

Madison will receive $13 million through the new federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support public transportation. Madison’s Bus Rapid Transit routes are currently under construction, with its east-west line opening later this year. (Channel 3000)

Civic

Wisconsin schools will now be required to teach Asian American and Hmong American histories. The bipartisan bill was signed into law by Gov. Tony Evers last week, as Wisconsin has the third highest population of Hmong residents in the nation.

Cause

Food Fight Against Hunger is this month. The fundraiser, which partners participating restaurants with nonprofits, provides help for Dane County food banks, which have seen a 112% increase in demand from 2021 to 2023. (Channel 3000)

Number

$750,000. That’s how much the Dane County Board is giving to two Verona-based nonprofits. The Badger Prairie Needs Network, a food pantry, and the Art House 360 Project, currently creating a community art center, are the recipients. (WKOW)

Home

Did you know you could finance your fixer-upper with home equity? You could get up to $50K with a HELOC — calculate your payment.*

Family

❤️ Seeing red

Betty is a one-year-old female red panda who now calls the Henry Vilas Zoo home. | Photo by Henry Vilas Zoo

It’s National Zoo Lovers Day, and now there’s one more reason to love Madison’s Henry Vilas Zoo. It’s now home to Betty, a red panda.

Betty was introduced to Bandit, the zoo’s other red panda, last week after being in quarantine since March for routine health checks. The two are now available for public viewing.

Betty is a Midwesterner — she comes to Madison by way of Nebraska’s Lincoln Children’s Zoo. She also has ties to the 608: her great grandmother was Tarrei, a red panda at the Henry Vilas Zoo who died in 2021 at the age of 19.

An endangered species, there are believed to be fewer than 2,500 red panda adults left in the wild. Madison’s zoo is a part of the Red Panda Network, which is committed to their conservation. You can help.

The Buy

The lipstick that’s more like a phenomenon: Clinique’s Almost Lipstick in Black Honey. You can now buy Clinique on Amazon, and the black honey lipstick has skyrocketed to the No. 1 new release in beauty and personal care.

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The Wrap

Today’s edition by:
Jonathan

From the editor

Being a word nerd, I’ve always liked collective nouns. The collective noun for red pandas is a pack. The collective noun for giant pandas is an embarrassment.

Be a font of knowledge the next time you’re at the zoo with your family.

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