Winona County SWCD collects rain fall information from a number of volunteer observers from around the county. Rain fall observations are collected during the months of April through October. This information is then forwarded to the State Climatology office.

The volunteers are provided with a rain gauge and reporting information, and keep written records of daily and monthly rainfall. At the end of each month reports are sent in to the SWCD and then forwarded to the State.

It is through information like this that climatologist can monitor trends and individual storm events. The data from these volunteers is a valuable part of Minnesota’s weather data system.