CONWAY, Mass. (WWLP) – Conway’s rainfall is higher than all of the United States for the month of July.

As many of us around here could have predicted, the highest July rainfall total in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico was measured in Conway, Massachusetts. Not only did Conway see a total of 21.42″, but 6 of the top 10 reports for the month were reported in southern New England.

22News spoke with Joseph Dellicarpini, the Science and Operations officer at the National Weather Service, to better understand how we came to this superlative measurement. Mr. Dellicarpini tells us that these measurements were obtained through CoCoRaHS, a volunteer network of weather observers measuring and mapping precipitation. Volunteer networks are a major source of knowledge for issuing flood watches and warnings and even monitoring droughts. In 2022, the data measured by CoCoRaHS observers helped NOAA assess the critical drought conditions seen in July.

If you’re interested, being a CoCoRaHS observer and contributing to extreme weather tracking is quite simple. After submitting a quick application on the CoCoRaHS website, the only material you’ll need is a plastic rain gauge.

You can also participate in other programs such as NWS Skywarn and mPing, which both allow volunteers to contribute to weather forecasting and reporting.