Weather and Citizen Science

Environment and Climate Change Canada

There is a long history of Canadian Citizen Science. Weather records in Canada date as far back as the 1840s. Since the 1860s, Canadian citizen scientists have been collecting weather data through the Volunteer Weather Observer Program. Volunteers collect data twice a day from a small, passive weather station (e.g. a Stevenson Screen) at home before sending it to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).  

Over several generations, this has led to a national climate data archive, an invaluable resource for Climate Scientists and Historians alike. Nowadays, ECCC receives up-to-the-minute severe weather data from volunteers in the Weather Watcher Program. These volunteers are invaluable to Canadian Meteorologists as scientists cannot be everywhere at once. On-the-ground observations remain an integral part of weather forecasting. Ground observations confirm what radar and other equipment ‘sees’. The program was started in 1978 and continues today. 

CANWARN

CANWARN is a program which invites Amateur Radio Operators (HAMs) as well as regular civilians to become severe weather watchers. It began as a HAM radio project but evolved into a larger program over time. Anyone in this program is given formal, severe weather-watching training, and the program runs almost right across the country. Watchers include park rangers, government officials, and members of the Red Cross. CANWARN

Northern Tornado Project, Western University

If a tornado happens, and no one is there to see it, did it really happen? The answer is yes, but a problem arises: how can severe weather scientists know how many tornadoes touch down in Canada every year if no one is there to report it? This is what Western University’s Northern Tornado Project (NTP) is trying to solve. Along with the Northern Hail Project (NHP), the NTP relies on community members to report severe weather and is working to better understand and predict severe and extreme weather. 

Reports are anonymous and archived in a database at the University of Oklahoma. The app was first launched in 2012 and now is used by the National Weather Service to improve the accuracy of their forecasts. Citizen-provided data in addition to radar and satellite observations makes for a more precise understanding of the weather leading to better predictions. Data collected through mPING is available to the public and scientists through the app and online. 

Learn more here: https://mping.nssl.noaa.gov/

Secrets of Radar has created a citizen science programme for seniors using mPING that runs through the end of March 2025. We want YOU to report the weather to help scientists better understand what is happening on the ground. 

Call us to book or learn more about our citizen science programme! 

The creation of this page was funded by the Ontario Senior’s Community Grant. Our thanks to the provincial government for funding this program.