In the Pembina Valley, keeping track of rain totals is a group effort. Every time the clouds gather, a dedicated group of PembinaValleyOnline rainwatchers take to their gauges to submit their numbers. It’s a practice that shows an enthusiasm for weather and helps gather data for gardeners, farmers, and outdoorspeople. It’s also a way to build community surrounding a topic that often sits at the centre of daily life and daily conversations. A background in science One of the rainwatchers who has been consistently submitting Morden numbers for a year now is Retiree Allan Jones. For Jones, who enjoys following the weather, the practice is partially inspired by his background in science. He was also encouraged to become a dedicated watcher due to a gap he noticed. “In the weather reports, ... Morden was often absent,” he said. “I have friends who also have rain gauges, but I thought, ‘Well, why do we not have Morden represented on the rain report?’” The process of becoming a rainwatcher Jones said that he reached out to CMOS Accredited Weathercaster Chris Sumner to express his interest in rainwatching, who explained the process to him. The main component, of course, was acquiring a rain gauge to measure rainfall in Jones’ region. The setup of a standardized rain gauge includes a funnel-like opening that empties into a glass tube inside a metal container so that it’s protected. Jones said that because the capacity of the rain gauge is 5 inches, it never fills (“thankfully,” he said), but the most he has gathered is about 1.5 inches of rain. Valuable, interesting information For Jones, who is also an avid gardener, rainwatching also has value in a few different ways. “We find it helpful because it helps us to know how much to water,” he said. “For people that depend on it for their livelihoods, farmers and so on, it's very important, and so I think it's good for them to know what the moisture content is and how much rain is coming in.” Related stories: West Nile Virus risk leads to Ministerial spraying order for Winkler and area Rainwatchers quick to check gauges Friday morning Jones added that it’s also just “fascinating” to witness the rain trends across the Pembina Valley and the different amounts in different areas, even if they’re close together. “I go to the golf course, which is not far from where I live, and they would have more or less [rain] than I received a few blocks away,” he said. “Then it's just interesting to know that Winkler received this amount, and Altona received that amount. You can just see how the patterns flow across the region.” ‘Everybody talks about the weather’ For Jones, who said that the data collected is not monitored or analyzed in any way, ultimately, the charm of being a part of the network of rainwatchers boils down to two things. “It's curiosity and it's conversation — everybody talks about the weather,” he said. With files from Ty Hildebrand