There's no money in it for you, but if you're into weather and you're handy with a ruler, you could soon be sharing your town's snowfall totals and other storm facts with the world.

The National Weather Service's Gray office would appreciate it. Lincoln County is one of four Maine counties where the office most needs new volunteers, meteorologist John Jensenius said. The spotters, as they're called, can gather snowfall totals, temperatures and observations on the type of precipitation falling, wind damage and the thickness of ice on branches.

The weather service gets the information out to the public, but also uses it to help in forecasting, Jensenius said.

“We can see what's happening on radar, but we don't always see what's happening at ground level,” he said. “The spotters are our eyes on the ground, our ground troops.”

The office provides no equipment. Volunteers go by their eyesight, a ruler or yardstick, depending on the snow depth, and a thermometer if they want to also report the temperature in their town.

Vertical thermometers with the mercury showing may be a little more accurate than the discs with the clock-style hand pointing to the temperature, Jensenius said; spiders can get in those and affect their accuracy.

For snowfall totals, take readings in multiple spots to come up with the best estimate. Don't measure near a roof. Snow coming off it could inflate the total.

The office holds training sessions to become an official spotter. Those probably won't start back up until spring, however. In the meantime, Jensenius said anyone can call the office at 207-688-3216 with local readings and observations, during and after a storm. He does ask those interested to first read the office's spotter page, at www.erh.noaa.gov/gyx/spotters_skywarn/index.shtml; the “snow” tab has more tips for measuring the snow.