Spot the Hot - Heat Mapping Campaign
Spot the Hot - NOAA UHI Heat Mapping Campaign
Volunteer Form
This summer, residents in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City will have the opportunity to serve as community scientists to gather temperature data on the hottest parts of our Corridor communities as part of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) heat island project.
The City of Cedar Rapids, along with Iowa City, recently was named one of 18 communities in the U.S. to participate in the NOAA Urban Heat Island (UHI) mapping campaign. UHIs are areas with fewer trees and more pavement to absorb heat and create heat pockets in communities, in contrast with areas that feature more trees, green spaces, and less asphalt. UHIs are detrimental to public health because of these created heat pockets.
The NOAA UHI mapping campaign will engage community volunteers to help collect data in their neighborhoods this summer by utilizing provided sensors mounted on their vehicles and bicycles; the sensors will record temperature, humidity, time, and location. This project supports our goals in the City of Cedar Rapids Community Climate Action Plan, which prioritizes urban heat island mitigation, especially in vulnerable neighborhoods. This UHI mapping campaign is a great way for residents to learn about heat islands and take action in our community while helping us meet the goals of our climate plan and make Cedar Rapids a more resilient and sustainable place to live, now and into the future.
Help us determine where heat should be measured!
Add a pin to this interactive map to show us places in Cedar Rapids that you would avoid on the hottest days because of how hot they get. These locations will be used to help configure the routes volunteers will follow to gather temperature information.
Volunteer to collect data this summer!
If you are interested in helping us collect heat mapping data this summer, please fill out this form and indicate whether you prefer to be a driver (must provide your own vehicle), navigator (paired with a community-member driver), or have no preference (can be selected to be a driver with your own vehicle, or navigator paired with another community member).
Because the goal of this project is to collect data on one of the hottest days of the year, the data collection date will be determined by the National Weather Service (NWS) and not known by event organizers until sometime in July. We anticipate a 3-7 day notice from NWS. Please indicate your general ability in the form. Volunteers will be given a $15 gift card for participating in a 30-60 minute training ahead of the event and an additional $50 gift card if selected to serve as a driver or navigator on the data collection day.
Volunteer Form
