Nice writeup Bill. I too am a CoCoRaHS volunteer. I use two cylinders on snow days. I take the new one out and replace the one that is full. Then I bring the full one inside and let it thaw out and melt in my boiler room. About an hour later I measure the melted water content. I much prefer this method to my old approach of measuring hot water and then pouring it into the cylinder.
It would be interesting to know how many WeatherCatters also report precipitation to CoCoRaHS.