Weather Forecast Preparation Laboratory

Catalog description

Forecast methods/data discussed prior to nightly weather forecast entry. Satisfactory performance will be determined by attendance and forecast accuracy. METEO 215 Weather Forecast Preparation Laboratory (0.5 per semester/maximum of 4) Students will learn basic weather forecasting techniques and identify appropriate sources of weather information that will assist them in weather forecast preparation. Forecast accuracy will be judged against peer groups at Penn State and several other institutions of higher learning across the U.S. and Canada through WxChallenge (or a similarly run program), a national weather forecasting contest. The bulk of the class time will be spent preparing weather forecasts for five different U.S. cities, each for two consecutive weeks. Cities from different climate regimes will help familiarize students with forecasting challenges from across the country. In addition, the previous day's weather forecast difficulties and ways to improve forecast accuracy will be discussed. The remaining weeks of the semester will be devoted to in-depth analysis of forecast errors and ways to keep improving forecast quality. Satisfactory performance is determined through attendance records and weather forecast contest results. The course should be taken in BOTH the fall and spring semesters each year for maximum learning potential. METEO 215 may be repeated up to 8 times.