MetEd: Meteorology Education and Training. Operated by the COMET Program

Description:
This presentation by Dr. Eve Gruntfest raises important issues of how floods and other disasters, including land-falling hurricanes and their related warnings, affect public attitudes and actions. Awareness of these social science considerations is important for persons responsible for public weather warnings as well as other types of public interaction.

Estimated time to complete: 30 min

Includes audio: yes

Required plug-ins:   Flash RealPlayer Java Adobe® Reader®
 * Plug-in information

Last published on: 2001-03-26

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Description:
Hazardous weather affects us all. To help local emergency managers cope with weather hazards they may face, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS) offer a course titled Hazardous Weather and Flooding Preparedness. However, many people who make weather-related decisions are unable to attend this 2-3 day course.

The purpose of this Web-based course, Anticipating Hazardous Weather and Community Risk, is to provide background on weather and weather hazards for emergency managers and other decision makers. This course is intended to complement on-site courses offered by FEMA and NWS, so that they can focus on local hazards and community risk factors.

This course covers:

• Weather: How and why it forms
• Hazardous weather: Fact sheets on different phenomena
• Forecasting weather: The forecast process and products issued by the NWS
• Warning Partnership: How the NWS and emergency managers generate and communicate warnings
• Desktop Exercise: An opportunity to apply what you have learned in a flash flood scenario

FEMA Independent Study credit is available for those who complete the course and pass the exam. The subject matter experts for Anticipating Hazardous Weather and Community Risk are Randall C. Duncan, CEM - Sedgwick County (KS) Emergency Management, Bob Glancy - NWS, Bob Goldhammer - Polk County (IA) Emergency Management, Curt Nellis - County of Shenandoah (VA) Department of Fire and Rescue, John Ogren - NWS, and Bruce Sterling - Portsmouth (VA) Emergency Management.

Objectives:
• Explain basic processes that cause and/or signal hazardous weather
• List the main weather hazards and the factors that determine community risk
• Describe the basic weather forecasting process and its limitations
• Discuss various techniques for communicating information about weather hazards
• Distinguish which NWS forecast products are appropriate in various situations
• Analyze various source of information about a weather hazard and formulate a plan for dealing with a potential disaster

Estimated time to complete: 4-5 h

Includes audio: yes

Required plug-ins:   Flash RealPlayer Java Adobe® Reader®
 * Plug-in information

Last published on: 2001-03-08

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Description:
This module discusses climate change, particularly as it is currently being affected by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases emitted by human activities. It also covers signs of climate change, how scientists study climate, the current thinking on future changes, and what can be done to minimize the effects.

Objectives:
1. List factors that influence climate on Earth.
2. Identify greenhouse gases and their sources and define their role in climate.
3. Identify the countries that contribute the most to greenhouse gas emissions.
4. Identify ways in which climate and climate change are studied.
5. Describe similarities and differences between weather and climate models.
6. Explain how the current rate of climate change compares with past episodes of climate change.
7. List various pieces of evidence for current climate change.
8. Describe evidence for human involvement in current climate change.
9. Explain the IPCC process.
10. List anticipated effects of future climate change, and determine which are considered most likely.

Estimated time to complete: 1.50 - 2.00 h

Includes audio: yes

Required plug-ins:   Flash RealPlayer Java Adobe® Reader®
 * Plug-in information

Last published on: 2009-05-11

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Description:
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service (NWS) annually hold courses, called An Introduction to Hurricane Preparedness, at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida. The number of students who can attend every year is far less than the number of people who are involved in making decisions during hurricanes.

The purpose of this computer-based course, Community Hurricane Preparedness, is to provide emergency managers and decision makers who cannot attend the course with basic information about:

• How hurricanes form
• The hazards they pose
• How the NWS forecasts future hurricane behavior
• What tools and guiding principles can help emergency managers prepare their communities

Community Hurricane Preparedness is not intended to take the place of the Miami course or other courses sponsored by FEMA and/or state agencies. However, it will provide a good background for those who have not yet attended those courses.

The subject matter experts for Community Hurricane Preparedness are Max Mayfield – NWS, William Massey – FEMA, Dr. Robert Smith – FEMA, John Wilson – Lee County Division of Public Safety, and William Winn, Jr. – Beaufort County Emergency Management Department.

Objectives:
• Describe the basic processes and factors that contribute to the development, growth and demise of a hurricane
• Identify the parts of a hurricane
• List ways in which meteorologists monitor hurricane development
• Describe hazards from hurricanes
• Discuss the basic hurricane forecasting process and its limitations
• Analyze various source of information about a hurricane and formulate a plan for dealing with the potential disaster

Estimated time to complete: 4-5 h

Includes audio: yes

Required plug-ins:   Flash RealPlayer Java Adobe® Reader®
 * Plug-in information

Last published on: 1999-12-10

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Description:
Designed primarily for middle school students and funded by FEMA and the NWS, this module creates a scenario to frame learning activities that focus on hurricane science and safety.

Over the course of seven days, Hurricane Erin forms in the Atlantic Ocean, crosses the Florida peninsula, and then makes another landfall at Fort Walton Beach. During these days, the learner is introduced to many basic concepts of atmospheric science, climate, and geography, while also learning some important and possibly life-saving safety and preparedness skills. The module includes several interactive games and activities that address hurricane meteorology and hurricane safety.

Teachers and others who use the module for public education will find the "Information for Teachers" section particularly useful. This section provides information about all of the main learning objects in the module, as well as access to them as stand-alone activities. Links to numerous hurricane-related Web sites are also included, as are links to expert advice about helping children deal with trauma. Worksheets that test the learner's understanding of the module's content are provided in this section, as well as throughout the module. Versions are also available for hearing, motor, and visually impaired students.

Estimated time to complete: 2-3 h

Includes audio: yes

Required plug-ins:   Flash RealPlayer Java Adobe® Reader®
 * Plug-in information

Last published on: 2002-05-10

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Description:
This module provides an overview of climatology, the study of climate. The module begins by examining the drivers that combine to create the climate regions of the world—from those at the mesoscale (local) level to those at the synoptic-scale (continental) and global-scale levels. Examples include locally dominant winds, air masses, fronts, ocean currents, Earth’s rotation around the sun, and latitude. Each discussion of a climate driver has an ‘example/exploration’ segment, where the information is applied to several cities. The module also examines a scheme for classifying the world’s climate zones, the sources and uses of climate information, and some of its limitations. The module is intended for a wide range of users, from forecasters and scientists to those in business and government as well as the general public—in short, anyone interested in learning about climatology. Some familiarity with basic meteorology is useful although not required.

Objectives:
• Define the terms climate and climatology and differentiate them from weather.
• Describe the key drivers that determine climate regimes at the global-, synoptic-, and meso-scale levels.
• Describe how climate zones are classified and how the classifications can be used to relate similar regimes.
• Describe the general uses and limitations of climatological data.
Identify climatologic data sources.

Estimated time to complete: 1 h

Includes audio: yes

Required plug-ins:   Flash RealPlayer Java Adobe® Reader®
 * Plug-in information

Last published on: 2008-09-22

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Description:
This module provides insight into how nearshore circulation and wave dynamics are involved in rip current formation. Topics covered in this module include: nearshore terminology, circulation and waves, rip current characteristics, and rip current forcing mechanisms. This module is the second of three modules covering the forecasting of rip currents.

Objectives:
After completing the module users will be able to:

• Describe the various zones, bathymetry features, and currents of the near shore environment.
• Describe shallow water, near shore process.
• Describe rip current characteristics.
• Describe rip current forcing mechanisms.

Estimated time to complete: 40 min

Includes audio: yes

Required plug-ins:   Flash RealPlayer Java Adobe® Reader®
 * Plug-in information

Last published on: 2004-12-13

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Description:
This Webcast presents an overview of the processes of space weather, its impacts on the Earth and human activities and the technologies used for forecasting space weather events. The Webcast goal is to provide NWS forecasters a basic understanding of space weather and the operations of NOAA's Space Environment Center (SEC). It will be of interest to a general audience as well.

Objectives:
1. Identify the correct sequence of phases in the life cycle of a star.

2. State three types of space weather events. Describe their characteristics
and effects.

3. Describe the general pattern of sunspot migration during its 11-year
cycle.

4. State the characteristics of plasma.

5. List three types of solar energy release and describe their
characteristics.

6. Describe and explain the shape of the earth's magnetosphere, and describe
its role in space weather events.

7. State the space environment monitors used in GOES and POES satellites.

Estimated time to complete: 25 min

Includes audio: yes

Required plug-ins:   Flash RealPlayer Java Adobe® Reader®
 * Plug-in information

Last published on: 2005-11-11

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Description:
This Webcast, recorded in 2003, is an expert lecture by Dr. Kevin Trenberth of NCAR’s Climate and Global Dynamics division. The presentation includes evidence that the atmosphere is changing, discussions on global energy flows and human factors contributing to change, and concludes with predictions for the future. This version of the presentation has enhanced graphics and links to additional resources. One of the students who attended the original classroom presentation on Climate Change commented that, “Kevin thoroughly discussed global warming and what it really is. I now have a better understanding of the problem.”

Estimated time to complete: 42 min

Includes audio: yes

Required plug-ins:   Flash RealPlayer Java Adobe® Reader®
 * Plug-in information

Last published on: 2004-06-14

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Description:
Understanding Drought--This webcast provides an introduction to drought. It presents the measures and scales of drought and how drought is monitored. It also covers how drought is predicted, the impacts of drought, and provides information about drought-related resources. This content serves as a foundation to learning more about climate variability and operational climate services and prepares users for the national implementation of NIDIS.
This module was last updated on Sept 28, 2009.

Objectives:
Upon completion of this training, the user will be able to:
List the main definitions of drought
Describe the measures and scales of drought severity
Describe the monitoring and indicator tools used to forecast changing drought conditions
Describe the impacts drought can have on an area including the intensity scale
List some local, regional, and national drought resources

Estimated time to complete: .75 - 1.00 h

Includes audio: yes

Required plug-ins:   Flash RealPlayer Java Adobe® Reader®
 * Plug-in information

Last published on: 2009-02-11

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Description:
This module features an audio and visual tour of sites affected by the Fort Collins, Colorado urban flood that occurred on 28 July 1997. The tour is led by Matthew Kelsch and includes eyewitness accounts of that night's events from John Weaver. This interactive virtual field trip module summarizes many of the important common aspects of flash floods occurring in urban environments.

Estimated time to complete: 60 min

Includes audio: yes

Required plug-ins:   Flash RealPlayer Java Adobe® Reader®
 * Plug-in information

Last published on: 2001-05-24

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Description:
This short course provides broadcast meteorologists with knowledge and instructional materials to help them understand watersheds as our environmental home and to help their viewers understand the relationship between the weather and the health and protection of the environment. Environmental impacts in many areas of the country result from the daily actions of people. We can easily see the consequences of a major oil spill at sea that is driven ashore by winds and ocean currents, but what about the fertilizer that people put on their lawns and the de-icer they apply to their driveway, or changing the car’s oil in the backyard, or the pet waste in the yard or local park? Combined with weather, all of these have an impact on both the local environment and the larger regional environment.


This short course takes a story-telling approach through the use of movie-like sequences of audio and imagery to show how the concept of a watershed can be related to local concerns and to connect it to people in a personal way. The goal of this course is to:

Provide an understanding of a watershed as the local environment in which people’s actions and decisions play against the background of daily and seasonal weather to affect the quality and health of their local watershed as well as the larger system of watersheds of which their watershed is one part.

Objectives:

• Know how to describe a watershed and locate the watersheds for your viewing region.


• Be able to find the hydrologic address of a watershed and describe how watersheds are interconnected into a river system.


• Be able to relate the concept of a watershed to urban settings.


• Know the distribution of water within a watershed and how to find water sources for a population center in your viewing area.


• Describe how sources of non-point pollution, especially in urban areas, impact water quality.


• Know how human-engineered changes in the watershed affect the location and severity of flooding following heavy precipitation events.


• Be able to relate the impact of drought on a watershed and watershed system.

Estimated time to complete: 2 h

Includes audio: yes

Required plug-ins:   Flash RealPlayer Java Adobe® Reader®
 * Plug-in information

Last published on: 2006-08-30

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Description:
This course will help meteorologists and others broaden their understanding of the impacts of weather and climate on public health, including the impacts of heat waves and cold temperatures, winter storms and thunderstorms, flooding, drought, poor air quality, tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfire, UV radiation, and others. This course is directed to broadcast meteorologists, in particular, who play a critical role in the community by helping the public to protect against weather-related health threats and by promoting good health. The course also describes the public health communication system, providing information about reliable public health services, tools, and resources.

Objectives:
1. Identify key health-related impacts, factors, implications, and recommendations associated with various weather events, including heat waves and cold temperatures, winter storms and thunderstorms, flooding, drought, poor air quality, tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfire, UV radiation

2. Describe how broadcast meteorologists, working in partnership with public health agencies, can help protect and enhance the health and well-being of the viewing public.

3. Identify key public health support services, tools, and resources that are available to broadcast meteorologists at local, state, and national levels.

4. Identify the basic components of effective risk communication.

5. List or identify some examples of weather-related public health risks that may increase with global climate change.

6. Demonstrate an understanding of the causal interdependences that exist between climate, weather, and health.

Estimated time to complete: 2 h

Includes audio: yes

Required plug-ins:   Flash RealPlayer Java Adobe® Reader®
 * Plug-in information

Last published on: 2008-11-25

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Description:
Anticipating and dealing with weather and the hazards it creates is a real challenge for those in departments of transportation. This module gives road and highway managers a basic understanding of meteorology and weather hazards so that they can better interpret weather forecast information used to make road management decisions. The module also highlights web-based forecast products available from the National Weather Service that can help in the decision-making process.

Objectives:
• Understand what creates and modifies weather
• Define common terms used in meteorology and weather forecasting
• Given two different sources of weather information, decide which one is the best to use at a given time.
• Identify which NWS data and forecast products available on the Web can be used to help make road management decisions
• For different weather events, define terms commonly used and describe conditions that make road travel hazardous.

Estimated time to complete: 2-3 h

Includes audio: yes

Required plug-ins:   Flash RealPlayer Java Adobe® Reader®
 * Plug-in information

Last published on: 2008-07-21

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Description:
This short course provides broadcast meteorologists, educators, and the public with an overview of the evolution of our modern urban environment with a focus on impacts on the urban watershed, air quality, and climate. This course complements the course Watersheds: Connecting Weather to the Environment and both are part of the Earth Gauge™ environmental curriculum for weathercasters and educators. This curriculum is being developed by the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF). [See http://www.earthgauge.net/wp/]

Unit 1, Where We Live, takes a look at past and current U.S. growth patterns and the way our urban areas have evolved from compact population centers to automobile-dependent sprawl. Unit 2, Impacts on the Watershed, explores how the built environment affects the water that moves through an urban watershed. Unit 3, Impacts on the Atmosphere, highlights the way our urban landscape and industrial activities impact the air we breathe and the local climate. Each unit includes information on ways to reduce our impact on our water and air with ideas ranging from simple changes in our commuting and housekeeping habits to changes in how we build houses and roads.

Objectives:
Unit 1: Where We Live
• Understand current growth trends in the United States
• Become aware of the geographic extent and patterns of current growth trends
• Recognize some of the historically significant growth patterns.
• Understand the evolution of American cities and the factors that have driven their growth

Unit 2: Impacts on the Watershed
• Identify aspects of the built environment that are impacted by heavy precipitation events
• Explain the relationship of landscaping and developed land features to maintaining water quality
• Gain an understanding of "low impact" and other site design measures as they relate to improving both water quality and quantity

Unit 3: Impacts on the Atmosphere
• Define the urban heat island (UHI) effect
• List the main mechanisms that cause the UHI
• Describe the climatology of the UHI
• List actions that can mitigate the UHI
• List the major source of air pollutants
• List the five air pollutants monitored by the AIRNow daily air quality index
• Recognize weather conditions that negatively impact air quality
• Become aware of personal actions that can reduce air pollution

Estimated time to complete: 60 min

Includes audio: yes

Required plug-ins:   Flash RealPlayer Java Adobe® Reader®
 * Plug-in information

Last published on: 2008-02-22

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Description:
Todos los años, la Agencia Federal para la Administración de Emergencias (Federal Emergency Management Agency, o FEMA) y el Servicio Nacional de Meteorología (National Weather Service, o NWS) de la Administración Nacional de Servicios Oceánicos y Atmosféricos (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, o NOAA) de los Estados Unidos imparten de 2 a 4 cursos titulados An Introduction to Hurricane Preparedness (Introducción sobre cómo prepararse para un huracán) en el Centro Nacional de Huracanes (National Hurricane Center), en Miami, Florida. El número de personas que pueden asistir cada año es considerablemente inferior a la cantidad de personas que participa en el proceso de toma de decisiones cuando hay un huracán.

Este curso por computadora, llamado Huracanes: Preparación de la comunidad, tiene el propósito de proporcionar a los administradores de centros de operaciones de emergencia y a aquellas personas que participan en el proceso de toma de decisiones, pero que no pueden tomar el curso, información básica acerca de:

cómo se forman los huracanes
los peligros que representan
cómo el NWS pronostica la actividad de los huracanes para el futuro
las herramientas y los principios que los administradores de centros de operaciones de emergencia pueden utilizar y seguir para preparar a sus comunidades
Huracanes: Preparación de la comunidad no pretende suplantar al curso que se imparte en Miami, ni tampoco a ningún otro curso patrocinado por FEMA y/o las distintas agencias estatales. Sin embargo, puede ofrecer una buena base a aquellas personas que todavía no han tenido la oportunidad de asistir a dichos cursos. Lo animamos a ponerse en contacto con la oficina de administración de emergencias de su estado para averiguar qué otros cursos se ofrecen.

Nota: La versión en español del curso Huracanes: Preparación de la comunidad no contiene todos los materiales que se incluyen en la versión en inglés (que se describe a continuación). En la actualidad, no se ofrece una Quick Tour (Visita rápida) y, además, el enlace Comenzar el curso que aparece en la página inicial de la versión en español lleva sólo al contenido completo de las tres primeras secciones del curso (Conceptos básicos, Peligros y Pronosticación).

Estimated time to complete: 3-4 h

Includes audio: yes

Required plug-ins:   Flash RealPlayer Java Adobe® Reader®
 * Plug-in information

Last published on: 2000-07-11

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Description:
Ésta es la versión en español del módulo ¡Huracán a la vista!. Este módulo, que fue diseñado principalmente para los estudiantes de sexto a octavo grado, crea un escenario para presentar actividades de aprendizaje centradas en la ciencia y la seguridad en relación con los huracanes. La versión en español es una traducción de la versión de texto en inglés, sin las funciones multimedia, y, por tanto, es apropiada para aquellos estudiantes que tienen impedimentos visuales o cuyo sistema informático no cuenta con un alto ancho de banda.

En el curso de siete días, el huracán Erin se forma en el océano Atlántico, cruza la península de Florida y azota otra vez la costa en Fort Walton Beach. Durante estos días, se presentan al estudiante varios conceptos básicos de las ciencias atmosféricas, el clima y la geografía, y se le ofrece también la oportunidad aprender algunas destrezas importantes de seguridad y preparación que podrían contribuir a salvar vidas. Los maestros y otras personas que utilicen el módulo en el ámbito de la educación pública encontrarán de particular utilidad la información de la sección "Información para maestros".

Objectives:
Practicar actividades relacionadas con la seguridad en caso de huracanes, tales como preparar una mochila con los materiales necesarios en caso de desastre, identificar los artículos apropiados para una emergencia, preparar la casa, decidir las medidas a tomar antes de evacuar y al regresar al hogar, y escoger las acciones adecuadas durante un huracán. Identificar los factores importantes en la formación y el movimiento de los huracanes. Comprender dónde y cuándo se forman los huracanes y cómo se clasifican.

Estimated time to complete: 2 h

Includes audio: no

Required plug-ins:   Flash RealPlayer Java Adobe® Reader®
 * Plug-in information

Last published on: 2005-09-13

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