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Campus Weather Forecast

Published April 2007
Story Source: Christine Tew, SNR NEWS@Missouri.edu

Hands-on activities that can be taken from the classroom and applied to professional situations are an invaluable part of any education. Atmospheric science students are taking those experiences one step further in the School of Natural Resources at MU by sharing their work with the community.

The experience will benefit them greatly in the future, said Bruce Cutter, associate director of academic programs. "I think it is a wonderful exercise for students to have the responsibility to post the information regularly in a way people can understand."

Undergraduate students prepare and post weather forecasts for the city of Columbia, said Patrick Market, associate professor of atmospheric sciences. The information is available at weather.missouri.edu. "If you put in 'Campus Weather Forecast' you should find us," he said.

The student weather data for mid-Missouri is broadcast on the Web and in the Emogene Houston Sampson Reading Room, a lounge and computer lab in the Anheuser Busch Natural Resources Building.

Getting the forecasts to the public required a team from the atmospheric science department. "Tony did the hardware. Steve and George did the programming, and the students do the forecasts," Market said. Tony Lupo is an associate professor in the atmospheric science department. Steve Lack and George Limpert are graduate students in the department, as well. Market supervises students throughout the process.

A 32-inch flat panel television for the reading room was also provided by department funds and a matching grant from the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, said Cutter.

Forecasts are updated regularly, twice per day during the week and once on weekends, Market said. "It is, during the nine months of the year classes are in session, the responsibility of students in the Synoptic Meteorology classes."

Synoptic Meteorology I and II cover a broad range of topics, but focus on students understanding the effects of wind movement in the upper atmosphere on weather patterns. Two courses in synoptic meteorology are required for all students studying atmospheric science at MU. Market teaches both courses.

Students are required to sign up for at least one shift developing forecasts, Market said. "A forecasting shift lasts a minimum of an hour and a half," he said.

The majority of that time is spent acquiring and analyzing data to produce a forecast that is both accurate and compatible with previous forecasts.

"They start out by looking at current observations from around the country," Market said. "Maybe 20 minutes is spent updating the page that people actually see."

Forecasters have access to models developed by students and faculty at MU as well as models from the National Weather Service. Atmospheric science students have access to the Weather Analysis and Visualization Laboratory, a departmental computer lab equipped with these systems to prepare forecasts and complete other coursework.

Student forecasts are verified with readings from Sanborn Field, Market said. "Results may be slightly warmer than outlying areas because of the downtown location for the campus forecast."

Sanborn Field is on the MU campus. That data is provided by the Missouri Climate Center.