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

Description:
The Advanced Fire Weather Forecasters Distance Learning Course addresses advanced training needs of Incident Meteorologists (IMETs), Fire Weather Program Leaders (FWPLs) in NOAA's NWS weather forecast offices (WFOs), and Regional Program Managers. These individuals are responsible for maintaining local fire weather programs and supporting all-hazards incidents onsite including wildfires, hazardous material releases, and incidents of national significance.

Estimated time to complete: 90 min

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Description:
The Distance Learning Aviation Courses (DLAC) are a series of self-paced lessons, units, and cases. These materials are designed to help aviation forecasters improve both their ability to forecast aviation hazards and to write better terminal aerodrome forecasts (TAFs) that convey these hazards to aviation forecast customers. In addition, the course website (accessed from the Distance Learning Aviation courses link above) contains a resource page with links to a number of tools, papers, and links that are useful to aviation forecasters.

Estimated time to complete: 19-22 h

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Description:
Aimed at those who do not have formal training in hydrology, this course is designed to address the needs of non-hydrologists who work with hydrologic data, particularly in flood forecasting. The course is intended to provide an understanding of the complex interactions between the waters of the land and atmosphere and will prepare the student for further study in this area.

This course consists of an orientation, eight foundation topics and two case study modules. The orientation provides an overview of all the components of the course. The introductory foundation topic provides a basic background on fundamental concepts in the hydrologic sciences. Other foundation topics focus on specific areas of the hydrologic sciences, covering terminology and assumptions as well as critical processes and considerations for hydrologic forecasters. Case study modules integrate foundation material into realistic forecast situations.

Course certification requires completion of the seven core topics which takes about eight to ten hours.

Special interest foundation topics address hydrologic processes that involve snow and ice, and may also be considered required topics for many regions even though they are not core topics. Related topics are not specifically part of this course but provide important material related to hydrologic forecasting.

Estimated time to complete: 10 - 12 h

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Description:
Este curso está diseñado para las personas sin capacitación formal en hidrología que trabajarán con datos hidrológicos, especialmente para pronosticar crecidas. El objetivo del curso consiste en brindarle los conocimientos necesarios para comprender las complejas interacciones entre las aguas terrestres y atmosféricas, y prepararle para profundizar sus conocimientos en este campo.

Este curso comprende una orientación, ocho temas fundamentales y dos módulos con casos de estudio. La orientación presenta en términos generales todos los componentes del curso. El tema fundamental introductorio proporciona información básica sobre los conceptos esenciales de hidrología. Los demás temas fundamentales exploran áreas específicas de la hidrología y cubren terminología y suposiciones, así como procesos y factores esenciales para el pronóstico hidrológico. Los casos de estudio integran el material de los temas fundamentales en situaciones de pronóstico realistas.

Para obtener el certificado de finalización del curso en español debe terminar los cinco temas centrales, lo cual lleva entre 6 y 8 horas. Aunque los dos módulos de casos de estudio no son un requisito para obtener el certificado del curso en español, recomendamos su estudio.

Los temas fundamentales de interés especial explican los procesos hidrológicos relacionados con nieve y hielo, y pese a que no forman parte de los temas centrales, en muchas regiones pueden considerarse temas obligatorios. Los temas relacionados no forman parte de este curso específicamente, aunque aportan material importante relacionado con los pronósticos hidrológicos.

Estimated time to complete: 6-8 h

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Description:
This distance learning course provides ocean forecasters with a solid foundation for more advanced study in oceanography. The three modules that comprise this course provide introductions to tides, currents, and ocean models.

* Introduction to Ocean Tides provides an introduction to the origin, characteristics, and prediction of tides.
* Introduction to Ocean Currents discusses the origin of ocean currents in both the open ocean and in coastal areas.
* Introduction to Ocean Models discusses how models combine observations and physics to predict the ocean temperature, salinity, and currents.

Estimated time to complete: 4-5 h

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Description:
The Mesoscale Meteorology Primer is a Web-based distance learning curriculum designed to improve understanding and forecasting of mesoscale weather phenomena. The primer is collection of modules that use streaming audio, conceptual animations, and frequent interactions. The modules fall into two types: short conceptual Foundation Topics describing basic physical processes and forecasting tools, and longer modules that address specific mesoscale weather phenomena. These longer modules present a realistic forecast scenario, interactions, and a final exam.

Originally conceived by instructors in the U.S. Navy and Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), the participants also include meteorologists and multimedia developers from the COMET Program and the Air Force Weather Agency. Individual modules will take from 30 minutes to 2 hours to complete. When complete, the Mesoscale Meteorology Primer will contain approximately 26 modules.

Estimated time to complete: varies by choice of modules

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Description:
This self-paced course discusses the principles of major mountain weather concerns with the aim of improving the prediction of sensible weather in areas with complex terrain.

The course organizes relevant modules and Webcasts on the MetEd Website into three parts: Foundation Topics, Core Topics, and a Case Study. By using our Registration & Assessment system, you can track your progress in the course and receive a course completion certificate.

Estimated time to complete: 9-12 h

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Description:
Forecasters must have an understanding of the general methodology of numerical weather prediction in order to develop realistic expectations for guidance produced by operational models. This series of Web-based modules explains how numerical models are designed and implemented, and will help forecasters interpret model guidance through an understanding of model constraints and features. The course will also be valuable for upper-division and graduate meteorology students wanting a deeper understanding of how atmospheric processes are modeled. The course contains six modules and will take approximately 16-20 hours to complete. Individual modules will take from 1 to 4 hours. A final exam helps you gauge your learning.

Estimated time to complete: 16-20 h

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Description:
The COMET® Program Program presenta los módulos que integran este curso de Repaso de Meteorología Aeronáutica para apoyar las necesidades de educación continua de los pronosticadores aeronáuticos a nivel internacional. Los varios módulos o secciones de módulos que se enumeran en la página de Organización del curso fueron elegidos por ser algunos de los materiales más útiles que COMET ofrece para las satisfacer las necesidades de formación en el campo de pronóstico aeronáutico. El sitio web de MetEd incluye muchos otros módulos que pueden resultar de utilidad para los especialistas individuales según su ubicación geográfica, su experiencia en el campo de pronóstico y su nivel de conocimiento de hidrometeorología.

Además de este curso de repaso, COMET piensa ofrecer colecciones adicionales de módulos para atender a las necesidades de los pronosticadores internacionales. A medida que se creen, se anunciarán en este sitio.

Objetivos del curso
El objetivo de enseñanza de este curso consiste en proporcionar la oportunidad de repasar ciertos temas escogidos relacionados con el tiempo convectivo, la niebla y la visibilidad, la meteorología tropical, la meteorología sinóptica, la meteorología de mesoescala, las operaciones de pronóstico aeronáutico, el engelamiento en aviación y algunos temas pertinentes sobre el clima. Lea los objetivos específicos que se incluyen en la descripción de cada módulo en la página de Organización del curso.

Estimated time to complete: ~48-52 h

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Description:
The modules in this Review of Aeronautical Meterology course are being offered by The COMET® Program to serve the continuing education needs of international aeronautical forecasters. The modules and module sections listed in the Course Outline have been chosen as the most useful materials COMET offers for aeronautical forecasting training needs. Many additional modules from the MetEd Website may be useful for individual forecasters, depending on their geographic locations, degree of forecasting experience, and current level of hydrometeorological education.

Objectives:
The instructional objective for this course is to provide a review of selected topics related to convective weather, fog and visibility, tropical meteorology, synoptic meteorology, mesoscale meteorology, aeronautical forecast operations, aviation icing, and some pertinent climate topics. Please see the specific objects related to each module under the individual descriptions on the Course Outline page.

Estimated time to complete: ~48-52 hours

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Description:
This self-paced course discusses the basic principles of warm season convective weather with the aim of improving the prediction of significant and severe convection.

The course organizes relevant modules and Webcasts on the MetEd Website into two sections: Core Topics and Advanced Topics. By using our Registration & Assessment system, you can track your progress in one or both parts of the course and receive a course completion certificate.

Estimated time to complete: 16-22 h

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Description:
This course is composed of five core topic elements. It begins with a Webcast introducing forecasters to typical marine forecast customers and their wind and wave concerns. The second module discusses wave traits and how they change once they become swell. It serves as building block to the subsequent modules on wave generation, propagation, and dispersion. The Wave Life Cycle I: Generation module examines how wind creates waves and the inter-relationships between wind speed, wind duration, and fetch length. Following that module, Wave Life Cycle II: Propagation & Dispersion, teaches marine forecasters to manually predict how wave height and period change as waves leave their generation area, become swell, and then propagate and disperse. The final element of the course is a resource guide primarily intended for experienced forecasters that may be new to marine forecast responsibilities. The guide highlights differences between the marine boundary layer and terrestrial boundary layer winds. Course certification requires completion of these five core topic elements which takes 7 - 9 hours.

Estimated time to complete: 7 - 9 h

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Description:
This course provides two separate learning paths through modules and webcasts available on MetEd, reviewing key topics in winter weather forecasting. By using our Registration & Assessment system, you can track your progress in one or both parts of the course and receive a course completion certificate.

Estimated time to complete: 8-9 h

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