On behalf of our sponsors, parent organization, and our staff, welcome to the COMET website. Here you will find information on who we are, what we do, and links to our various online resources.
The COMET® Program is a world-wide leader in support of education and training for the environmental sciences, delivering scientifically relevant and instructionally progressive products and services. We are a talented team of dedicated individuals producing quality educational materials since 1989. We're proud of our accomplishments of the past 20+ years and look forward to continue serving our diverse user community for years to come.
Dr. Rich Jeffries, Director
Visit the Director's Page to learn more about Dr. Jeffries.
MetEd and our most recent publications
The MetEd website, one of COMET's primary undertakings, hosts hundreds of hours of education and training material for the geosciences. Below are our most recently published modules with links to the site.
Tephigram Mastery
Since the advent of rawinsonde observations, thermodynamic diagrams have been used by meteorologists to analyze sounding data in the course of preparing their weather forecasts. This module comprehensively examines the use of the tephigram, widely used for...
Climatology for the Operational Forecaster
Climate information can be used as guidance for a range of weather-dependent operations. This module summarizes the Climate Analysis Process, a series of steps for determining which climatological products and data will be most useful for a specified application....
Advances in Space-Based Nighttime Visible Observation
This one-hour module explores the types of atmospheric and surface features that can be observed at night. It describes recent technical improvements in nighttime visible imaging with the Suomi NPP VIIRS Day/Night Band and the lunar phases and other conditions...
Introduction to Ensembles: Forecasting Hurricane Sandy
This module provides an introduction to ensemble forecast systems with an operational case study of Hurricane Sandy. The module concentrates on models from NCEP and FNMOC available to forecasters in the U.S. Navy, including NAEFS (North American Ensemble Forecast...
Forecasters' Overview of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea
This module provides an introduction to the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea for weather forecasters. It focuses on major aspects of the geography, oceanography, and climatology. Geography covers major political boundaries, cities, ports, topographical features,...
Topics in Dynamic Meteorology: Pressure Gradient Force
This module is a learning object on a foundational aspect of dynamic meteorology, the pressure gradient force. As a learning object, it is meant to supplement other teaching material in a course by elucidating a specific concept. The horizontal pressure gradient...
Fire Weather Patterns in Australia: Southeast Australia
The module illustrates the typical synoptic pattern influencing fire weather in southeast Australia. A case study provides insight into how experienced forecasters combine the four key ingredients—wind, temperature, dew point temperature, and fuel state—to...
GOES-R ABI: Next Generation Satellite Imaging
This extension of the COMET module “GOES-R: Benefits of Next Generation Environmental Monitoring” focuses on the ABI instrument, the satellite's 16-channel imager. With increased spectral coverage, greater spatial resolution, more frequent imaging, and...
Tropical Severe Local Storms
The module provides a brief overview of severe local storms in the tropics. Basic ingredients for thunderstorms and assessment of thunderstorm potential from soundings are described. Then properties and hazards of ordinary thunderstorms, multicellular thunderstorms,...
Tropical Mesoscale and Local Circulations
This interactive module is part of an online university-level tropical synoptic meteorology course, which helps international meteorologists meet basic instructional requirements. In the module, we discuss: Mesoscale, thermally-forced circulations (i.e....
