The MetEd website, COMET’s signature offering, is a free collection of hundreds of training resources intended for the geoscience community. We deliver over 240,000 hours of online education each year in disciplines such as aviation weather, climate, convective weather, emergency management, hydrology, numerical modeling, satellite meteorology and winter weather, among many others.
A variety of MetEd lessons are translated in multiple languages. COMET partners with many international stakeholders and is sponsored by global agencies such as, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC), National Science Foundation (NSF), World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and many more.
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Latest MetEd Publications
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Applied NWP Course: Framework Synthesis
Throughout the Applied NWP course, you have been introduced to multiple different portions of the framework for applying your knowledge of NWP to a forecast situation. In this lesson, you will recognize the "moments" in your forecast process where you can add value with this framework. You will follow a forecast process and interact with the course framework “moments” while accounting for your client’s needs and producing an informed probabilistic forecast from multiple days of model runs. This lesson is the sixth in the Applied NWP Course series developed in coordination with the Meteorological Service of Canada/Environment and Climate Change Canada.
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Monitoring Harmful Algal Blooms and Sargassum with Satellite Products
Sargassum and Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) are both algae that can cause significant disruptions to coastal communities. These disruptions include negative impacts on human health, tourism, fishing, navigation and coastal ecosystems. The integration of satellite data in the monitoring of HABs and Sargassum allows users of the products access to up-to-date information. Satellite data provides measurements at spatial and temporal scales that are not possible with in situ measurements, allowing for early warning of blooms and more informed decision making. This training will explore both phenomena (Sargassum and HABs) and the satellite-based products available to monitor them. Learners will practice using satellite-based products to monitor Sargassum and HABs in three case studies: Lake Erie, the Washington Coast and Barbados. Some familiarity with products and indices used to monitor Sargassum and harmful algal blooms will be useful but is not essential for this lesson.
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Math for Weather and Climate: Interactive Tool for Divergence and Vorticity
The weather and climate are interpreted, modeled, and predicted through math. However, connecting the meteorology with the math is often challenging for learners. This interactive tool helps the learner to explore the math involved in two key concepts in weather and climate; divergence (the expansion and spreading out of a wind field) and vorticity (the spin of a wind field). Note, this tool is not designed to be a full-lesson. Rather it is designed as a stand-alone resource that can be incorporated into a lesson or used alone to explore the concepts.
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Monitoring Water Levels with the NOAA Coastal Inundation Dashboard
As sea levels change, the need to identify ongoing or forecasted coastal flooding is growing with the increased frequency of flooding. The NOAA Coastal Inundation Dashboard is a tool that informs the user about historical, current, and forecast water-levels, coastal flooding, and the associated impacts. Coastal decision makers and meteorologists can use the tool to better understand and prepare for the effects of coastal flooding and examine the increased frequency of flooding. In this lesson, learners will work through three different scenarios in which they will need to use the Dashboard to identify areas of current or predicted flooding, analyze current elevated water levels in the context of historical events, and relate water levels with on-the-ground impacts. Learners will also practice communicating this information to different parties.
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Mesoanalysis Challenge: Monitoring Atmospheric Stability
This 10-minute lesson highlights the use of the GOES-R Day Cloud Phase Distinction (DCPD) RGB to assess atmospheric stability and implications for convective development. This lesson addresses the following primary performance components from the WMO Competency Framework Satellite Skills: 3.3.2 Identify and locate convective environments and areas of instability, convective initiation, inhibition and the breakdown of inhibition.
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Freezing Spray Science
Freezing spray is a common cold season hazard that can lead to dangerous impacts for vessels and objects in the water. Freezing spray can be hazardous in both the open ocean or in freshwater, such as on the Great Lakes. The lesson covers the necessary background information on freezing spray and what meteorological conditions are favorable for freezing spray development. Learners are able to test their knowledge in two scenarios for freezing spray in Alaskan waters and in the Great Lakes. Learners are introduced to various tools and techniques, such as the Overland Method, to evaluate freezing spray potential during a forecast period.
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Freezing Spray Communication
In this lesson the learner will need to use their knowledge of freezing spray forecasting when appropriately communicating freezing spray warnings and associated impacts to users. Impact-based Decision Support Services (IDSS) are forecast advice and interpretive services the National Weather Service (NWS) provides to help core partners make decisions when the weather impacts the lives and livelihoods of the American people. Being able to relay critical information regarding prevailing conditions and warnings can help mariners make decisions that save lives and protect property. This lesson will give learners the opportunity to test their communication skills using operational examples focused on the Alaska region and the Great Lakes.
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Evaluate the Temporal Evolution of Weather Risk
Forecasting and communicating the impacts of severe weather events can save lives. In this learning simulation, learners focus on monitoring and evaluating how the weather risk evolves over time as the hazardous event moves closer to impacting a region. The practice activities follow WMO guidelines for risk assessment and communication. Learners will analyze data and use impact risk tables to issue both graphical and written forecasts to users. Learners will work through four time steps leading up to the event, making critical forecasting decisions each time. The final activity in the lesson is a communication simulation with a disaster manager in which learners practice helping them to make informed decisions. It is recommended that learners work through “Communicating Risk: The Impact-based Forecast and Warning Services Approach” and “Analyzing and Evaluating Risk” lessons before starting work on this lesson.
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Applied NWP Course: Probabilistic Weather Scenarios
The amount of statistical data you receive as a meteorologist can be overwhelming, even when you are familiar with statistics and data distribution characteristics. All solutions produced by NWP should be considered plausible, but some solutions are more probable than others, and can be more easily understood within broader possible meteorological scenarios. In this lesson, you’ll explore how to understand statistical outliers, bimodal and multimodal distributions, and “clusters” of possible forecast scenarios within the context of timing, location, and magnitude differences in various weather systems and their modeled outcomes. These concepts can help you target opportunities where you can add value to your forecasts. This lesson is the fifth in the Applied NWP Course series developed in coordination with the Meteorological Service of Canada/Environment and Climate Change Canada.
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Applied NWP Course: Distribution Characteristics
In this lesson, you will learn how to effectively apply Ensemble Prediction System (EPS) data distribution characteristics and statistical information to routine forecast situations. Knowing the distribution type, such as a normal distribution, as well as distribution shape characteristics, such as skewness, can provide valuable forecast likelihood and uncertainty information. You will be introduced to a framework to evaluate how distribution characteristics can be used to add value to the forecast, and will apply those concepts to a few operational examples to test your skills. This lesson is the fourth in the Applied NWP Course series developed in coordination with the Meteorological Service of Canada/Environment and Climate Change Canada.