Mesoscale meteorology course and workshop: 
Deadline for application is 15 January


COMET course for university faculty

The modernization of the National Weather Service (NWS) and its related 
development of new observing systems have generated a heightened interest 
in mesoscale meteorology.  To make use of the new information that will be 
available, it is critical that university faculty be well-informed about the latest 
advances.  The goal of UCARÕs Cooperative Program for Operational 
Meteorology, Education and Training (COMET) is to stimulate improved 
understanding and teaching of mesoscale meteorology at the university level 
so that future operational forecasters will be better prepared.  It is also hoped 
that university faculty taking the course will be better able to conduct and 
mentor effective mesoscale meteorology research.

The course will be held in Boulder, Colorado, 30 May to 10 June 1994Ñ
immediately before a week-long Unidata workshop (see below).  The course 
and the workshop are being designed to complement each other, and it is 
strongly recommended that participants in the course also attend the 
workshop.

The COMET course is geared to faculty members who intend to develop a 
new mesoscale meteorology course at the senior or lowerÐgraduate-school 
level, to improve an existing mesoscale course, or to add a mesoscale 
component to another course.  Their universities should have an active 
undergraduate and/or graduate meteorology program that meets American 
Meteorological Society or NWS minimum requirements (see the Bulletin of 
the American Meteorological Society, volume 68, No. 12, p. 1570; and volume 
74, No. 10).  

The course will include a review of mesoscale processes and how they differ 
from synoptic-scale processes.  Topics to be discussed will include meso-scale 
instability, fronts, jets and jet streaks, topographic phenomena, precipitation 
bands, squall lines, isolated convection, and mesoscale convective complexes.  
Students will participate in a daily weather briefing emphasizing mesoscale 
features.  Integrated into the curriculum will be the interpretation of 
mesoscale phenomena using Doppler radar and other new observing tools, 
use of mesoscale model output, forecasting issues, and the extensive use of 
COMET case studies and workstations to illustrate the lecture material.  
Subjects will be taught by leading experts in each area.  The lead instructor for 
the course will be Fred Carr (University of Oklahoma).  Course content will be 
determined by a steering committee consisting of Carr, Vickie Johnson (chair, 
COMET), Timothy Spangler and Charlie Chappell (COMET), Brad Colman 
(NWS), Mohan Ramamurthy (University of Illinois), and Joseph Klemp 
(NCARÕs Mesoscale and Microscale Meteorology Division, MMM).

Cost of tuition and lodging (at the University of Colorado) will be paid by 
COMET.  The registration fee of $115 will cover course materials; attendees 
pay for travel.  Letters of application should include a curriculum vitae 
containing a list of courses the applicant has taught in the past and is 
currently teaching; a copy of the departmentÕs curriculum and enrollment 
figures; and a statement describing the applicantÕs need for or interest in the 
course and whether or not they also plan to attend the workshop.  
Applications should be sent by 15 January 1994 to Johnson (see page 15).  
There is an attendance limit of 18; applicants will be notified of their selection 
by             1 March 1994.