Welcome to the WKU Meteorology blog! The main goal of this blog is to create a medium for WKU Meteorology students to write forecast discussions related to short- and medium-range weather with a primary emphasis on events that may affect the mid-south region. The objective is to give these students an opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skill of weather forecasting from the prediction of upcoming winter storms, arctic outbreaks, and severe weather to discussions of recent research in climate change to seasonal forecasts based on El Nino.
The genesis for this blog occurred during the Fall 2006 semester when I utilized the discussion board feature of Blackboard in my Synoptic Meteorology course to engage my students in a discourse on weather events that occurred during the semester. As our Meteorology program continued to grow, I allowed students to take over the weekly forecast discussions to give them experience publishing their forecasts.
A secondary objective of this blog is to advertise the activities of the WKU Meteorology, especially the annual storm chase trip in the Plains with Dr. Durkee. The students on the chase write daily forecast discussions and provide pictures of the weather phenomena they encounter on the road.