Digital Meteorology in the Classroom: Building a Comprehensive Course

The rapid rise of digital media has transformed how weather and climate information is disseminated and consumed. This includes elevated potential for the spread of misinformation and disinformation, as weather content has grown increasingly decentralized. The American Meteorological Society has responded with several initiatives to elevate the visibility of effective, reliable digital meteorologists, including the new Certified Digital Meteorologist (CDM) Seal program. Incorporating digital meteorology into the university curriculum thus represents an important step in developing the next wave of weather, water, and climate professionals. Notably, this presents an opportunity to hone students’ communication skills without the need for a dedicated broadcast studio, or costly equipment and software associated with the traditional broadcast meteorology setting.

We present an initial review of the incorporation of digital meteorology into the day-to-day operations of the UND Weather Update student organization. In recent years, the group has produced two daily traditional weathercasts posted to Facebook, Instagram, and UND’s Department of Atmospheric Sciences website. We first highlight new endeavors the group has taken on during the Fall 2024 semester, including an expanded social media portfolio, range of content creation, and cost-effective tools used to produce the content. We then evaluate the success of these initiatives through both social media data analytics and student engagement, involvement, and retention. Our findings create an initial blueprint for what a successful course could look like in digital meteorology. These insights also inform a forthcoming manuscript presenting recommendations for the continued growth of digital meteorology in research, operations, and educational settings.