Enhancing public awareness of climate through a COMET outreach project

Many of the devasting weather events that occurred during the past three years have been attributed to either the 1997-98 El Niño or the 1998-2000 La Niña, in some cases without merit. Because of their profession, the authors received numerous inquiries from the media and civic organizations regarding the significance of El Niño and La Niña on local and regional weather events. In order to provide appropriate responses and enhance public awarness of the relationships between El Niño/La Niña and weather events across the Midwest, the authors participated in a Cooperative Program for Operational Meteorology Education and Training (COMET) Partner's Project. This paper details the educational outcomes of this joint work. The first objective of this project was to promote a better understanding of the impact of El Niño and La Niña episodes to National Weather Service (NWS)-prepared weather forecasts for the general public and specific user communities. Secondly, educational benefits were drawn from the partnership between Purdue University and the NWS forecasters. Specifically, through seminars and joint research activities, NWS forecasters were able to take advantage of the expertise at Purdue University and apply their new knowledge in operational forecasting and public outreach activities. Also, three university students actively engaged in research as part of their educational objectives and made substantial contributions to the project goals. Finally, several specific case studies were undertaken to provide opportunities for sharing results with other operational and academic organizations. The methodology of this project served as a cornerstone for developing on-going research and training activities for the entire National Weather Service operational staff. This paper will discuss educational aspects of this continuing professional development series (PDS) that involves both the university and operational communities.