I hope everyone is having a great summer so far! I am pleased to announce that the Campus Weather Service (CWS) General Meeting for the semester has been scheduled and set: Sunday, August 26th @ 7pm in Room 22 Deike Building. I will send out an additional reminder prior to the start of TOTEMS and another before the actual meeting.

 

For freshmen, transfer students, and anyone else new to the meteorology program, here is a synopsis of what Campus Weather Service does:

 

Forecasting: Are you looking to bolster your forecasting skills while providing a reliable service to our clients across the state of Pennsylvania? CWS provides our members numerous opportunities to get involved with forecasting shifts which are the backbone of our day-to-day operations. Forecasting shifts are typically led by the most experienced juniors and seniors (and sometimes ambitious and advanced sophomores) in the department. Whether you're a timid freshmen, an transfer liberal arts major or someone with limited forecasting knowledge, everyone becomes a better forecaster as part of our forecasting team. Additionally, forecasting shifts run throughout the day; I can guarantee at least one forecasting shift will fit nicely into your schedule.

 

Video/Radio Products: If forecasting is the backbone of our operations, then the products we produce for our numerous clients is the heart and soul of what we do. Most of our members start off in a daybreak communications shift - you get the opportunity to produce recorded and live radio broadcasts, on top of recorded video forecasts, immediately and in a (relatively) stress free environment! Once you get a feel for the communications end of our work, CWS also has opportunities to move up and produce products such as our daily CNET broadcast that airs across central Pennsylvania each night. Like our forecasting shifts, communications shifts are led by our most experienced and ambitious members.

 

Severe Weather: If you're one of those people that incessantly refreshes the SPC's severe weather outlook, or just gets really excited at the thought of a severe thunderstorm, then you'll enjoy this aspect of our operations. A handful of our members who volunteer to cover severe weather events are responsible for calling our clients when a severe weather threat is imminent - if you're monitoring the weather as frequently as someone in a NWS office, you'll make an immediate impact in this part of our operations.

 

Technology: Campus Weather Service has maintained a state-of-the-art website for several years and is constantly improving. If web-design or information-technology are of interest to you, you will also have an opportunity to get involved in maintaining and developing our website. 

 

I invite you to become a part of the host of multimedia we currently run:

 

Our public Facebook group -  https://www.facebook.com/groups/192334417484243/ 

Follow us on Twitter - @PSUWeather

... and of course, our website:  http://cws.met.psu.edu/ or www.campusweatherservice.com

 

Overall, you'll have an excellent chance to gain real-world skills, boost your resume, contribute to an organization with 40+ years of reputable service, and get to make friends among fellow weather enthusiasts. I hope to see many new faces as well as returning members, and I hope everyone enjoys their last few weeks of summer!