22-S16 Introduction to Meteorology – Goodson, Ron

This course will provide a high-level overview of “what makes the weather” ranging from large-scale systems covering entire provinces, down to local regimes. We will follow this with a look at some of the tools used to observe the weather– from your local backyard weather station all the way to satellites hovering 36,000 km above the earth. To predict the future, numerical models combine the observed conditions with physical equations. We won’t delve into the physics, but will discuss some of the strengths and weaknesses of these models. Finally, we’ll see how the meteorologist puts it all together to provide your daily forecast.

 Instructor

Ron Goodson worked for the Meteorological Service of Canada (part of Environment and Climate Change Canada) for 40 years as a development meteorologist creating and training techniques and tools used by operational meteorologists. He specialized in satellite meteorology but with a host of other interests including numerical models applied to Arctic weather patterns and wind regimes.