VAWS – Exploring Alaska’s Weather and Environment through Online Courses from COMET MetEd

Speakers: Amy Stevermer, Scientist, and Patrick Dills, Scientist, The COMET Program, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

About the webinar: Alaska is a place of remote areas and harsh environmental conditions, where conventional weather observations (surface, upper air, and radar) are often not available or are limited for adequately depicting weather phenomena. This presentation highlights online training courses offered through COMET’s MetEd website, providing up-to-date information about capabilities and products for meeting high-latitude observation challenges. Satellite imagery and other products address needs for detecting and monitoring weather and environmental conditions and for improving forecasts that help mitigate the risks posed by hazards, including extreme cold, high winds, wildfires, changing sea ice conditions, storms, and both coastal and inland flooding.

Bios: Amy Stevermer is a scientist and program lead at UCAR/COMET. She is involved in efforts to develop e-learning across multiple Earth system science topics and is committed to expanding overall environmental and science literacy for audiences from local to global. She brings a background in atmospheric sciences and technical communication to projects aimed at helping people effectively use weather, water, and climate information.

Patrick Dills is a scientist and meteorologist with The COMET Program in Boulder, Colorado, where he has contributed deep knowledge on satellite products and their use over the past 30+ years. In his role, Patrick provides guidance and satellite remote sensing expertise to COMET online lessons and courses that focus on satellite capabilities and applications for operational forecasters, as well as other interested users and learners.