The 1-Day Basic Meteorological Understanding course is designed to facilitate an understanding of some basic meteorological concepts for persons without a background in meteorology.  It serves as background for understanding atmospheric processes and as well as the interpretation of weather systems in the Southern Hemisphere, and is regularly presented to new members of staff and key stakeholders.  Primarily, the course seeks to;

  • Promote a basic level of meteorological and climatological understanding
  • Promote an understanding of the different types of weather instruments and various weather data collection tools, as well as to
  • Improve the interpretation of SAWS products

The course included presentations on the following areas of focus;

  • The structure and composition of the atmosphere
  • The characteristics of surface and upper air circulation
  • The classification of different cloud types and precipitation associated with them
  • Understand how the meteorological data information is collected, and how it is used in the compilation of a weather forecast, and
  • Interpretation of the weather forecast issued by the Weather Service.