Teaching Weather Elements Syllabus

Course Description: This two-week module is designed to train you, the new Air Force weather instructor, on how to teach our initial skills course (ISC) Airmen on the science and art of forecasting weather elements. You have subject matter qualified in the dynamics of the atmosphere and how to analyze and do a prognosis on the atmosphere. Your students will also have successfully measured out in these areas. Your job, after this module is completed and you are fully subject matter qualified, will be to train our ISC Airmen on how to make a terminal aerodrome forecast (TAF).

After successfully completing this course, students should be able to do the following:

1. Teach ISC Airmen how to forecast winds.

2. Teach ISC Airmen how to forecast clouds.                                        

3. Teach ISC Airman how to forecast the visibility.            

4. Teach ISC Airmen how to forecast precipitation and other obstructions to vision. 

5.Teach ISC Airmen how to forecast temperature.

6. Teach ISC Airmen how to forecast flight hazards.

7. Teach ISC Airmen on how to use weather numerical models to help in the forecast process.

Week, Day

Topics/Readings

Activities

1.Day 1

Topics:
a. Introductions

b Initial Assessment activity                            

c. Forecasting Winds

Activities:
1. Introductions with your weather background       

2. Initial test                          

3. Winds forecasting exercise

1. Day 2

Topics:
a. Atmoshperic Dynamics Review          

b. Forecasting Clouds

Activities:
1. Student-led training

2. Cloud forecasting exercise

1. Day 3

Topics:
a. Forecasting Visibility 

Activities:
1. Student-led training                 

2. Visibility forecasting activity

1. Day 4

Topics:
a. Forecasting precipitation.               

b. Forecasting other obstructions to vision.

2. Day 1

Topics:
a. Forecasting  temperature                                                

b. Forecasting atmospheric pressure.

Activities:
1. Student-led training

2. Temperature and pressure forecasting exercise

2. Day 2

Topics:
a. Forecasting turbulence       

b. Forecasting low level wind shear     

c. Forecasting icing.
 

Activities:
1. Student-led training

2. Flight hazard forecasting exercise

2. Day 3

Topics:
a. Weather Numerical Model Introduction                    

b. Forecasting weather elements with model assisit.
 

Activities:
1. Instructor-led training

2. Initialization/Verification

3. Using model to enhance forecast exercise 

2. Day 4

Topics:
a. Developing TAF reasoning

b. The art of the TAF

Activities:
1. Break into groups of three or four.     

2. Annotate Forecast Worksheet (sound reasoning).     

3. Encode a TAF based on that reasoning.