The purpose of Innovative Weather
is threefold. To provide the community with
access to a high level forecast service and opportunities
to work jointly on research topics. To provide students
with an opportunity for direct hands on experience in the
field of meteorology. To fulfill the mission statement
of the University to develop and train students that
will positively impact their communities upon graduation and
engage the community at large.
Innovative Weather began development
in September of 2006 and began formal client services in April
of 2007 beginning with We Energies, the Utility company for
South Eastern Wisconsin. Since that time IW has expanded to
include several major clients in the Great Lakes region including:
We Energies, Alliant Energy, WUWM, Milwaukee Metropolitan
Sewerage District, Lake Express, Boundary Waters Radio, UW-Milwaukee
and University School among others. To support and sustain
this internship and service, Innovative Weather
has developed several opportunities for students to be involved.
We are also currently working on implementing some additional
opportunities with other partners as well. Currently our normal
routine is to bring students into the operation as follows:
Intern -
Typically our interns are wrapping up their sophomore year
or are into their Junior year. There is quite a bit of information
to take in and learn, from the vision of the operation to
the skills necessary to work with clients directly - as well
as work on audio recording. We take the time to work with
our interns in small groups or one on one to develop the skills
necessary to move on to the next level of involvement. Intern
candidates must be declared Atmospheric Science majors at
UW-Milwaukee in at least their sophomore year. Promotion to
operational staff is based on the abilities of the individual
and is at the discretion of the operational leadership. This
is an unpaid position, but pays highly in the experience of
learning how to become an operational forecaster and how to
correctly apply theory to forecast situations.
Operational Intern
- Typically these interns have successfully learned the operational
skills necessary to be successful in the day to day activites
of Innovative Weather. They are actively and successfully
involved in the Atmospheric Science program and are advancing
through the classwork and meteorological theory. At this point
in their development they will have a combination of intern
hours to continue their training, but they will also have
occasional paid shifts where they are responsible for some
of the easier parts in the forecast schedule. They often work
with someone and are working toward becoming a full member
of the operational staff. Typically these individuals are
promoted during the Spring semester of their Junior year.
Operational Staff
- After completeing the full training and after demonstrating
the abilities necessary to reliably work with clients in an
operational setting, interns become paid Operational Staff
for Innovative Weather. These staff positions are scheduled
according to the abilities of the individual forecaster, but
they include the early morning shift where some of the most
important forecast decisions are made, early evening shifts
and the late evening shifts. During the weekends mid day shifts
are worked as well. These individuals experience everything
in the realm of operational meteorology from the excitment
and stress of severe weather, consulting directly with clients
and sharing their forecasts with a radio listening audience
- to the physical ups and downs of early mornings and later
evenings and the emotions that come with putting yourself
on the line for clients who depend on their expertise and
advice.
Research Staff
- Many of our clients have weather problems that can't always
be addressed by the commerical meteorology community and we
are sometimes given opportunities to work on new weather related
research. In these instances, some of our students who may
not be as interested in operational meteorology, but have
a strong interest and ability in research, may be offered
a position as a research assistant to help with work that
will be applied to client problems. These can be for credit,
volunteer and paid positions as the opportunities arise.
Our goal is to responsibly give these students
a real world working environment in which they experience
ALL of what goes into being a professional meteorologist.
We are careful to work within the limits set by the university
and by the student's own abilities to make sure that their
school work comes first with excellence. Upon Graduation,
students who have come through the Innovative Weather program
not only graduate with an Undergrad or Graduate degree, but
also 1-3 years of forecast EXPERIENCE. They
will in fact not be applying for their first job, but for
their second one and the opportunity to put that experience
into the job market along with their strong education, makes
our UWM graduates some of the most sought after. And because
we graduate our staff, there are always new opportunities
for students coming up through the Atmospheric Science program.
If you have any additional questions about the
IW program, please email Mike
Westendorf
Interested in a degree in Atmospheric
Sciences at UW-Milwaukee?
The University of Wisconsin Milwaukee offers
Undergraduate and Graduate degrees in Atmospheric Sciences
(Meteorology) through the Department of Mathematics. The UW-Milwaukee
Atmospheric Science department is staffed by 6 full time faculty
professors who are experts in their fields. With a desire
to have a smaller and focused group of students and faculty
our students have much more direct contact with their professors.
Our faculty has a very strong reputation in the area of research
in atmospheric sciences and coupled with our thorough meteorology
program and now Innovative Weather, the UWM
Atmo group consistently turns out some of the best young meteorologists
in the country.
For more information about a degree in Atmospheric
Science (Meteorology) please visit our Department
home page.
For more information on career opportunities
in Meteorology, please
check out this link.
