The course was designed in line with WMO Marine Weather Forecaster Competences requirements. Accordingly the following skills were taught:
- Interpreting satellite imagery and products to identify potentially dangerous phenomena
- Using satellite altimeters and scatterometers
- Use of NWP in waves and swell forecasting
- Identifying characteristics of waves and swell
- Monitoring sea ice characteristics
- Identifying non-routine weather conditions
- Using forecasting model outputs in hazardous conditions
The course was mainly asynchronous, with expert guidance provided by staff from ECMWF, KNMI and DMI, supported by facilitators from IPMA, DHMZ and ECMWF. Elaboration of a showcase was the course main task. Facilitators and experts provided feedback about the showcase evolution after each milestone, and whenever it was requested.
Thirty forecasters, 25 from Europe, attended the course. Participants worked in all meteorological areas around Europe, the south Atlantic, the Antarctic and the Indian Ocean.
Major outcomes:
Participants reported that they will apply skills acquired during the course to their job and recommend the course to their fellow colleagues.
Due to their quality, experts selected seven showcases to be published in the Image Libray on the EUMETSAT website.
From discussions in the course forum problems in buoys metadata were identified and will be addressed. More data was included in EUMETrain ePort-Pro.