Contact: Maridith Geuder
Neither Miami hurricanes nor Montana snows or Texas' ever-changing skies could dampen a Mississippi State team in that most arduous of assignments--weather forecasting.
The recently concluded National Collegiate Forecasting Contest pitted the skills of 40 university teams over a 20-week period. Sponsored annually by Pennsylvania State, the 2004 challenge drew a total of nearly 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students and faculty members.
Beginning last September, the 38-member MSU student group worked to foretell conditions for cities across the continental U.S. They obviously did well, with a first-place award going to senior operational meteorology major Lora J. Wilson, a third-place overall award presented to the team and a first-place inclusion among the top five forecasters' division.
Wilson, a Mesquite, Texas, resident, defeated nearly 600 undergraduate participants for the top honor. In addition to her highest individual student ranking:
--Half of the MSU team finished in the top 10 percent of judging; and
--Three MSU faculty participants placed in the top 2 percent.
"In each of the selected cities, we used computer models during a two-week period to forecast daily high and low temperatures, as well as precipitation," explained assistant professor Michael E. Brown. Teams are ranked according to the accuracy of each city's forecast, as well as in overall team averages and top five forecasters' average, he added.
"This competition is set up to be as difficult as it can be," Brown said. "There is a wide diversity of climatic conditions, from very tropical with the potential for hurricanes to the northern potential for very heavy snow.
"We feel our students do so well because our program is very applied," the veteran meteorologist said. "They forecast all the time."
MSU offers academic programs in both operational and broadcast meteorology. The latter is the only one of its type in the nation that trains on-air weathercasters in the science of meteorology.
Wilson said one of the most difficult forecasting areas was her own Lone Star State. "I thought it would be among the easiest, but it was a real challenge," she observed with a laugh.
An aspiring meteorologist scheduled to graduate in December, Wilson said the student challenge is especially daunting since most involved are forecasting conditions for areas they've never visited.
"That was the difficulty and, also, the fun," she said.
For MSU, forecasts were required for Miami, Fla.; Calumet City, Mich.; Los Angeles; Billings, Mont.; Chicago; St. Louis; Binghamton, N.Y.; Reading, Calif.; Norfolk, Va.; and Wichita Falls, Texas.
NEWS EDITORS/DIRECTORS: For more on MSU's recent achievements in weather prognostication, telephone Brown at (662) 325-2906.