AMS Short Course on Python for Synoptic Meteorology Using MetPy
6 January 2019, Phoenix, AZ
The AMS Short Course on Python for Synoptic Meteorology Using MetPy will be held
on 6 January 2019 preceding the 99th AMS Annual Meeting in Phoenix, AZ.
Preliminary programs, registration, hotel, and general information will be posted on the
AMS Web site ( www.ametsoc.org ) in mid-September 2018.
The use of the Python programming language has grown immensely over the past decade
and has become an essential tool within education, research, and industry within the
atmospheric sciences. This course aims to go beyond a basic Python introduction and
help attendees advance their ability to apply Python to practical problems in meteorology
through hands-on exercises. As a more intermediate workshop, this workshop assumes a
basic knowledge of Python syntax and some familiarity with scientific Python libraries like
NumPy and Matplotlib.
The goal of the course is to have attendees learn how to apply Python to practical
meteorology problems through use of the MetPy library. They will gain experience
accessing remote datasets, using MetPy to calculate derived quantities, and plotting these
quantities on weather maps, including station plots. Synoptic meteorology serves as a
backdrop for these activities, with motivating examples for case studies such as
visualization of satellite imagery, quasigeostrophic/isentropic analysis, and soundings.
This course is extensively hands-on through the use of Jupyter notebooks and will consist
of one day of interactive lecture sessions with incorporated exercises that will be
completed during the short course. In addition, the afternoon sessions will be aimed at
developing Jupyter notebooks that will launch each attendee to bring something tangible
home from the course.
The instructors for the course are: Dr. Ryan May, UCAR/Unidata, Dr. John Leeman, UCAR/Unidata, and Dr. Kevin
Goebbert, Valparaiso University.
Internet access will be available for this course.
Computers and laptops will not be available, but are required for this course. Windows,
MacOS, and Linux operating systems are generally supported. Participants will be
emailed installation instructions for the course Python environment in advance of the
course.
For more information please contact Ryan May at UCAR/Unidata, 3090 Center Green
Drive, Boulder, CO 80301 (tel: 303-497-8679; email [email protected] ).
All short course/workshop attendees must register and wear a badge/ribbon. Short course/workshop registration is not included in the 99th Annual Meeting registration, and short course/workshop registration does not include registration for the 99th AMS Annual Meeting.