Come Rain or Shine: Understanding the Weather
Understand and explore the physical processes behind the weather
44,697 enrolled on this course
Duration
5 weeksWeekly study
3 hours100% online
How it works
Come Rain or Shine: Understanding the Weather
Weather affects our lives almost every day through what we wear, what we eat and what we do. But why is it rainy, windy or sometimes even sunny? Explore some of the physical processes driving UK weather systems and get hands on in the world of weather with practical activities and fieldwork. Try your hand at forecasting and have a go at interpreting weather maps and compare your results with our educator, Dr Sylvia Knight’s. You’ll also watch our educators carrying out simple but effective experiments including creating clouds, simulating hot air rising and demonstrating the Coriolis effect.
You’ll then move on to explore the global controls on weather and climate, looking at Earth’s energy budget and the factors that influence it. You’ll learn about global atmospheric and oceanic circulation and discover how and why the weather in the Tropics differs from that in the UK, before studying other weather systems such as Monsoons, Tropical cyclones and El Niño/La Niña.
Syllabus
Week 1
Low pressure systems
Welcome to the course
Find out about what you will be learning, who will be guiding you and how the course is taught.
Depressions and how they form
Learn about low pressure systems, what depression are and how they form in mid-latitudes.
The Coriolis Effect
Discover what causes wind and how its direction is affected by the Earth's rotation.
Review and Reflect
Reflect on what you've learnt this week and explore online teaching resources related to the topics covered in Week 1.
Week 2
Weather maps, sting jets and jet streams
Welcome to Week 2
Find out what will be covered in Week 2.
Weather maps
Learn how to read a weather map using depression data in a series of exercises.
Jets, conveyors and faster cold fronts
Look in more detail at the movement of air within and around a depression and explore some associated weather features.
Review and Reflect
Check your understanding with an end of week quiz and take a look at online teaching resources related to the topics covered in Week 2.
Week 3
Air masses, rain, snow and high pressure
Welcome to Week 3
Find out what will be covered in Week 3 of Come Rain or Shine.
Air masses
Learn about the six air masses which can affect the weather in the UK before trying to identify air masses on a weather map.
Types of rain
Find out more about frontal, orographic and relief convective rainfall and explore a case study.
Anticyclones
Move on to look at high pressure weather systems - anticyclones - and how they affect UK weather.
Review and Reflect
Check what you've learnt with an end of week quiz and discuss the weather you've experienced recently in the light of what you've covered.
Week 4
Global controls on weather and climate, and fieldwork
The Earth's energy budget
In Week 4, you'll move beyond the UK and learn about the factors that determine the global climate.
The Earth's energy budget: part 2
Explore how time, volcanoes and people impact the Earth’s energy budget and therefore the weather and climate.
Fieldwork
Try recording weather data yourself, using readily available equipment or items you can find at home.
Review and Reflect
Check what you've learnt with an isoline exercise before looking ahead to the final week.
Week 5
Tropical weather systems
Welcome to Week 5
Find out about the weather systems you'll be learning about in Week 5 and get to grips with oceanic and atmospheric circulation.
El Niño, monsoons and tropical cyclones
Discover how the excess of energy within the Tropics impacts the types of weather systems that form in this part of the world
Review and reflect
Contribute to this course's record of weather around the world and understand the principles of forecasting before reflecting on what you've covered in Week 5 and exploring resources to continue your learning.
When would you like to start?
Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.
Available now
Learning on this course
On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...
- Interpret synoptic charts and use them to describe weather details such as wind speed and direction, precipitation and cloud cover.
- Explore depressions and discover why they are so significant in mid-latitude locations such as the UK.
- Investigate the physical processes behind weather, such as warm air rising, cloud formation and the Coriolis effect with experiments you can do at home.
- Record your local weather conditions and share your findings.
- Reflect on the processes that affect the Earth’s atmosphere and therefore climate, both natural (volcanoes, orbit) and man-made (greenhouse gases).
- Apply your understanding of mid-latitude weather systems to analyse weather data and images.
Who is the course for?
You don’t need any existing knowledge of meteorology, just an interest in learning about the weather. This might appeal to you if you’re signed up to Met Matters or Weather Watchers. There should be something for everyone – whether you are coming to the course with a fair amount of previous knowledge, or none at all. If this is the first time you’ve taken a meteorology course you may find some of the content challenging, but don’t worry there will be plenty of help available.
It also might appeal to you if you’re a geography teacher. For example, the amount of time devoted to weather within the English National Curriculum and GCSE and A level specifications has hugely increased; this course will help improve your confidence to teach the topics and may also be directly relevant to your students, some of whom may consider a career in meteorology.
Course image used with permission of NEODAAS/University of Dundee.
Who will you learn with?
I am a lecturer in the Meteorology Department at Reading University.
Prior to joining the University I worked for the Met Office in several different roles.
Head of Education for the Royal Meteorological Society - which involves supporting weather and climate teaching throughout the UK. I've got a physical Natural Sciences degree and PhD in meteorology.
Who developed the course?
University of Reading
The University of Reading has a reputation for excellence in teaching, research and enterprise.
The Royal Meteorological Society
The Royal Meteorological Society is the professional and learned society for weather and climate.
Endorsers and supporters
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| Choose the best way to learn for you! | $134/one-off payment | $244.99 for a whole year Automatically renews | Free |
| Fulfill your current learning need | Develop skills to further your career | Sample the course materials | |
| Access to this course | tick | tick | Access expires 16 Nov 2024 |
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| Learn at your own pace | tick | tick | cross |
| Discuss your learning in comments | tick | tick | tick |
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Cancel for free anytime |
Ways to learn
Choose the best way to learn for you!
Subscribe & save
$244.99 for a whole year
Automatically renews
Develop skills to further your career
- Access to this course
- Access to 1,000+ courses
- Learn at your own pace
- Discuss your learning in comments
- Digital certificate when you're eligible
Cancel for free anytime
Buy this course
$134/one-off payment
Fulfill your current learning need
- Access to this course
- Learn at your own pace
- Discuss your learning in comments
- Printed and digital certificate when you’re eligible
Limited access
Free
Sample the course materials
- Access expires 16 Nov 2024
Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades) Sale price available until 31 October 2024 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply. | |||
Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades)
Sale price available until 31 October 2024 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply.
Learning on FutureLearn
Your learning, your rules
- Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
- Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
- Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores
Join a global classroom
- Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
- Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
- Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others
Map your progress
- As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
- Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
- Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate
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