Come Rain or Shine: Understanding the Weather

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45,518 enrolled on this course

5 weeks
3 hours per week
Digital certificate when eligible
Open level

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Uncover the forces behind the UK’s forecasts

Weather affects our lives every day—from what we wear to how we travel and what we eat. But why is it so often rainy, changeable, or surprisingly sunny in the UK?

On this course, you’ll explore the physical processes behind the UK’s distinctive weather patterns, through practical activities, weather experiments, and outdoor investigations.

Watch course experts carry out engaging demonstrations—from creating clouds and simulating rising air to illustrating the Coriolis effect. Then, get hands-on with weather map interpretation before understanding the difference between weekly and seasonal weather forecasts.

Learn the basics of weather and British weather maps

Begin by exploring key weather concepts, including the difference between weather and climate, and how pressure systems shape UK conditions. Learn to read weather maps as used by the Met Office, identifying features like depressions, cold fronts, and jet streams — and develop your ability to interpret UK forecasts.

Understand air masses, precipitation, and Earth’s energy balance

As you progress, you’ll learn about the formation of air masses and how they impact British weather, from Saharan heat to Arctic chills, and explore how precipitation forms in our varied regional climates.

With hands-on activities, you’ll gain the skills to understand physical processes and climate trends.

Explore tropical weather systems and global impacts

You’ll wrap things up by examining the fascinating world of tropical weather systems, including El Niño, monsoons and tropical cyclones, and their impact on weather in the UK.

By the end of the course, you’ll have a solid grasp of weather fundamentals, improved map-reading skills, and a sharper insight into the systems that shape Britain’s ever-changing skies.

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Skip to 0 minutes and 6 seconds The weather is all around us. It affects what we eat, it affects what we wear, it affects just about every industry and every leisure activity. The weather is constantly in the news so when there’s a major weather event, particularly an extreme weather event, people want to hear about it because it affects their lives. Today here at the University of Reading’s atmospheric observatory we’re lucky enough to have a pretty nice day. The sun’s shining, it’s quite cold but the weather’s good. But what affects the weather? What makes it rain? What makes it windy? Or sometimes even what makes it sunny? These are the sorts of things that we’re going to explore in this course.

Skip to 0 minutes and 39 seconds We’re going to learn something about the processes that underlie the weather that we see every day. We’re going to do that through a combination of written material, online searches and practical demonstrations.

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.

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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?

This course is for anyone interested in learning about the weather, whether you’re a beginner or have some prior knowledge.

It’s ideal for Met Matters or Weather Watchers members, geography teachers in the UK, or anyone looking to deepen their understanding of weather forecasts.

Who will you learn with?

Peter Inness

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.

Sylvia Knight

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.

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Ways to learn

Choose the best way to learn for you!

Buy this course

$79/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

Continue & Upgrade

Subscribe & save

$349.99 for one 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

Start learning today

Free

Try this course - with limits

Limited to 5 weeks

Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades)

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