1. USPS® Weather Course Introduction
The USPS Weather Course is a basic meteorology course.
The focus is on weather systems affecting the U.S.
You will learn:
The fundamentals of weather dynamics.
How to observe the weather and analyze weather data.
The aim is to make you
weather-wise.
Wx08 Introduction – Introduction
Introduce yourself.
The Weather Course has been for decades a core part of the USPS elective courses curriculum.
The safety and comfort of those who venture out on the water is weather dependent.
Mariners have always been fascinated by the weather. The advances of modern science add to this fascination.
The USPS® Weather Course is a basic meteorology course.
The focus is on weather systems affecting the U.S.
You will learn:
The fundamentals of weather dynamics.
How to observe the weather and analyze weather data.
The aim is to make you weather-wise.

2. USPS® Weather Course Introduction Course Materials
The basic course materials are:
USPS Weather Manual (Wx2008, Revised Edition 2012)
Three Daily Weather Maps
NOAA/NASA Sky Watcher Chart
The optional Captain’s QuickGuide Onboard Weather Forecasting:
is used in the USPS Weather Seminar; and
serves in this course as
a handy summary of basics; and
an onboard and field reference
Wx08 Introduction – Course Materials
Make sure everyone has the student kit of course materials.
Go over the basic course materials.
USPS Weather Manual (Wx2008 – Revised Edition 2012)
Three daily weather maps (1 Oct., 2 Oct. and 3 Oct.)
NOAA/NASA Sky Watcher Chart
Describe the optional Captain’s QuickGuide Onboard Weather Forecasting:
The guide is used in the USPS Weather Seminar.
The guide serves in this course as:
a handy summary of basics; and
an onboard and field reference
Take orders for the guide.
In addition to the course student manual, we recommend that the instructor hand out the SkyWatcher Chart and the weather maps for 1 October, 2 October, and 3 October at the beginning of the course. The back of the 1 October weather map contains a description of all the station model symbols.

3. USPS® Weather Course Introduction Manual Chapters
1–The Atmosphere: Temperature and Heat
2–Wind, Pressure, and Waves
3–Water, Humidity, and Fog
4– Stability, Clouds and Precipitation
5–Thunderstorms, Tornadoes, Lightning, and Optical Effects
6–Mid-latitude Weather and Storms
7–Tropical Weather and Storms
8–Forecasting
Wx08 Introduction – Manual Chapters
Briefly review the contents of the manual.
1–The Atmosphere: Temperature and Heat
2–Wind, Pressure, and Waves
3–Water, Humidity, and Fog
4– Stability, Clouds and Precipitation
5–Thunderstorms, Tornadoes, Lightning, and Optical Effects
6–Mid-latitude Weather and Storms
7–Tropical Weather and Storms
8–Forecasting

4. USPS® Weather Course Introduction Manual Appendices
A–Glossary
Words in italics in the manual are defined in the weather glossary.
B–Homework and Exercise Answers
Homework questions are organized by sub-topics.
All homework questions and answers are in Appendix B to make review easy.
Wx08 Introduction – Manual Appendices
Briefly review the contents of the Appendices.
A–Glossary
Words in italics in the manual are defined in the weather glossary.
B–Homework and Exercise Answers
Homework questions are organized by sub-topics.
All homework questions and answers are in Appendix B to make review easy.

5. USPS® Weather Course Introduction Final Exam
A typical USPS closed-book exam
100 multiple-choice questions
Most of the questions will come from the homework
The exam will cover only the first 7 chapters.
There will be weather scenarios to analyze.
The passing grade is 80%.
Everyone will do well by reviewing:
the concepts listed at the end of each chapter; and
the homework questions and answers.
Wx08 Introduction – Final Exam
The final exam will be a typical USPS closed-book exam:
100 multiple-choice questions
Most of the exam questions will be based on the homework questions (about 80%)
The exam will cover only the first 7 chapters.
There will be weather scenarios to analyze.
The passing grade is 80%.
Everyone will do well by reviewing:
the concepts listed at the end of each chapter; and
the homework questions and answers. Appendix B has been included to make review convenient.
Additional final exam advice for instructors: 
Mid-Latitude Storm: Continuing a USPS weather course tradition, every exam includes the ten questions in the Chapter 6 homework based on a frontal mid-latitude storm figure (questions 20 – 29).
Scenarios: While there will be two of the traditional “forecasting” scenarios on the exam (e.g., “Your cruiser is 50 miles east of….”), the analysis required to answer the three questions based on each scenario does not require any of the additional information contained in Chapter 8. At the end of Chapter 7, in addition to regular homework questions, there are “Weather Scenario” practice questions.
Station Models: Unlike exams for previous weather courses, station model questions deal only with temperature, dew point, pressure, pressure tendency and wind speed and direction. There are no questions about other symbols such as precipitation, cloud type or cloud cover.
Temperature Conversions: There are no exam questions that require students to convert Fahrenheit degrees to Celsius degrees or vice versa (i.e., no questions like Chapter 1 homework questions 10 and 11 will be on the exam).