Meteorology

Fall 2025 Newsletter

Millersville University's Meteorology program is a nationally recognized leader in the atmospheric and climate sciences.  Our innovative curriculum goes beyond traditional meteorology, but also offers cutting-edge courses in space weather, air quality, water resources, data analytics, and emergency management. Our students often enhance their expertise by pursuing minors in complementary fields such as Emergency Management, Hydrology or Ocean Sciences preparing them for dynamic careers that span science, technology, and public safety.  Our graduates enter the workforce as knowledgeable, skilled, and confident professionals ready to tackle the challenges of a rapidly changing planet.

Our program conforms to the American Meteorological Society's Guidelines for a Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology/Atmospheric Science. It satisfies the National Weather Service GS-1340 requirements and can adequately prepare a student for the pursuit of an advanced degree in graduate school. As a 72-credit program, students should expect to take courses regarding various aspects of earth science and meteorology as well as a mixture of calculus, statistics, and physics courses.

This rigorous curriculum enables our graduates to make a real impact across a wide range of industries.  Our alumni thrive in roles such as educators and academic researchers, government scientists and policy advisors, private sector analysts and consultants, as well as on-air meteorologists at TV stations nationwide.  More than half of our graduates work in operational forecasting, and just a few of their employers include The Weather Channel, AccuWeather, WeatherWorks, Versar, and numerous branches of the National Weather Service.  

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undergraduate meteorology student participates in science policy colloquium

For Millersville University meteorology student Liam McGrath, the student of the atmosphere extends well beyond forecasting weather - it reaches all the way to the halls of Congrass. McGrath, an undergraduate pursuing a B.S. in Meteorology with a strong interest in climate and science policy, was selected to participate in the American Meteorological Society’s 2026 Science Policy Colloquium (May 31-June 5, 2026) in Washington, D.C., an opportunity seldom experienced by an undergraduate. For more than two decades, the intensive program has brought together scientists and professionals from academia, government, and the private sector to explore how scientific knowledge becomes public policy, with participants engaging federal officials, congressional staff, policy experts, and leaders across the weather, water, and climate enterprise. For McGrath, pictured with fellow participants in front of the U.S. Capitol, the experience was transformative. 

"The colloquium shaped my career options and broadened my views. The experience was inspiring, and I plan to use what I have learned to help advocate for science and shape the future of weather and climate policy." His participation exemplifies what distinguishes Millersville's nationally recognized Meteorology program: an education that reaches beyond traditional atmospheric science and encourages students to understand how science intersects with society, public decision-making, climate policy, and emerging areas such as space weather. McGrath was the only undergraduate student participant at this selective Policy Colloquium, and his experience was made possible by Dr. Sepi Yalda working with the AMS Policy Director, Dr. Paul Higgins. Experiences such as the AMS Science Policy Colloquium give Millersville students something particularly valuable - the opportunity not simply to learn the science, but to envision themselves helping determine how that science serves society.

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summer research experiences and internships for multiple meteorology majors

Six Millersville University Meteorology students participated in unique research opportunities during Summer 2026. These internships help prepare students for the workforce or graduate school by giving them hands-on experience prior to graduation. 

From left-to-right, pictured above are students Nicole Morris, Lauren Tushar, Emily Werley, Ciara Longo, Melanie Jones, and Tim August. Morris had the opportunity to expand her knowledge of the world of broadcast meteorology through 14-week internships at WGAL News 8 in Lancaster, PA, and WFMZ-TV 69 News in Allentown, PA. She refined her forecasting skills through collaboration with the meteorologists on duty, which were used in the process of updating and creating new on-air graphics. She was also able to become a published author through communication of weather through written discussions, current event write-ups, and climatology pieces. She also engaged with others through social media posts and went out for live shots in the field. Morris's skills were also broadened through her work on the chromakey, which also went into developing her reel, as well as her contributions to the on-air meteorologist during live newscasts during severe weather, such as working the tracking tools and opening storm reports. She is excited to continue her internship with WGAL News 8 into the fall semester and looks forward to expanding her skillset and gaining further insight into the world of broadcast.

Tushar accepted an internship opportunity with the nonprofit company Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay as a Watershed Conservation Intern while also doing the partnered internship with the Penns Valley Conservation Association (PVCA). She worked under the Forestry Team in State College, PA. Lauren ushed her outdoor skills and knowledge to aid Riparian Forest and Stream Buffer maintenance and research, which incorporates Plant ID, Meteorology of the region, and the local Hydrology. She also had the chance to write and publish multiple articles and blogs for the company newsletter, as well as participate in key species research. She completed a Capstone Research Project on Evapotranspiration of a mature native PA Forest and if her company's average buffer site fit research averages. Their results were entirely within the range of other published research. 

Werley completed an internship with the National Weather Service's Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center (MARFC) as part of being selected as an Ernest F. Hollings scholar in 2025, where she focused on evaluating the accuracy of river stage forecasts. Her work involved analyzing forecast verification metrics across different lead times and thresholds using Python and Google Sheets to evaluate the performance of river stage forecasts. Werley developed an interactive website displaying graphical forecast verification metrics and created an ArcGIS Online map to visualize how these metrics varied across forecast locations, lead times, and thresholds. Her work provided a closer look at how hydrologic forecasting is evaluated and how data analysis and geographic information systems can be used to better understand river and water systems.

Longo participated in the Unifying Innovations in Forecasting Capabilities Workshop in July 2026 which took place at the College Park Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in College Park, Maryland. This workshop provided an excellent opportunity for community partners across academia, industry, and government to collaborate in a shared mission to advance forecasting capabilities. The objective of the workshop was to strengthen the understanding of the collaborative efforts to improve the Unified Forecast System (UFS), accelerate meaningful contributions, and measure progress more effectively. For Longo, it provided a unique opportunity to attend trainings that helped her learn more about the programming aspects of these models. The workshop also provided the setting for Longo to network and connect with professionals and other students. 

Jones interned at the National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, Oklahoma, as a part of the William M. Lapenta NOAA Student Internship Program. The 10-week program gave Jones the opportunity to complete and orally present a scientific project titled "Observations of Near-Surface Shear Across Convective Environments." She worked under the mentorship of Dr. Elizabeth Smith and Dr. Joshua Gebauer. Outside of her project, she attended several lectures from NOAA employees and leaders. The Lapenta program allowed Jones to expand her network and scientific research capabilities and was an overall fantastic opportunity that she is extremely grateful to have been able to participate in.

August received an NSF REU through the University of Maryland-Baltimore county UMBC in collaboration with NASA Goddard. The focus of his research project was to examine the diurnal evolution of cloud fraction and surface meteorological variables across convective regimes over the Amazon Rainforest. August analyzed atmospheric observations that were collected during the GoAmazon field campaign event and investigated how cloud development and surface weather conditions evolve before different types of convective events. He found it to be a very valuable experience that helped strengthen his coding skills. August also networked with professionals at NASA Goddard and toured the facilities.

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Meteorology Students chosen as noaa ernest f. Hollings Scholars

The Hollings Scholarship is awarded to approximately 130 undergraduate students for two years of full-time study and a 10-week summer internship at a NOAA facility. The Hollings Scholarship program was established in 2005 in honor of Senator Ernest F. Hollings - a champion for ocean policy and conservation - of South Carolina. Intended to bolster undergraduate training in NOAA mission sciences, as well as increase environmental literacy, the award provides recipients with hands-on, practical experience in NOAA-related research, technology, policy, management, and education. Read more about the Hollings Scholarship Program >>

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