The University of Washington has long boasted one of the country’s top programs in atmospheric sciences. Now, the UW is also teaching undergraduates how to share that knowledge online and on TV as a broadcast meteorologist.

The Media & Meteorology class, launched in winter quarter, is open to students from across the university who are taking or have passed a prerequisite introductory courses in atmospheric sciences.

“We’ve been talking about this idea for a few years now, and it’s exciting to launch this course,” said primary instructor Shannon O’Donnell, the lead forecaster at KOMO-TV. O’Donnell graduated from the UW with a degree in atmospheric sciences.

“Communication of weather information is important for societal decision-making,” said co-instructor Cliff Mass, a UW professor of atmospheric sciences. “The range of communication options for weather information — television, online and social media, smartphones and more — has greatly changed over the past two decades, and students must learn to master their various tools.”

In the new class, students will learn to communicate weather information in a number of ways, including the use of a “green screen” — a bright-green screen that forecasters stand in front of while talking and gesturing, with maps and graphics added digitally.

“It’s surprisingly hard to work in front of the weather wall,” O’Donnell said. “It’s kind of like a funhouse mirror where things feel awkward and backward. You see the green behind you, and then you have TV monitors to the side. You have to look at the monitor to see the graphics.”

While some stations have gone to large digital screens, many newsrooms prefer the green screen because it offers better-resolution graphics.

“The reason why we still go to all that trouble is it still looks so much more crisp on TV,” O’Donnell said.

The course also covers the history of broadcast journalism and provides practice presenting on TV, radio and online. Follow the students’ forecasts on Twitter at @TheUWDawgcast.