A four-hour seminar will introduce the types of thunderstorms and examine why thunderstorms often ‘pop-up’ late on summer afternoons and why some storms have short life-spans while others persist for several hours. 

Understanding & Avoiding Thunderstorms is designed for anyone who enjoys boating in the Great Lakes region –sailors, powerboaters, kayakers, or rowers –and who would like to reduce their chances of a hair-raising or windswept encounter with a thunderstorm.

Learn Key Skills

Some basic weather principles.

How to decode the confusing symbols, color shading, and meteorological shorthand on weather forecast maps.

How to recognize the large and small-scale weather patterns that promote thunderstorm development.

The ingredients needed for thunderstorm development and their life-cycle.

How to forecast the potential and nature of severe weather.

How to use Doppler Weather Radar to assess the development, monitor the evolution, and track the movement of thunderstorms.

The terminology used by the National Weather Service during hazardous and severe weather events.

The seminar combines classroom instruction, case studies, and exercises to create an engaging learning experience.

About the presenter

Mark Thornton has been sailing on the Great Lakes for more than 25 years. He is a 2006 graduate of the Penn State University Certificate of Achievement in Weather Forecasting, a two-year program that develops skills in general, tropical, and severe weather forecasting.