Forecasting 101: First Steps

It's your first day on the job as a forecaster, so what are your first steps to making a wonderful forecast?
 
Answer: Gather the climate data and data from the day before.

Why?: It is very beneficial to know what the "average" temperatures are for that time of year in a particular city. Because the temperatures for the day your are forecasting for are likely to be around that number. Then, after you know the average temperatures you then gather what it was like the day before in that city. Most importantly a forecaster should see where the winds are coming from. I.E. if the winds are coming from the south, as a forecaster you should see what the weather was like south of you because that weather is more than likely working its way up to the city you are forecasting for.

Photo from:
meted.ucar.edu