Onboarding plan
Meteorologist Onboarding Plan (30-60-90 Days)
A practical, printable plan to take a new meteorologist from first day to full productivity.
Meteorologist onboarding at a glance
Week one covers orientation, safety and shadowing. Days 1–30 build vocabulary and supervised practice on core procedures; days 31–60 move to independent work with competency sign-offs; days 61–90 focus on full productivity, cross-training and a credential plan.
Before day one
- Confirm start date, schedule, pay and supervisor in writing
- Verify required credentials: CBM, CCM (as applicable)
- Prepare equipment and access: radar systems; satellite imagery; weather models; AWIPS
- Assign a buddy or preceptor
- Enroll the new hire in Meteorologist training so foundations are covered before or during week one
Week one: orient and protect
- Workplace tour, emergency procedures and incident reporting
- Communicate warnings clearly
- Stay safe when storm spotting
- Follow severe weather plans
- Manage fatigue on shifts
- Shadow an experienced meteorologist through a full shift
- Training modules 1–3: role foundations, a day on the job and essential vocabulary (15 terms)
Days 1–30: learn
Goal: perform core tasks safely under supervision.
- Supervised practice: issue a severe weather warning
- Supervised practice: use ensemble forecasts
- Supervised practice: explain a forecast on air
- Training modules 4–7: duties, step-by-step tasks, tools and safety
- 30-day check-in: confidence, questions and early wins
Days 31–60: contribute
Goal: handle a regular workload independently.
- Analyze weather data: independently
- Run forecast models: independently
- Issue forecasts: independently
- Issue warnings: independently
- Competency sign-offs completed (see checklist below)
- Training final knowledge check and certificate of completion
- 60-day check-in
Days 61–90: own
Goal: full productivity and a growth plan.
- Meet productivity and quality targets for the role
- Begin cross-training on a secondary task
- Agree on a credential goal (for example, CBM)
- Discuss the career path: Meteorologist Intern → Forecaster → Lead Forecaster
- 90-day review
Competency checklist
| Skill or task | Trained | Observed | Signed off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Issue a Severe Weather Warning | |||
| Use Ensemble Forecasts | |||
| Explain a Forecast on Air | |||
| Atmospheric science | |||
| Forecasting | |||
| Radar interpretation | |||
| Numerical models |
How to measure onboarding success
- Time to independent work on instruments or projects
- Documentation or data corrections required
- Rework, out-of-spec results or failed audits
- 90-day retention
How Meteorologist training maps to this plan
- Introduction to the Meteorologist Role
- A Day on the Job
- Essential Meteorologist Vocabulary
- Core Duties and Responsibilities
- Common Tasks, Step by Step
- Tools, Equipment and Technology
- Safety, Compliance and Professional Standards
- Skills Employers Look For
- Launching Your Meteorologist Career
- Final Knowledge Check