Frequently Asked Questions

Here are a few Frequently Asked Questions by many forecasters. Please check here first for answers to your questions before contacting a manager. If your question can not be answered within the following information, please contact a manager by using the online E-mail form.

General Contest Questions

Q.	What are the rules for the contest?
A.	There are many rules for the contest. Please see the Rules page for more information.
Q.	Who is eligible to participate in the contest?
A.	All undergraduate, graduate, and Ph.D. students, faculty, and staff of a higher education institution are eligible to participate in the contest. In the future, this contest may be open to lower education institutions and the public, but currently only higher education institutions may participate. For more information on eligibility, please see the appropriate section on the Rules page.
Q.	How much does it cost to participate in the contest?
A.	There is a small fee of $2.50 per semester or $4.00 per year to participate in the contest. This fee is used towards trophies, plaques, mailing costs, and other administrative costs. The entry fee does not go towards any scholarship awards. For more information on eligibility, please see the appropriate section on the Rules page.
Q.	What are the awards for winning within the contest?
A.	There will be trophies awarded to the top forecasters in each city and for the Final Four participants of the tournament. Additional trophies may be awarded based on funding availability.
Q.	How do I sign up for the WxChallenge?
A.	You may signup for the WxChallenge at the beginning of each semester. Please contact your school's local manager to sign up. You may find your school's local manager contact information on the Contact page. If your school does not have a local manager, please visit the Sign Up page for more information.
Q.	What is my Category number?
A.	Your category number is a number designating your general meteorological knowledge. The categories are: 1 - Faculty/Staff/Professional, 2 - Graduate (Masters and PhD) students, 3 - Senior and Junior students, and 4 - Sophomore and Freshman students. By breaking the forecasters into categories, it allows a more fair competition (i.e. a freshman does not have to compete against a PhD student).
Q.	How do I enter a forecast?
A.	To enter a forecast, you must visit the forecast entry page. There are instructions on the page that describe the entry process. Please note that a forecast is not considered valid unless it has been saved and the forecaster sees the "Thank You" screen.
Q.	What time is 00 UTC or 06 UTC?
A.	Depending on your time zone and the time of year, certain UTC times will vary. Please view the UTC to local conversion table if you are unsure of how to convert your local time to UTC time.
Q.	Is the team consensus score the same as the team score?
A.	No. The team consensus score is the average of all human forecasts during each day of each period. The team score utilizes a weighted scoring system described in the Scoring section (Team Scores sub-section) of the rules page.

Contest Problems or Errors

Q.	There is an error in my forecast. What can I do?
A.	All forecast information is logged internally. If there is an error in your forecast, please contact the WxChallenge Manager via the online E-mail form with your error.
Q.	There is an error in the verification numbers. Who do I contact?
A.	If you find an error in the verification of a forecast, please contact the WxChallenge Manager via the online E-mail form with the incorrect verification number and the correct verification number. Please also send verification data (i.e. a METAR) showing the correct verification number.
Q.	I can not enter a forecast. What is the problem?
A.	There can be many things that may cause a forecast not to be entered. Please make sure that your username and password are correct and that you have selected the appropriate school. If these items are valid, please check the error messages on the pop-up window to see what other problems are occurring. If you do not see the pop-up window, please see the appropriate question below in the Technical Support section. If you still are having problems, please contact the WxChallenge Manager via the online E-mail form with a detailed description of your error.
Q.	I lost/forgot my password. How do I find out my password?
A.	If you have lost or forgotten your password, please use the online Password Retrieval page to have your password emailed to your registered e-mail address.
Q.	My registered e-mail is incorrect or has changed. How do I update this information?
A.	If you wish to change your registered e-mail address, please contact the WxChallenge Manager at manager@wxchallenge.com using your registered e-mail address and state the new address you wish to use. If you do not send the request from your current, registered email address, the change can not be processed.

Technical Support

Q.	What are the web browser requirements for the website?
A.	The website is compatible with Firefox 1.0.6, Internet Explorer 5 & 6 (Windows), Explorer 5.2 (Mac), Mozilla 1.4, Safari 1.0, and Opera 7.20. The website utilizes Javascript, Java applets, and Pop-up windows, so those features need to be enabled (or allowed for this site) for the website to work properly.
Q.	My web browser is blocking the pop-ups on this website. How do I allow pop-ups to be allowed for this website only?
A.	There are many different types of web browsers and pop-up blocking software. Please see the documentation for your web browser and/or pop-up blocking software on how to allow pop-ups to be displayed for a particular site. It is not safe to turn off a pop-up blocker, but it is safe to allow particular sites (e.g. wxchallenge.com) to bypass the blocker if you know that the site utilizes safe pop-up windows. In some cases, a third party software pop-up blocker (i.e. Dell, AOL, SBC, Norton, etc.) may also be turned on. Make sure that all pop-up blockers are set correctly.
Q.	My pop-up blocker has detected pop-ups on this site. Are they safe?
A.	The pop-up windows on this website are safe. There are no ads or spyware running on this site. The pop-up windows are used to display forecast information to the user.
Q.	What activities are being logged on the website?
A.	Information on times, locations, registered computer names, IP addresses and other public information is being logged as your use the website. These activities are used to determine any improper behavior and are for the security of the forecasters and the contest.