Guides | Weather Warrior

Game Guides

First Timer’s Guide to Weather Warrior

The “Basics”

This fantasy weather competition tests your skills on a seasonal basis. Each season relates to a certain weather season, whether it’s lake effect in the winter, or a mid-Spring severe threat.
Picks are based off of the big 3 CLI report values, and wind chills/heat index values
Picking farther than a day out will give you higher bonus points! The higher your score, the higher your multiplier will be for your lock.
You can earn bonus points for warnings issued in the US and Canada! That could improve your score by a great deal, sometimes by over 20%.
Each pick is averaged over however many picks you make over the season.
Highest placing competitors play in #MesoscaleMadness, for a shot at bragging rights, and a chance to play in next season’s tournament.

Registration

Registering for the game is really easy, and 100% free. You need just a working email, a PG username, a 4-digit code, and your experience level.
Registering allows you to make picks on a private page, as well as take part in our Weather Warrior Forum with fellow competitors.
You can also sign up for Discord, and talk to competitors there. If you want us to help you set up a Discord account, and invite you to our server, let us know!

Locations

1,000 locations will be at your exposure. You’re guaranteed 900 full-time locations.
100 additional locations pop up on a weekly basis, via a simple algorithm.
Most locations are from NWS CLI reports and 3-day location spots, which you can access on the NWS site, as well as MesoWest or Iowa State MesoNet (IEM)
Some sites are Personal Stations (PWS) that are represented in each NWS zone. Some can be found on Wunderground & MesoWest. Some are from your fellow competitors.

Strategy

The goal is to pick the place you feel will have the worst weather! Think of Barrow in the winter, Phoenix in the summer, or torrential rainfalls in the South in the spring.
You need only 45 picks in 15 weeks! Every 2.3 days, or 3 picks a week.
Use whatever tools you want! Look at models, and trust them like they’re your best friend! Randomize if you’re unsure! Flip a coin, or ask your dog to pick a toy, if you want!
Since you only need 45 picks, there is no need to play every day, nor play absolutely quiet days. That’s unless you want to take advantage of “above and beyond” bonus points.

What Will You Learn or Improve On, By Playing Weather Warrior?

Geography/Climate: You will have a better understanding of regions you haven’t had the experience forecasting before.
Time Management: Time management skills are a must in Weather Warrior. Our pace is a pick every 2.33 days, or 3 picks a week! You can lock far in advance, too!
Scores: Yes, sounds cliché, but if you’re a rookie, learn from your mistakes! If you scored an 80 on a day where you had a high lock and went all in with a certain spot, you can learn from being too aggressive, or by being too conservative.

First Timer's Advice from BoldColdPicker (Founder & Lead Admin)

Play at least to eligibility! Unless you’re the one to play every day, hoping for a minor points boost, then there’s no need to play every day. You only need 45 picks in 105 days!

Don't Force It: Sure, picking every day is pretty nice, but the goal of the game is to try to have the best average. You need 3 picks a week, over a 15 week span.

Don’t overcompensate! Just because you see you may score a 50, doesn’t mean you have to react right away with another pick that may do as bad, or worse. You can use a mulligan on two of your picks, but don’t overcompensate on your misfortunes! It’s okay to take risks, but don’t overly take risks in Weather Warrior.

Pick the spots with the worst weather! Barrow in the winter, Phoenix in the summer, maybe OKC in the spring. Don’t just settle with a biased pick or a rushed pick.

Don’t always use SPC forecasts as options. Looking for that moderate risk is very nice, but you aren’t getting points for it. Precipitation is worth a great deal, so go for the spots that will see more rain, rather than hope for warnings. More on that later.

Lock It In: Take advantage of 3-5 day locks, or even 6+ day ones. You can switch if you need to, but if you want your scores to improve, take risks with higher locks! Only caveat to this is that if you switch, the new multiplier is worth 1/2 of its worth on the new lock.

If there’s absolutely nothing going on for the week, you may need to find creative ways to win. I’d suggest looking at wind ensembles & forecasts for each region. Try to find the highest forecast gust, and pray it happens. You can also use the cold and heat to your advantage, and, at times, points will be super easy to get.

Ask questions! We’re here for you rookies! Do us a solid & ask questions if you have them. If you haven’t made a pick because you’re stuck, ask, and we can help you!

Play seasons you’re interested in!: Do you prefer winter over summer? Are you a severe weather junkie? Then play those seasons. Once registered, you’re in for life. Just put your first pick in for the new season to register for it.

Don’t worry too much about severe warnings: Warnings are just a small fraction of your score. At most, you’ll get 20-25 points off of bonuses on a decent day. It could be half your score, on a low scoring day. It could be 20% of your score, maybe even 5% of your score. Warnings bonuses are put in after the multipliers, so it’s not important to pick a place and hope for disaster. People’s lives are in danger, if you truly think about it.

Gain confidence: If you want to just do one day locks on decent locations, start off with that. Then, once you feel comfortable to pick higher locks, and take more risks, you can go straight to that strategy! Baby steps are all it takes!

Don’t worry if you don’t know the non-US locations well: Trust us when we say that everything is thrown out the window for those picks. It’s worth the risk, though. Ask Panda about his 1700 point day in Airai! Just pick it when you feel safe to, like if there's nothing going on.

Learn as you go: Every pick you make, or season played, is a learning experience. It could be a learning experience on a location, strategy, or where you can and can’t go, over the course of the season! Use everything you learn as you go! You could end up starting off in the bottom 5 in the first month, and ending up Top 10 at season’s end.

Pay attention to the game: Did you see your average at the bottom because you didn’t know Barrow was similar to a cheat code? Then use that to your advantage.

BE INVOLVED: I don’t care if you’re a lurker, or a little shy. Be involved in the forums, chats, etc.. Chat up with your fellow competitors. Sometimes, the people who do the best end up being the most interactive ones. Annoy your competitors all you want! And if you’re socially awkward/anxious, don’t be afraid. We are all welcoming!

Tips for All Players

Manage time wisely: If you’re a student, pick when things aren’t busy! If you’re a pro, find ways to balance your time. You only need 45 picks in 105 days, and you don’t always have to play every season! You just need 3 picks a week, and they sometimes can be done in minutes!
Don't Force It: Same can be said here. Do enough to get by the season! If you need to make extra picks, use it at your risk!

Don’t overcompensate!: Yes, even those who play similar games know exactly what I’m talking about. It relates to you, too! If you score a 50, don’t overcompensate for the next day, where it may also be in the 50s. That’s the worst thing you can do!

Be wise: With needing just 45 picks, make sure you find the spots you feel will do the worst. Don’t see snow or rain? Use winds or a high HDD/CDD to play it smart. Yeah, some stretches will be bland, but you have cold and heat places at your leisure, too!

Mulligan It: You have 2 mulligans to your usage. Save them for the end of the season, as you never know if you end up doing worse with your two mulligans used.

Lock It In: If you want to place better overall, use a higher lock. Higher risk = higher reward. You have 3 tiers of lock bonuses, so be aggressive if you see a spot getting a high raw score, at the time you are planning on locking it in. If you have to surrender the lock, surrender it! You will get a penalty for switching your pick (half of what it would be worth on the lock it’s switched to). Also, there's a penalty where you may end up doing worse than where you switched from. We’ve seen it here, countless times!

If you want to play a certain day, but can’t access the sheet, please give any admin a message or email. We understand life gets in the way, or if your internet ends up being a potato. You can always let us do it for you. Don’t ask us to just pick a place. Have a place ready, even if it’s a 1-day lock on Barrow or Death Valley.

Use whatever tools and strategies you want! We don’t care if you use Pivotal Weather, Ensembles, Forecasts, Randomizers, Coin Flips, or asking your dog to select a treat or toy to influence your pick (it works for bracketology, right?)! Whatever you want! Heck, consult an admin! If we have to talk you out of a pick, we can! Doesn’t hurt to ask, right?

Warnings don’t mean much: As it was said in the first-timer guide, it only counts towards maybe 5-10% of your score, at the very most 20%. It may be a big 10%, but it’s not worth the risk hoping for tornado warnings or dangerous storms, especially when people’s lives are in danger. Take whatever points you can get.

Don’t worry if you don’t know the non-US locations well: Like the rookies, you’re at a disadvantage, most likely! Still use any to your advantage!. You should have basic knowledge on Canada’s climatology and geography. Treat it like you would for Alaska for the polar spots, and the region it borders for just about everywhere else! For Pacific, just hope you get enough for it. Hurricane season? Just pay attention to the track of the storm, and you’ll be fine.

BE INVOLVED!: Do us a solid! Be involved in Weather Warrior on social media, chats, our Discord, forums, etc. People do better if they’re involved. You don’t have to interact every second of the day, but take advantage of it! If questions are asked by admins, give your two cents. Talk about your pick. Ask questions about the game. We’re all here to help! The admins and players are very approachable, and we'll try to help you compete to the best of your ability!.

Have Fun! Whether you’re a rookie, a pro for the NWS, a student, or someone who knows the ins and outs of weather, the #1 objective of the game is to have fun. Don’t ruin it for everyone else, but have fun, learn, understand the game, chat with fellow competitors, and do the best you can! Use everything you see as advice!

Game Guides

First Timer’s Guide to Weather Warrior

​

The “Basics”

This fantasy weather competition tests your skills on a seasonal basis. Each season relates to a certain weather season, whether it’s lake effect in the winter, or a mid-Spring severe threat.

Picks are based off of the big 3 CLI report values, and wind chills/heat index values

Picking farther than a day out will give you higher bonus points! The higher your score, the higher your multiplier will be for your lock.

You can earn bonus points for warnings issued in the US and Canada! That could improve your score by a great deal, sometimes by over 20%.

Each pick is averaged over however many picks you make over the season.

Highest placing competitors play in #MesoscaleMadness, for a shot at bragging rights, and a chance to play in next season’s tournament.

Registration

Registering for the game is really easy, and 100% free. You need just a working email, a PG username, a 4-digit code, and your experience level.

Registering allows you to make picks on a private page, as well as take part in our Weather Warrior Forum with fellow competitors.

You can also sign up for Discord, and talk to competitors there. If you want us to help you set up a Discord account, and invite you to our server, let us know!

​

Locations

1,000 locations will be at your exposure. You’re guaranteed 900 full-time locations.

100 additional locations pop up on a weekly basis, via a simple algorithm.

Most locations are from NWS CLI reports and 3-day location spots, which you can access on the NWS site, as well as MesoWest or Iowa State MesoNet (IEM)

Some sites are Personal Stations (PWS) that are represented in each NWS zone. Some can be found on Wunderground & MesoWest. Some are from your fellow competitors.

​

Strategy

The goal is to pick the place you feel will have the worst weather! Think of Barrow in the winter, Phoenix in the summer, or torrential rainfalls in the South in the spring.

You need only 45 picks in 15 weeks! Every 2.3 days, or 3 picks a week.

Use whatever tools you want! Look at models, and trust them like they’re your best friend! Randomize if you’re unsure! Flip a coin, or ask your dog to pick a toy, if you want!

Since you only need 45 picks, there is no need to play every day, nor play absolutely quiet days. That’s unless you want to take advantage of “above and beyond” bonus points.

​

What Will You Learn or Improve On, By Playing Weather Warrior?

Geography/Climate: You will have a better understanding of regions you haven’t had the experience forecasting before.

Time Management: Time management skills are a must in Weather Warrior. Our pace is a pick every 2.33 days, or 3 picks a week! You can lock far in advance, too!

Scores: Yes, sounds cliché, but if you’re a rookie, learn from your mistakes! If you scored an 80 on a day where you had a high lock and went all in with a certain spot, you can learn from being too aggressive, or by being too conservative.

First Timer's Advice from BoldColdPicker (Founder & Lead Admin)

​

Play at least to eligibility! Unless you’re the one to play every day, hoping for a minor points boost, then there’s no need to play every day. You only need 45 picks in 105 days!

​

Don't Force It: Sure, picking every day is pretty nice, but the goal of the game is to try to have the best average. You need 3 picks a week, over a 15 week span.

​

​

Pick the spots with the worst weather! Barrow in the winter, Phoenix in the summer, maybe OKC in the spring. Don’t just settle with a biased pick or a rushed pick.

​

Don’t always use SPC forecasts as options. Looking for that moderate risk is very nice, but you aren’t getting points for it. Precipitation is worth a great deal, so go for the spots that will see more rain, rather than hope for warnings. More on that later.

​

Lock It In: Take advantage of 3-5 day locks, or even 6+ day ones. You can switch if you need to, but if you want your scores to improve, take risks with higher locks! Only caveat to this is that if you switch, the new multiplier is worth 1/2 of its worth on the new lock.

​

​

Ask questions! We’re here for you rookies! Do us a solid & ask questions if you have them. If you haven’t made a pick because you’re stuck, ask, and we can help you!

​

Play seasons you’re interested in!: Do you prefer winter over summer? Are you a severe weather junkie? Then play those seasons. Once registered, you’re in for life. Just put your first pick in for the new season to register for it.

​

​

Gain confidence: If you want to just do one day locks on decent locations, start off with that. Then, once you feel comfortable to pick higher locks, and take more risks, you can go straight to that strategy! Baby steps are all it takes!

​

Don’t worry if you don’t know the non-US locations well: Trust us when we say that everything is thrown out the window for those picks. It’s worth the risk, though. Ask Panda about his 1700 point day in Airai! Just pick it when you feel safe to, like if there's nothing going on.

​

​

Pay attention to the game: Did you see your average at the bottom because you didn’t know Barrow was similar to a cheat code? Then use that to your advantage.

​

Tips for All Players

​

Manage time wisely: If you’re a student, pick when things aren’t busy! If you’re a pro, find ways to balance your time. You only need 45 picks in 105 days, and you don’t always have to play every season! You just need 3 picks a week, and they sometimes can be done in minutes!

Don't Force It: Same can be said here. Do enough to get by the season! If you need to make extra picks, use it at your risk!

​

Don’t overcompensate!: Yes, even those who play similar games know exactly what I’m talking about. It relates to you, too! If you score a 50, don’t overcompensate for the next day, where it may also be in the 50s. That’s the worst thing you can do!

​

Be wise: With needing just 45 picks, make sure you find the spots you feel will do the worst. Don’t see snow or rain? Use winds or a high HDD/CDD to play it smart. Yeah, some stretches will be bland, but you have cold and heat places at your leisure, too!

​

Mulligan It: You have 2 mulligans to your usage. Save them for the end of the season, as you never know if you end up doing worse with your two mulligans used.

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