Newtown Student An Award-Winning Meteorologist

DANBURY — Newtown resident Adam A. King won ninth place in a national weather forecasting challenge for college students as a member of Western Connecticut State University’s nine member “Weather People” team. Adam is a senior at the Danbury-based WestConn, and a meteorology major.

The contest, called the Wx Challenge and sponsored by the University of Oklahoma, drew submissions from 50 colleges and universities nationwide. Many of these schools boast undergraduate enrollment several times larger than WestConn’s.

The Wx Challenge required each participating student to forecast maximum and minimum temperatures, precipitation, and maximum wind speeds for selected cities. This year, students prepared forecasts for specific dates and times for Cape Hatteras, N.C., Great Falls, Mont., Portland, Maine; Peoria, Ill., and Wenatchee, Wash.