Entrants in the contest must be affiliated with a college or university, but they range in age and knowledge from undergraduates to professors. Each year, 13 cities are picked for forecasting; the current city changes every 2 weeks. Contestants forecast 4 days per week for the following day's high temperature (in Fahrenheit), low temperature, and precipitation (forecast by category).

The precipitation categories are:

• 0 -- no precipitation or trace
• 1 -- trace - 0.05", liquid water equivalent, inclusive
• 2 -- 0.06-0.24", inclusive
• 3 -- 0.25-0.49", inclusive
• 4 -- 0.50-0.99", inclusive
• 5 -- >=1.00"

One "error" point is given for each degree of error on temperature, and 4 error points are given for each error in precipitation category.

• 2001-2005: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• 2006: San Jose State University

• List of meteorology awards

• Official WxChallenge Website