ANN ARBOR—The NCAA basketball tournament, also known as the Big Dance, sets the stage for another kind of contest: the Weather Dance.

But this other competition held during March Madness has little to do with basketball?it’s all about predicting which competing campus will be hotter or cooler on scheduled game dates during the NCAA tournament.

“Basically, you’re testing your weather forecasting skills,” said Perry Samson, a University of Michigan professor and associate chair of the Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences Department, who designed the online weather tournament to get people across the country thinking about climate and climate issues.

The winner of this online contest will travel with U-M students and faculty on a week-long tornado chase through tornado alley in Oklahoma and Texas.

“If the winner can come to Ann Arbor, we’ll put them in the van with the other students and they can travel around the country in hopes of getting close, but not too close, to a good-sized storm,” Samson said.

The tornado chase is a yearly student project held in conjunction with students at Texas Tech University. While the dates have not been finalized, most likely the trip will occur in early June, Samson said.

The 2006 Weather Dance is simple and easy to play, Samson said. After the NCAA completes the seeding for both the men’s and women’s teams, people can log on to the Weather Dance Web site and choose campuses. The teams will be entered into the database within minutes of the NCAA seeding announcements, so people can log on almost immediately to begin to make their weather choices, Samson said. The warmer campuses move on to the second round, and so on.

If there is more than one winner, a drawing will be held to determine a final winner. There are 16 autographed books called” Extreme Weather,” by Chris Burt, available as second prizes.

The NCAA has scheduled the seeding for the men on March 12, and the women on March 13. The men’s tournament starts March 14 and the women’s begins March 18.

The winning guest will eat, sleep and ride in the van and experience the terror and exhilaration of storm chasing right along with the students.

“They’ll get the camaraderie, they’ll ride in the van, they’ll pitch tents, eat in dives and greasy spoons along with the students,” Samson said.

More on SamsonMore on the Weather Dance (Users may log on to receive an e-mail when the brackets have been determined.)