One of the goals of K-12 science education is to help future citizens become scientifically literate. Since weather is one of the natural events that people experience constantly, meteorology literacy is critical. Researchers have noted that the public does not understand how the atmosphere works. These misconceptions accumulate over time due to misinterpretation of everyday experiences, oversimplifications in textbooks and media, and incomplete diagrams and analogies. This study uncovered the endurance of meteorological misconceptions, investigating 22 pre-service elementary teachers enrolled in ESS 112 and 38 general education students enrolled in ESS 102, as measured by the Survey of Meteorology Concepts (SMC) as a content pre-and post-test that is undergoing validation through item response theory concepts like item difficulty, item discrimination, and distractor analysis. The researchers found that, although ESS 112 and ESS 102 students perceived the SMC as quite difficult (Diffave = 0.30), ESS 102 students perceived the post-survey as significantly easier (Diffpost = 0.40) than ESS 112 students (Diffpost = 0.28). The findings revealed significant decreases in Lucky Guesses and Unlucky Guesses and increases in correct and high-confidence (Knowledge) answers. The baseline and knowledge gains were lower for ESS 112 students (10% to 17%, t = 3.53, p = 0.001) than for ESS 102 students (14% to 25%, t = 7.21, p < 0.0001). Surprisingly, responses that were incorrect but high-confidence (Misconceptions) increased significantly, with the most increase in the ESS 112 group (14% to 32%, t = 9.68, p < 0.0001) compared with the ESS 102 group (14% to 19%, t = 4.03, p = 0.0002), suggesting that misconceptions persisted but, after completing an earth science class, students have enhanced confidence in these incorrect ideas. The findings aim to strengthen science education by correcting weather misconceptions and guiding effective instructional strategies for improvement.