Weather vs. Climate. Tucson NWS homepage:

Transcription

1 Weather vs. Climate Tucson NWS homepage:

2 A Weather Forecaster? Betty claims to know exactly when it s going to rain because her knee starts to hurt. Ms. Betty Martin of Newburgh, IN Age 98 X NEWBURGH, IN

3 Definition of Weather Weather: Condition of the atmosphere at a particular time and place. Comprised of:

4 Definition of Weather Weather: Condition of the atmosphere at a particular time and place. Comprised of: Air temperature: Degree of hotness or coldness Air pressure: Force of the air above Humidity: Amount of water vapor in the air Clouds: Water droplets (liquid) or ice crystals (solid) above the surface Precipitation: Water that falls clouds and reaches ground Visibility: Farthest distance one can see. Wind: Horizontal movement of air

5 COTTON REGION SHELTER

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8 Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS)

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11 Surface Station Model (U.S.) Notes: Temperature and Wind Stations outside U.S. use degrees Celsius for temperature Wind barb direction reverses in southern hemisphere. Surface observations typically reported every three to six hours in U.S. at designated observing sites with a three letter identifier (e.g. NWS offices, airports).

12 Surface Station Model (U.S.) Notes: Pressure Leading 10 or 9 is not plotted for surface pressure Greater than 500 = 950 to 999 mb Less than 500 = 1000 to 1050 mb mb mb

13 Sky Cover, Weather Symbols on a Surface Station Model

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15 Surface Pressure Tendency

16 Wind Speed How to read: Half barb = 5 knots Full barb = 10 knots Flag = 50 knots 1 knot = 1 nautical mile per hour = 1.15 mph = 65 knots

17 Wind direction The direction of the barb reflects which way the wind is coming from NORTHERLY From the north WESTERLY From the west EASTERLY From the east SOUTHERLY From the south

18 Eastern Colorado Snowstorm (From UCAR RAP website)

19 What was happening in Colorado? (CNN images)

20 LIMON, COLORADO AMARILLO, TEXAS

21 Limon, Colorado (LIC) Weather conditions STATION IDENTIFIER

22 Limon, Colorado (LIC) Weather conditions TEMPERATURE Temperature: 21 F

23 Limon, Colorado (LIC) Weather conditions Temperature: 21 F Dewpoint: 18 F DEWPOINT

24 Limon, Colorado (LIC) Weather conditions Temperature: 21 F Dewpoint: 18 F Pressure: Not available PRESSURE

25 Limon, Colorado (LIC) Weather conditions Temperature: 21 F Dewpoint: 18 F Pressure: Not available Sky conditions: Overcast SKY CONDITIONS

26 Limon, Colorado (LIC) Weather conditions WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION Temperature: 21 F Dewpoint: 18 F Pressure: Not available Sky conditions: Overcast Wind: North-northwesterly at 30 knots, gusting to 34 knots.

27 Limon, Colorado (LIC) Weather conditions PRECIPITATION Temperature: 21 F Dewpoint: 18 F Pressure: Not available Sky conditions: Overcast Wind: North-northwesterly at 30 knots, gusting to 34 knots. Precipitation: Moderate Snow

28 Limon, Colorado (LIC) Weather conditions VISIBILITY Temperature: 21 F Dewpoint: 18 F Pressure: Not available Sky conditions: Overcast Wind: North-northwesterly at 30 knots Precipitation: Moderate Snow Visibility: Quarter mile

29 Amarillo, Texas (AMA) Weather conditions STATION IDENTIFIER

30 Amarillo, Texas (AMA) TEMPERATURE Weather conditions Temperature: 35 F

31 Amarillo, Texas (AMA) DEWPOINT Weather conditions Temperature: 35 F Dewpoint: 33 F

32 Amarillo, Texas (AMA) PRESSURE Weather conditions Temperature: 35 F Dewpoint: 33 F Pressure: mb

33 Amarillo, Texas (AMA) SKY CONDITIONS Weather conditions Temperature: 35 F Dewpoint: 33 F Pressure: mb Sky conditions: Overcast

34 Amarillo, Texas (AMA) Weather conditions WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION Temperature: 35 F Dewpoint: 33 F Pressure: mb Sky conditions: Overcast Wind: Northwesterly at 10 knots

35 Amarillo, Texas (AMA) Weather conditions PRECIPITATION Temperature: 35 F Dewpoint: 33 F Pressure: mb Sky conditions: Overcast Wind: Northwesterly at 10 knots Precipitation: Light rain

36 Amarillo, Texas (AMA) Weather conditions VISIBILITY Temperature: 35 F Dewpoint: 33 F Pressure: mb Sky conditions: Overcast Wind: Northwesterly at 10 knots Precipitation: Light rain Visibility: Five miles

37 Upper Air Measurements Weather balloons, or radiosondes, sample atmosphere up to 10 mb. They measure: Temperature Moisture Pressure They are tracked to get winds using global positioning satellites (GPS)

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40 Upper Air Station Model (At specific pressure level)

41 500-mb Map:

42 500-mb Conditions at Denver (DEN)

43 500-mb Conditions at Denver (DEN) 500-mb HEIGHT Height of 500-mb Surface: 5620 m

44 500-mb Conditions at Denver (DEN) TEMPERATURE Height of 500-mb Surface: 5620 m Temperature: -20 C

45 500-mb Conditions at Denver (DEN) Height of 500-mb Surface: 5620 m Temperature: -20 C Dewpoint: -22 C DEWPOINT DEPRESSION

46 500-mb Conditions at Denver (DEN) WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION Height of 500-mb Surface: 5620 m Temperature: -20 C Dewpoint: -22 C Winds: Southeasterly at 25 knots

47 Ocean data Drifting and moored ocean buoys. TAO ARRAY TAO ARRAY

48 Aircraft reports

49 IR (10.7 microns) Most commonly used satellite data for daily weather forecasting Water vapor (6.5 microns) Visible (0.63 microns)

50 Geostationary satellite data coverage

51 RADAR =???

52 RADAR (RAdio Detection And Ranging) Principle: Detects reflected radiation emitted for short wavelength radio waves. The degree of reflectivity corresponds with the intensity of precipitation (or what ever else in the beam path).

53 REFLECTIVITY A B C D WHICH RADAR IMAGERY INDICATES THE MOST DANGEROUS THUNDERSTORM? CHOOSE E IF YOU THINK THEY RE ALL EQUALLY DANGEROUS.