Question 1: Use the appropriate formula to convert the following temperatures. Feel free to use this handy
temperature calculator by the National Weather Service:
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/epz/?n=wxcalc_tempconvert
20°C = 68 °F
-25°C = -13 °F
59°C = 138.2 °F
72°F = 22.22 °C
98.6°F = 37°C (body temperature)
0°C = 273.15 °K
Question 2: Analyze the meteogram from New Orleans, LA (KMSY) below and answer the
following. Remember that time is in UTC at the bottom.



What time (New Orleans time) was the warmest temperature reading for September 12, 2012?
87°F
What was the daily mean temperature on this day? 84°F
What was the daily temperature range on this day? 82°F -87°F
Question 3: Next you are going to analyze yearly temperature means and ranges for specific locations
around the world. NOTE: Think of the controls of temperature (i.e. latitude, land/water distribution, ocean
currents, altitude, geographic location) and how that might influence the temperature of these locations.
Salt Lake City, Utah (Continental interior location)
Jan
28
Feb
34
Mar
40
April
50
Yearly Mean Temperature
Yearly Temperature Range
May
58
Jun
67
Jul
76
Aug
74
Sept
65
Oct
53
Nov
38
Dec
32
Jun
68
Jul
70
Aug
73
Sept
72
Oct
65
Nov
63
Dec
59
Jun
80
Jul
82
Aug
82
Sept
81
Oct
77
Nov
70
Dec
68
Jul
60
Aug
55
Sept
44
Oct
26
Nov
4
Dec
.7
Jul
66
Aug
63
Sept
52
Oct
40
Nov
29
Dec
20
51.25
28 - 76
Los Angeles, California (Coastal location)
Jan
55
Feb
57
Mar
59
April
59
Yearly Mean Temperature
Yearly Temperature Range
May
64
63.66
55 - 73
Miami, Florida (Coastal location)
Jan
66
Feb
68
Mar
70
April
73
Yearly Mean Temperature
Yearly Temperature Range
May
77
74.5
66 - 82
Fairbanks, Alaska (Coastal location near arctic)
Jan
-11
Feb
0.5
Mar
10
April
27
Yearly Mean Temperature
Yearly Temperature Range
May
47
Jun
59
26.85
-11 - 60
Moscow, Russia (Continental interior location)
Jan
14
Feb
15
Mar
24
April
40
Yearly Mean Temperature
Yearly Temperature Range
May
53
Jun
62
39.83
14 - 66
McMurdo Station, Antarctica (Continental interior location in Southern Hemisphere)
Jan
24
Feb
15
Mar
5
April
-9
May
-11
Jun
-12
Jul
-15
Aug
-15
Sept
-12
Oct
-2
Nov
14
Dec
25
Yearly Mean Temperature
Yearly Temperature Range
.58
-15 - 25
Benghazi, Libya (Continental interior location in Sahara Desert of Africa)
Jan
55
Feb
57
Mar
63
April
66
Yearly Mean Temperature
Yearly Temperature Range
May
72
Jun
75
Jul
78
Aug
79
Sept
78
Oct
75
Nov
66
Dec
59
68.58
55 - 79
Question 4: Go to NOAA’s website at
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/globalextremes.html#hightemp to analyze historical temperature and
precipitation extremes globally. List the three hottest places ever recorded in the world.
Continent
Temperature
Place
Elevation
Date
Africa
136
El Azizia, Libya
367
9/13/1922
North America
134
Death Valley, CA -178
7/10/1913
Asia
129
Tirat Tsvi, Israel
-722
6/22/1942
List the three coldest places ever recorded around the world.
Continent
Antarctica
Asia
Asia
Temperature
-129
-90
-90
Place
Vostok
Oimekon, Russia
Verkhoyansk,
Russia
Elevation
11220
2625
350
Date
7/21/1983
2/6/1933
2/7/1892
Question 5: The heat index and wind chill is a way to compare temperature in relation to human senses.
The heat index compares the relationship between temperature and humidity. The warmer the temperature
and the higher the humidity, the hotter it will “feel” to humans. Go to
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/global/hi.htm to analyze heat waves.
1.
2.
Temperature = 100°F & Relative Humidity = 40% => Apparent Temperature = 110°F
Temperature = 100°F & Relative Humidity = 60% => Apparent Temperature = 130°F
Question 6: The wind chill compares temperature with wind speed. The faster the wind blows, the colder it
will feel. Go to http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/global/chill.htm to analyze wind chills.




Temperature = 30°F & Wind Speed = 0 mph => Wind Chill = 30°F
Temperature = 30°F & Wind Speed = 15 mph => Wind Chill = 19°F
Temperature = 15°F & Wind Speed = 20 mph => Wind Chill = -2°F
Temperature = 0°F & Wind Speed = 20 mph => Wind Chill = -22°F
Question 7: Finally, you are going to verify a 24-hour forecast of surface temperature. Analyze the 24-hour
national forecast for high temperatures and low temperatures.
High Temperature: http://images.intellicast.com/National/Temperature/HighTomorrow.aspx
Low Temperature: http://images.intellicast.com/National/Temperature/LowTomorrow.aspx
Determine a location on the map you would like and find a Station ID for that location. Find a Station ID
for your chosen location at http://www.rap.ucar.edu/weather/surface/stations.txt. Remember, it should be a
four-letter code usually starting with the letter “K” if it is within the lower-48 states.
1.
2.
3.
What is your chosen location (city and state)? Eugene, OR
What is its station ID? KEUG
Right click on the high temperature image and select “Save Picture As…” or “Save Image As…”
and save the image to your computer. Save your high temperature map as HighTemperature and
your low temperature map as LowTemperature. The weather model forecasts the high
temperature to be 47°F and the low temperature to be 38°F. Label appropriately with the degrees
Fahrenheit. You will upload these images into your SLCC ePortfolio.
4.
5.
Now wait 24 hours. Once 24 hours have passed, go to the NWS climate website at
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/climate/. You will see a map of temperature readings; click on your
location (or the closest one to your chosen location).
Clicking on your location will bring up a new website (allow for pop-ups). Make sure the Product
is the Daily Climate Report, the Location is your chosen city, and the Time Frame is one day (not
more or less) after you looked at the high/low temperature forecast. Click GO.
What was the maximum temperature and time for your chosen location? 52°F
What was the minimum temperature and time for your chosen location? 37°F
What was the average temperature for your chosen location? 45°F
Assignment Reflection
Write a 200-250 word response total for the reflection question posted below. Your reflection also needs to
be posted in your SLCC ePortfolio along with this assignment.

In what ways have you improved - so far - as a scientific thinker. What brought about those
improvements? If not, explain why. Point to specific experiences, readings, assignments, or
discussions in this course.
I have already started to look at weather, and really everything else around me,
in a much more scientific way than before I started this class. I have realized that
many of my assumptions about weather and weather forecasting were wrong
and that there are a lot more things at play than I previously realized.
One of the first things that I found really interesting was the information about
ozone depletion in Chapter One. I have, along with most other people, heard a lot
about the hole in the ozone layer but I didn’t know a lot about the science behind
this. I knew it was a big problem and took scientists at their word when they said
that human actions have a huge influence on this. I enjoyed learning about what
is actually happening to the ozone and had not previously realized that there is
such a large fluctuation in the size of the ozone hole, depending on what time of
year it is.
In Chapter Two I found it really interesting when they explained the reason that
tile feels colder to the touch than carpet, because tile is a better conductor. Now
that I have thought about it and learned more about heat conduction it makes
sense but I had never really considered it previously. I like that I am learning
answers to every day questions, some that I didn’t even know to ask before.