AOS 100
Weather and Climate
Severe and Hazardous Weather
Professor Gregory Tripoli
tripoli@aos.wisc.edu
Office Hours TTH 2:25-3:25 pm
Grading
Homework
Project
Test 1
Test 2
Final (cumulative)
20%
10%
20%
20%
30%
Text
Required:
Severe and Hazardous Weather
by Robert Rauber, John Walsh, and Donna Charlevoix
Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company
available at University Bookstore
Supplementary (not required):
Meteorology: Understanding the Atmosphere
by Steve Ackermand and John Knox
Thompson, Brooks and Cole
Syllabus
Syllabus (2)
Syllabus (3)
Term Project
The Assignment:
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Prepare an electronic scrapbook consisting of 10 pictures of weather phenomena which you must personally
photograph during this Fall semester. Also:
The phenomena must be taken from the “official list”.
No more than one example from any list item.
The final scrapbook should be posted on a class web page as a pdf or html file:
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Name the file lastname_firstname.pdf or lastname_firstname.html
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Upload to web TBD
The electronic scrapbook will be a 12 page document
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Page 1 Title, name, date
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Page 2 Table of contents naming each picture by meteorological name of cloud
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Pages 3-12 Each page contains a photograph with a paragraph of about 30-100 (10 pt font) words describing the picture
• Picture on top half of page
• Description of picture on bottom half
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Meteorological name of the cloud type photographed
Date picture was taken
Location that picture was taken
Direction that the camera is facing for the picture
Description of weather situation producing the cloud (could include weather maps from the web)
The assignment is worth a base 10 points out of a total of 100 points forming your course grade
If the point total of your 10 pictures is more than 10 points (I reserve the right to award extra credit for GREAT scrapbooks), I will give you
up to a maximum of 15 points toward your grade, amounting to a 5 point extra credit option.
Each picture must also include a ½ page documentation and description according to the instructions included here.
The amount of credit given for each picture will be based on:
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80% (of maximum points on “official list” ) for the quality of the picture itself, rated by:
• how well the phenomenon is captured and framed
• How magnificent of a specimen you found
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20% (of maximum points on “official list” ) for the completeness of the explanation prorated as shown in explanation
Caution: If we find any picture sharing (you must take your own pictures) or fraudulent pictures
(like scanning from a book, or downloading from the web), we will give you -10% for the project,
meaning you will start with only a possible 80% for your total g rade before exams and homework!
“Official List” of Phenomena
(Bonus Points Listed)
(use no more than one from each bulleted line)
1.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
k)
l)
2.
a)
b)
c)
3.
a)
b)
4.
Cumulus Types
Cumulus humilis; including base and cloud top
Cumulus Congestus; includied in view is cloud
base and cloud top
Cumulus Fractus
Cumulonimbus cloud; including view of cloud base
and anvil (1.0 pt)
Cumulonimbus top with Pileus (1.5 pts)
Cumulonimbus with overshooting top (1.5 pts)
Scud cloud (0.5 pts)
Wall Cloud or arcus (1.5 pts)
Shelf Cloud or roll cloud (1.0 pt)
Lightning (1.5 pts) or with multiple branches (2.0
points)
Mammatus (1.5 pts)
Tornado (5 pts)
Gustnado (2.0 pts)
Layered Cumulus Types (cumulus)
Alto cumulus
Cirro-cumulus
Strato-cumulus
Stratus Types
Cirro-stratus
Stratus Cloud
Cirrus Types
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Cirro-stratus
Cirrus
Con Trails
Anvil
Mare’s tail cirrus
5)
a)
b)
c)
6)
a)
b)
c)
d)
7)
a)
b)
c)
8)
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
9)
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Mountain Related Types (stratus type)
Valley Fog (1. pts)A Field of billow or wave clouds (1.0
pt)
Orographic (Foehn or Chinook) Cloud (1.0 pt)
Lenticular Cloud (1.0 pt Layered Cumulus Types
Fogs (stratus type)
Radiation Fog
Advection fog
Upslope fog
Steam Fog
Micro Photography
Riming on trees showing crystal structures (1.0 pt)
Dew Drops on grass (1.0 pt)
Frost on grass showing crystal structures (1.0 pt)
Optical Phenomena
Blue sky
Sun dog or upper tangent arc (1.5 pts)
Mirage or Fata Morgana(1.0 pt)
Sun or moon halo (1.5 pts)
Corona (1.5 pts
Sun Pillar (1.0 pt)
Crepuscular Rays, Jacobs Ladder (1.0 pt)
Rainbow (1.0 pt) or Double Rainbow (1.5 pts)
Colorful Sunset
Other
Virga
Wave Cloud (.5 pts)
Billow Cloud Steam Fog(1.0 pt)
Steam Devil (2.0pts)
Dust Devil (2.0 pts)
Where to find out about cloud
classifications
Web-based cloud atlases:
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http://www.ems.psu.edu/~lno/Meteo437/atlas.html
http://www.atmos.washington.edu/gcg/Atlas/
http://ozthunder.com/photo/clouds.htm
http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/eyes/cloudatlas.htm
http://www.skystef.be/weatherpictures.htm
Narrative Part
(with an example)
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3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Date and Time: Wednesday, September 4, 2002 at 6 pm
Location and circumstance: This picture was taken while going out to
dinner at Outback restaurant on the west side of Madison.
Direction: The camera was pointing southwest and upward about 45
degrees from the horizon
Description: Mares tail cirrus. These are thin fibrous clouds composed
entirely of ice which have a distinctive hooked appearance resulting from
wind shear across the falling ice particles.
Estimated Height or Temperature (5%): The cloud is estimated to be
at approximately 30000 ft above the ground.
Weather Situation and Web Weather Map (10% pts): These clouds
were formed on the north side of a warm front that stretched from the
Detroit, Michigan area westward to Des Moines, Iowa (see figure xx).
Theory on How It Was Formed (5%): These clouds were likely formed
by the rising currents of air over the top of the warm front .
Note: Numbers 1-4 are required for any credit at all to be given for the picture.
Numbers 5-7 are percentages of the total credit for your answer that come from
these parts. So a 2 point cloud from the “official list” will derive .04 of its 2 points
from answers 5-7.
Example
Scrapbook
Page
Find archived weather maps and satellite pictures at:
http://weather.unisys.com/archive/sfc_map
Class Album
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Beginning the third week of class, you may submit one completed picture page (from your album)
via email to us for “picture of the week” on Monday of that week. We will ignore pictures
submitted on other days!
Pictures will be selected according to how impressive the photograph is, the quality of the
explanation, and the need to fill a cloud category in the class album. We select only the best
photograph/explanation when we are offered several photographs of the same phenomena.
Each entry must be a photograph of a cloud or atmospheric optical phenomena taken within the
past week (Monday-Sunday) before submission and contain a full explanation (see photo album
instructions) of the weather system causing that cloud.
We will choose 1-10 pictures each week for our class album.
The class web page will display the photograph(s) chosen (and the student’s name).
The student who took the picture and authored the accompanying explanation will receive 3
points of extra credit toward the final grade if their picture is chosen for the album.
We will choose one photograph each week for “picture of the week”. The student who is
selected for this will receive an additional 2 extra credit points for a total of 5 extra credit points
and their photograph will be placed on the front of the class web page.
Each picture chosen for the class album will be placed in a “class cloud photo scrapbook” that will
be permanently placed in the electronic Journal of UWAOS following the completion of the
class.
Each student may have a maximum of five extra credit points for this exercise and a maximum of
two pictures chosen over the course of one semester.