Meteorology
This event emphasizes understanding
of basic meteorological principles
with emphasis on interpretation and
analysis of meteorological data.
This year the event places and
emphasis on Severe Storm Weather
topics
Contact:
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Patti Grammens
Lilly Turpin
pgrammens@forsyth.k12.ga.us
lturpin@forsyth.k12.ga.us
Read the Rules
• Team of up to 2
• One 81/2” by 11” two sided page of notes
containing information in any form from any
source.
• Read the Rules
• READ THE RULES!!!!!
Watch the weather on the news
• News programs show current weather maps,
trends, radar
• Watch the news
• Pay attention to severe storms and the
damage they do.
• Letter n under the competition lists special
topics for 2014, which include Hurricane
Sandy 2012, East Coast Derecho 2012, Joplin
Tornado 2011, and the 2012 Arizona Haboob
AMS DataStreme
http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gl)/guides/maps/sfc/temp/sfctmpslp.rxml
You-tube has tutorials
http://www.ehow.com/video_4435909_read-computer-weather-models.html
eHow video
• http://www.ehow.com/video_4435909_readcomputer-weather-models.html
The Modern Atmosphere
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http://www.weather.gov/ilm/aviation
Aviation weather page
http://www.weather.gov/satellite
Satellite imagery
http://radar.weather.gov/ridge/radar.php?rid=
jgx&product=N0R&overlay=11101111&loop=n
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Hurricanes
Nat. Hurricane Center
• http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
• http://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/
• Weather Underground information
Weather Safety
• http://www.weather.gov/safety
• http://www.weatherwizkids.com/weathersafety.htm
• http://www.weather.com/life/safety
• The Weather Channel
Seasons
Solar Radiation
meteogram
Aurora Borealis – taken by a NWS employee
Symbols
Weather Maps
Conceptual Model of Lightning Charge Distribution Within a Thunderstorm
For many years, scientists have thought thunderstorms contain three charges, called a tripole. A
new conceptual model of electrical charge distribution inside deep convection (thunderstorms),
developed by NSSL and university scientists, could change that thinking. In the main updraft (in and
above the red arrow), there are four main charge regions. In the convective region but outside the
outdraft (in and above the blue arrow), there are more than four charge regions.
• Lightning types
• GROUND FLASHES
There are two categories of ground flashes: natural (those that
occur because of normal electrification in the environment), and
artificially initiated or triggered. Artificially initiated lightning
includes strikes to very tall structures, airplanes, rockets and towers
on mountains. Triggered lightning goes from ground to cloud, while
"natural" lightning is cloud to ground.
• Terms used to describe ground flashes include forked lightning,
which shows branching to the ground from a nearly vertical
channel; ribbon lightning, when the horizontal displacement of the
channel by the wind appears as a series of ribbons; and bead
lightning, when the decaying channel of a ground flash will
sometimes break into a series of bright and dark spots. Ball
lightning is a luminous sphere whose physics is not well understood.
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Winter
• Winter Weather Basics
• How do winter storms form?
• Just like any other storm at other times of the year, just the right
combination of ingredients is necessary for a winter storm to develop.
• Three basic ingredients are necessary to make a winter storm.
• Cold air – below freezing temperatures in the clouds and near the ground
are necessary to make snow and/or ice.
• Lift – something to raise the moist air to form the clouds and cause
precipitation. An example of lift is warm air colliding with cold air and
being forced to rise over the cold dome. The boundary between the warm
and cold air masses is called a front. Another example of lift is air flowing
up a mountainside.
• Moisture – to form clouds and precipitation. Air blowing across a body of
water, such as a large lake or the ocean, is an excellent source of moisture.
Winds
• Types of damaging winds
• Straight-line winds – a term used to define any thunderstorm wind
that is not associated with rotation, and is used mainly to
differentiate from tornadic winds.
• Downdrafts – A small-scale column of air that rapidly sinks toward
the ground. A downburst is a result of a strong downdraft.
• Downbursts – A strong downdraft with horizontal dimensions larger
than 4 km (2.5 mi) resulting in an outward burst or damaging winds
on or near the ground. (Imagine the way water comes out of a
faucet and hits the bottom of the sink.) Downburst winds may
begin as a microburst and spread out over a wider area, sometimes
producing damage similar to a strong tornado. Although usually
associated with thunderstorms, downbursts can occur with showers
too weak to produce thunder.
Doppler Radar
• Derecho – A derecho is a widespread thunderstorm wind event caused
when new thunderstorms form along the leading edge of an outflow
boundary (a surface boundary formed by the horizontal spreading of
thunderstorm-cooled air). The thunderstorms feed on this boundary and
continue to reproduce themselves. Derechos typically occur in the
summer months when complexes of thunderstorms form over the plains
and northern plains states. Usually these thunderstorms produce heavy
rain and severe wind reports as they rumble across several states during
the night. The word "derecho" is of Spanish origin and means "straight
ahead". They are particularly dangerous because the damaging winds can
last a long time and can cover such a large area.
• Bow Echo – A radar echo which is linear but bent outward in a bow shape.
Damaging straight-line winds often occur near the "crest" or center of a
bow echo. Bow echoes can be over 300km in length, last for several hours,
and produce extensive swaths of wind damage at the ground.
www.scioly.org
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workshop\2005_illinois_regional_exam.pdf