Meteorology 100.2
Introduction to Meteorology
• Spring 2009
• Tuesday 6:00 PM - 8:50 PM
• Thornton 604
• COURSE WEB SITE:
http://funnel.sfsu.edu/courses/metr100.2/ or
http://ggweather.com/met100.html
SYLLABUS:
http://funnel.sfsu.edu/courses/metr100.2/syllabus.htm
Meteorology 100
• The one science we deal with every day
• Impacts on all aspects of our society
• What does it affect?
• “Weather Appreciation”
– Fundamentals of the atmosphere
– Storms, Tornadoes, Hurricanes
– El Niño, La Niña
– Climate Change
• No Prior Knowledge of Math or Meteorology
Meteorology 100
• Essentials of Meteorology”
– C. Donald Ahrens, 5th edition (or 4th ed)
• Bookstore
• or Check Amazon and half.com
• or http://www.ichapters.com
• or Copy in Reserve Book Room
• Internet Access Essential
Jan Null, CCM
• BS Atmospheric Science, UC Davis, 1974
• MA Geography (Climate), SJ State, 1992
• National Weather Service 1974-1997
• Adjunct Professor of Meteorology – SFSU since 1987
• Golden Gate Weather Services since 1998
– Forensic Meteorology
– Consulting (Engineering, Media, 400+ Interviews)
– Forecasting (PG&E, Media)
– Research areas (El Nino, Hyperthermia)
– Projects (AMNH, BASOC)
House Rules
• Common Courtesy Please
– Cell phones & pagers
• On silent or OFF
• If you HAVE to take a call go outside
• No text messaging
– No MP3 players during class
• TH604 Classroom and Personal Laptops
• Only before class and breaks
• ABSOLUTELY NO FOOD or DRINKS IN
PROXIMITY OF CLASSROOM COMPUTERS
Weather vs. Climate
• Weather
– What is Going on in the Atmosphere Now
• Climate
– Weather History
– "Climate is what you expect,
Weather is what you get". ~ R. Heinlein
Course Plan
• Lecture based
– Fast Paced – LOTS OF MATERIAL
– Supplemented by Ahrens’ text
– Supplemented by web
– Supplemented by AV material
• IMPORTANT NOTE: There is as much
important material, plus classwork and
homework, after the break each week
• All PowerPoints posted to class website
Tentative Course Plan
• Homework/Classwork
– (100 pts, 12 assignments @ 10 pts each)
• Tests: All Multiple Choice
– 2 midterms (100 pts each)
– Final (200 pts)
• Term Paper (200 pts)
– 6 - 10 pages
TOTAL 700 POINTS
• Extra Credit Term Paper (75 Pts)
Course Plan
• Grading
– 90% = A etc.
– Adjusted curve
• Integrity
DO NOT PLAGARIZE ! Zero Tolerance!
Contact Info
• Office Hours
– TH 613
– Tuesday 1700-1800
• Contact Info
– (GGWX Office) 408-379-7500
– (Cell) 510-928-2824
– (SFSU Office) 415-338-7728
– jnull@ggweather.com {preferred}
Weather Review
Visible Satellite image
Weather Review
Visible Satellite image
Weather Review
Visible Satellite image
Weather Review
Infrared Satellite image
Weather Review
Enhanced Infrared
Satellite image
Weather Review
Weather Review
Weather Review
Weather Review
Weather Review
Weather Review
Weather Review
Who are You?
Name ?
Major?
Answer one of the following:
- Where do you get your weather information?
If TV, who (or what station) do you watch most?
If Internet, what site?
- Why are you taking this course?
- What particular meteorology topics interest you?
History Of Weather
• Agrarian civilization based on weather
• Early Greek philosophers tied together science,
philosophy and religion
• Mythology
• Eos gave birth to Boreas, Zephyris, Notus, Eurus
• Zeus – Lord of the Sky, Rain God, Storm God
• Greek Science
• Thales of Miletus (600 BC)
• Early founder Greek Science
History Of Weather
• Aristotle (~340 BC)
• Meteorologica –
• Four “contraries”: hot, cold, moist, dry
• Four “elements”: fire, air, water, earth
• Explained (?): aurora, comets, halos, winds,
seas, thunder, earthquakes etc
• Generally incorrect !!
• Theophrastus (~ 330 BC)
• Book of Signs
• Weather forecasting from empirical rules
History Of Weather
• Renaissance (14th – 17th Centuries)
• Age of Instrumentation
• anemometer – Alberti (1450)
• hygrometer – da Vinci (1486)
• thermoscope – Galileo (1607)
• mercury barometer – Torricelli (1643)
• weather chart – Halley (1686)
• mercury thermometer – Fahrenheit (1714)
• temperature scale – Celsius (1742)
History Of Weather
• Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
• “Some are weather-wise, some are otherwise”
• 1752 - Observed lightning was electrical
• Network of weather observers
• George Hadley
• 1735 – Global Circulation
•Luke Howard (1772-1864)
• Classified clouds
• Admiral Francis Beaufort
• 1806 - Empirical Wind Scale
History Of Weather
• 20th Century
• Coriolis Effect
• Norwegian Polar Front Theory
• World War II
• Cyclogenesis Theory
• Radar
• Jet Stream
History Of Weather
• Most Significant Modern Advances
• Computer Models
• Weather Satellites
• TIROS April 1960
• Doppler radar
• New Understandings
• El Nino
• Global Warming
Weather Extremes
Temperature
• What’s the hottest you have experienced?
•Maximum
•World 136 ° Libya
•United States 134 ° Death Valley
•California 134 ° Death Valley
•San Francisco 103 °
• How many times has SF reached 100
degrees?
Weather Extremes
Humidity
• Which of these cities has the highest annual
average afternoon Relative Humidity?
A. Honolulu
B. Miami
C. Atlanta
D. San Francisco
Weather Extremes
Humidity
• Which city has the highest annual average
afternoon Relative Humidity?
A. Honolulu (56%)
B. Miami (61%)
C. Atlanta (56%)
D. San Francisco (62%)
Why this apparent contradiction?
Weather Extremes
Temperature
•Minimum
• World -129 ° Antarctica
• United States -80 ° Prospect Creek, AK
• California -45 ° Boca Reservoir
• San Francisco +27 °
How many times has SF had freezing
temperatures?
Weather Extremes
Rainfall
•1 Hour Maximum
• World - 15.78” Shangdu, China
• United States - 12” Holt, MO (~42 minutes)
• California - 4.70” Palomar
• San Francisco - 1.92”
•24 Hour Maximum
• World 73.62” La Reunion Island
• United States 43.00” Alvin, TX
• California 26.12” Hoegees Camp
• San Francisco 6.19”
Weather Extremes
Rainfall
•1 Year Maximum
• World 1041” Cherrapunji, India
• United States 704” Kukui, Hawaii
• California 257.9” Camp 9
• San Francisco 49.27”
Weather Extremes
Highest Normal* Annual Rainfall
• World 523” Lloro, Columbia
• United States 460” Mt. Waialeale, HI
• California 104.2” Honeydew
• San Francisco 22.44”
* Normal – defined as 30-year average
Weather Extremes
Snowfall
• Have You Ever Seen Snow? In San Francisco?
• 1 Year Maximum
• World 1140” Mt. Baker, WA
• California 884” Tamarack, CA
• San Francisco 3.7”
Weather Extremes
Maximum Wind Gusts
• World – 231 mph Mt Washington, NH
• California – 176 mph Ward Peak (Alpine Meadows)
• SFO – 78 mph
Hurricanes
• 190 mph sustained (Typhoon Tip)
Tornadoes
• ~ 300 mph
Weather Extremes
Thunderstorms
• Genesis of
• Lightning (and Thunder)
• Hail
• Downbursts
• Tornadoes
• Hurricanes
Weather Extremes
Other Perspectives on Thunderstorms
• Angels Bowling?
or
Weather Extremes
A little girl walked to and from school daily.
Though the weather that morning was questionable and clouds were forming, she made
her daily trek to the elementary school. As the afternoon progressed, the winds
whipped up, along with lightning.
The mother of the little girl felt concerned that her daughter would be frightened as she
walked home from school and she feared the electrical storm might harm her child.
Full of concern, the mother quickly got into her car and drove along the route to her
child's school. As she did, she saw her little girl walking along.
At each flash of lightning, the child would stop, look up, and smile.
Another and another flash of lighting followed quickly and with each, the little girl would
look at the streak of light and smile.
When the mother's car drew up beside the child, she lowered the window and called to
her 'What are you doing?'
The child answered, 'I am trying to look pretty because God keeps taking my picture.’
Weather Extremes
United States (World) largest Hail Record
• June 22, 2003 – Aurora Nebraska
• 7” diameter, 18.75” circumferance, 1.33 lbs.
World Heaviest Hail Record
• 2.25 pounds - Bangladesh
Weather Basics
• Air is a Fluid
• Warm Air Rises
• Air Flows from High to Low Pressure
• Differential Heating drives the weather
• Rising Air Cools by Expansion…
and Cooling causes Condensation to occur
• Sinking Air Warms by Compression
and Warming causes evaporation to occur
Weather Elements
°
°
°
°
°
°
°
Temperature
Precipitation ( ? )
Winds
Humidity
Pressure
Cloud Cover
Visibility
Key Words
° Computer Models
° Satellite Imagery
° Visible
° Infrared (i.e., thermal)
° Normal
Climate Change
• Is Global Warming “real”?
– Is it caused by humans?
– By natural climate variations?
– Both?
• Have you seen “An Inconvenient Truth”?
– Credible?
Who are You?
Name ?
Major?
Answer one of the following:
- Where do you get your weather information?
If TV, who (or what station) do you watch most?
If Internet, what site?
- Why are you taking this course?
- What particular meteorology topics interest you?
Homework #1 (10 pts)
Due via Email before class next Tues, Sep 2
Send email to jnull@ggweather.com with a Subject
line of Met100 and the preferred email address you
would like to use for class communications.
1. Include:
Name:
Email address:
Major:
Class level:
2. Other meteorology classes taken?
Homework #1 (10 pts) continued
3. Where do you get your weather information?
- If TV, who do you watch most?
- What TV “meteorologist” do you like the
best? Why?
- Which Internet weather sites do you use?
4. Why are you taking this class?
5. What is the most memorable weather event in
your life?
6. What particular topic(s) would you like covered in
this course?
7. Name one song title that has a weather element
in the title or a main part of the lyrics!
Next Week
•Tuesday, February 3, 2009
• Weather Review –
• Chapter 1 – The Earth’s Atmosphere
• Weather Observations
• Intro to Weather Maps