UBC  ATSC 201 - Meteorology of Storms

previous week . . . . next week

Week 6  6 - 12 Oct 2025
Monday (D1)  Finish Homework from previous week.
Be sure your name, student number, and HW# are at top of every page.
Deadline: Submit your electronic HW by the start of next class meeting.
Morning
Midday
2 PM Class - Video extravaganza:
  1. Turn in HW .
  2. Discussion & interaction on topics from last week (bring your clicker).
  3. Keynote slides & discussion of lightning.
  4. Videos of lightning :  YouTube Day1-01 thru Day1-22, and
  5. Videos of hail:  Day4-25 thru Day4-35.

Topic: Lightning & Thunder - Part 1
    Textbook section 15.3 (but skip 15.3.1 & 15.3.6.1). .
Learning Goals
At the end of this section, you should be able to:

  1. Contrast theories for how thunderstorms  become electrified.
  2. Describe the evolution of a lightning stroke.
  3. List the different types of lightning, and judge which are most hazardous.
  4. Explain how lightning creates thunder.
  5. Criticize the hypothesis that you can't hear thunder beyond a certain distance.

Topic: Lightning & Thunder - Part 2.
.
Learning Goals
At the end of this section, you should be able to:

  1. Summarize key aspects of the distribution of lightning around the world.
  2. Relate lightning hazards to lightning characteristics.
  3. Recommend actions you can take to make yourself safe near a thunderstorm.

EveningReadings:
  • S.Ch3. Sections 3.0 - 3.4., but not any "HIGHER MATH" boxes
Warm-up Questions:
Do quiz W06 D2 online on Canvas.
Topic: Lagrangian Heat Budget
    Textbook sections 3.0 - 3.4.
Learning Goals
At the end of this section, you should be able to:
  1. Contrast the nature of different types of lapse rate.
  2. Contrast adiabatic vs. diabatic processes.
  3. Forecast the temperature change of an adiabatically rising or sinking air parcel.
  4. Plot dry adiabats on a thermo diagram, and demonstrate how to use a thermo diagram to easily forecast temperature change of rising or sinking air parcels without doing calculations.
  5. Interpret the meaning of the potential temperature and virtual potential temperature, calculate them, and relate them to plotted adiabats.
Tuesday (D2)
Morning
Midday
Evening
10 PMDeadline to finish warm-up Qs.
Wed. (D3).
Morning
Midday
2 PMClass:
  1. Turn in HW by today, if Monday was a holiday.
  2. Discussion & interaction on topics from readings (bring your clicker).
  3. Demo using thermo diagram.

Evening

Readings for the Friday class:

  • S.Ch3. Sections 3.5 - 3.6.
Warm-up Questions:
Do quiz W06 D4 online on Canvas.
Topic: Eulerian Heat Budget
    Textbook sections 3.5-3.6.
Learning Goals
At the end of this section, you should be able to:
  1. Distinguish between the Eulerian and Lagrangian heat budgets, and to recommend when to use each type.
  2. Explain what each term in the Eulerian heat budget represents physically.
  3. Forecast air temperature if you know the values of the Eulerian heat-budget terms.
  4. Describe the terms in the surface heat budget, and explain how that budget relates to the surface radiation budget. 
Thurs. (D4)
Morning
Midday
Evening
10 PMDeadline to finish warm-up Qs.
Friday (D5).
Morning
Midday
2 PMClass:
  1. Discussion & interaction on topics from readings (bring your clicker).

Evening
End-of-Week Numerical Homework Exercises.  
(Due at start of next class.)
Homework 6:
S.Ch3 (do all on a spreadsheet, except where indicated):
A10g,
A14g (do by hand on copy of thermo diagram Fig 3.4 that your also turn in, (using your scanner app; e.g., CamScanner) and also write your final answer in the spreadsheet),
 A15 ,  A20g ,  A27g ,  E1 <--this is  E1, not A1.

Pre-readings for class next week: Ch4 sections 4.0 - 4.2
Learning Goals
At the end of this section, you should be able to:
  1. Apply topics covered earlier this week to compute number answers & infer their significance.  

Saturday(D6)
.
Sunday (D7)
.

previous week . . . . next week

Notes: The textbook for this course is Stull, 2018: "Practical Meteorology: An Algebra-based Survey of Atmospheric Science", available for free online, at  https://www.eoas.ubc.ca/books/Practical_Meteorology/ .

The reading and homework assignments use the following abbreviations to indicates various parts of this textbook:

Legend:
Ch = chapter.
A = "Apply" exercises.
p = page number.
S = Stull, 2018:  "Practical Meteorology" book (online).
s = "Synthesize" exercises.
E = "Evaluate & Analyze" exercises.