UBC  ATSC 201 - Meteorology of Storms

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Week 8  23 Oct - 29 Oct 2023
Monday (D1)Finish Homework from previous week.
Be sure your name, student number, and HW# are at top of every page.
Deadline: Electronically submit your HW by the start of class, 2 pm Monday.
Morning
Midday
2 PMClass:
  1. Turn in HW.
  2. Discussion & interaction on topics from last week (bring your clicker).
  3. Tutorial and interaction to refine your understanding of thermo diagrams.
Topic: Thermo Diagrams - Part 1: Components, Types, & Thermo State
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Learning Goals
At the end of this section, you should be able to:

  1. Summarize the different types of lines that are normally drawn in a thermo diagram.
  2. Look at a thermo diagram and identify and label each type of line.
  3. Summarize the different types of thermo diagrams that are used around the world.
  4. Identify the type of thermo diagram by looking at the arrangement of lines on it.
  5. Use the lines in a thermo diagram to determine the thermodynamic & moisture state of air.

EveningReadings:
  • S.Ch5. Sections 5.0 - 5.6.
Warm-up Questions:
Do quiz W08 D2 online on Canvas.
You might want to first print extra copies of the thermo diagrams from the online textbook, to draw on for these exercises.  That way you can keep a clean master copy with the rest of your textbook chapter.
Topic: Thermo Diagrams - Part 2: Applications
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Learning Goals
At the end of this section, you should be able to:

  1. Use thermo diagrams to forecast how air state changes due to processes including: lifting, precipitation, and radiative heating/cooling.
  2. Use thermo diagrams to determine the lifting condensation level -- which is cloud-base height for thunderstorms.
  3. Explain how buoyancy of an air parcel depends on both its thermodynamic state and the state of the surrounding environment.
  4. Define the Brunt-Vaisala frequency, and explain how it relates to the environmental state, and calculate it.
Tuesday (D2)
Morning
Midday
Evening
10 PMDeadline to finish warm-up Qs.
Wed. (D3).
Morning
Midday
2 PMClass:
  1. Discussion & interaction on topics from readings (bring your clicker).
  2. Continued in-class tutorial on using thermo diagrams.

EveningReadings:
  • S.Ch5. Sections 5.7 - 5.8.
  • S.Ch14. Sections 14.2,  14.4 , and 14.6 - 14.8.
Warm-up Questions:
Do quiz W08 D4 online on Canvas.
Topic: Soundings, Static Stability, and CAPE
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Learning Goals
At the end of this section, you should be able to:

  1. Determine static stability from sounding plots on thermo diagrams.
  2. Estimate the heights of the boundary layer, level of free convection, equilibrium level, and tropopause from sounding plots on thermo diagrams.
  3. Explain the role of the lid or cap, and how thunderstorms can be triggered.
  4. Define CAPE and CIN, and explain what they physically represent.
  5. Look at a sounding and recognize the CAPE and CIN areas.
  6. Know how to use stability indices to forecast thunderstorms. 
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).
  2. Continued in-class tutorial.

Evening
End-of-Week Numerical Homework Exercises.  
(Due at start of Monday's class.)
Homework 8:
[You might want to first make copies of the blank thermo diagrams at the end of Chapter 5, or print extra thermo-diagram copies from the online textbook, and then write on the copies to help answer these questions.  Printable copies (pdf) versions of these diagrams can be downloaded from the Practical Meteorology book web page. ]  -or-
[an alternative method for online submission: make a copy of the pdf file of the blank thermo diagram and then use a pdf editing or note-taking tool to draw your answers onto the pdf image.  Be sure to save your revised pdf and check that it has your answers on it before you include with your HW submission.]
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S.Ch5 (use copies of thermo diagrams for all, but show any extra calculations on a spreadsheet):
A5 (tephigram only, using data from A4e),
A6(i-viii; tephigram only
, using data from A4e),
A10e A11e, A14b (using the sounding data given in the book just before that exercise)  , A16e, A17e.
.
S.Ch14: (use copies of thermo diagrams for the 1st three exercises listed, but show any extra calculations on a spreadsheet.  Use spreadsheet for all subsequent exercises.):  A3e, A7e(1), A8e, A11e, A16e, A39e.

Readings:
S.Ch15. Section 15.2.  (This is pre-reading for Monday next week.  Topic is Downbursts & Gust  Fronts and associated phenomena.
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. 
  2. Qualitatively describe what causes downbursts and gust fronts, and relate them to arc clouds and haboobs.

Saturday(D6)
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Sunday (D7)
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Notes: The textbook for this course is Stull, 2017: "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.