In this course we use a flipped teaching method called "Just-in-Time Teaching" (JiTT). It uses the following structure:
Twice each week:
Weeks 1-2
Meteorological Thermodynamics Intro. - meteorological conventions
for wind, the scientific method, ips on
problem solving, earth frameworks, time zones and UTC, thermodynamic variables
(temperature, pressure, density) and their units, atmospheric vertical
structure (layers of atmosphere), troposphere, tropopause, e-folding
definition, scale heights, standard atmosphere, geopotential height,
ideal gas law (eq. of state), hydrostatic equilibrium, hypsometric eq.,
moisture, latent heat, sensible heat, process terminology (e.g.,
isotherm, isobar, isohume, isotach), .
Thunderstorms - types (air mass, squall line, muticell, supercell, mesoscale convective complexes), life cycle of individual cells, supercell storms (classical, low precip, high precip), mesocyclones, components of a thunderstorm (anvil, flanking line, wall cloud), forward and rear-flank downdrafts, watches and warnings, thunderstorm safety, storm chasing tips.
Tools:
Weeks 3-4
Atmospheric Radiation - Earth's orbit,
sunrise and sunset, time zones, seasonal and daily effects, fluxes,
radiation principles (propagation, emission, distribution), average
daily insolation, absorption, reflection, transmission, surface
radiation budget, long and short wave radiation, net radiation
Dynamics & Winds - height contours on isobaric surfaces, Newton's 2nd law of motion, Lagrangian & Eulerian momentum budgets, Coriolis parameter, forces, advection, pressure-gradient force, centrifugal and centripetal forces, Coriolis force, turbulent drag, gravity, full equations of motion, vorticity (relative, absolute, potential), winds (geostrophic, gradient, boundary layer, boundary-layer gradient, cyclostrophic), continuity and mass conservation, convergence & divergence, boundary-layer pumping, Rossby number.
Tools:
Weeks 5-6
Tornadoes - formation,
origin of rotation, evolution, types and shapes, location in supercell
thunderstorm, radar signature, wall cloud, tornadic winds (tangential
wind vs. core pressure), duration, tracks, tornado families &
outbreaks, non-supercell tornadoes (landspouts, gustnadoes,
waterspouts, cold-air funnels), tornado distribution, intensity vs
frequency, tornado alley, Fujita & Torro scales, storm-relative
winds, vorticity (relative, absolute, potential), helicity, mesocyclones, swirl ratio, multiple vortex tornado,
detection and warning, forecasting, tornado safety, tornado chasing.
Lightning, Thunder, breakdown potential, electricity and charge, electrification of thunderstorms, lightning stroke components (stepped leader, return stroke, dart leader), negative vs positive strokes, lightning current, lightning detection networks, distribution and frequency of lightning, types (strokes, heat, bead, sheet, St. Elmo's fire), upper-atmosphere discharges (red sprites, blue jets, elves), thunder, shock waves, Snell's law, refraction of sound, lightning safety,
Heat - fluxes, sensible and latent heat, Lagrangian heat budget (first law of thermo, lapse rate, adiabatic lapse rate), dry and moist adiabats on a thermo diagram, potential temperatures (plain, liquid-water potential, and equivalent), Eulerian heat budget, surface heat budget,
Weeks 7-8
Hail - hail damage swaths & impacts, hail formation (embryo, growth, path within supercell), hail detection and warning, usefulness of polarimetric radar, hail distribution and seasonal variation, hail seeding and suppression difficulties.
Thunderstorm Initiation & Intensity, - – convective inihibition (CIN), triggering (lifting) mechanisms for thunderstorms, convective available potential energy (CAPE, surface-based, mean layer, most unstable), key altitudes (mixed-layer depth, LCL, level of free convection LFC, equilibrium level EL), daily thunderstorm cycle, thunderstorm forecasting, stability indices (lifted, K, total totals, SWEAT, etc.),Stability – environmental lapse rates, parcel static stability (unstable, neutral, stable), nonlocal stability methods, layer stability, conditional instability, buoyancy, Brunt-Vaisala frequency, dynamic stability, turbulence determination.
Moisture - vapor pressure, saturation, Clausius-Clapeyron eq., Teten's formula, boiling, supercooled water, mixing ratio, specific humidity, absolute humidity, relative humidity, dew-pont temperature, saturation level and lifting condensation level (LCL), wet-bulb temperature, Normand's rule, psychrometers, total water mixing ratio, Lagrangian water budget, isohumes.
Tools:
Weeks 9-10
Downbursts of Air, Gust Fronts - heavy rain, downburst formation
(precipitation drag, evaporative cooling), DCAPE, structure
(microbursts, vortex rolls, gust fronts), intensity and location,
detection, hazards to aviation, haboobs.
Global Circulation, Jet Streams & Rossby Waves - nomenclature, differential heating, Hadley cell, subtropical jet, meridonal temperature gradient, net heat transport by atmosphere and ocean, jet stream, jet streaks, troughs and ridges, upper-level divergence, development of lows and highs, 3-band general circulation, thermal wind relationship, thickness, thermal wind, baroclinicity, barotropic and baroclinic instability, beta plane, Rossby waves, long and short waves (basic concepts, not details), planetary waves, Rossby radius of deformation, geostrophic adjustment.
Tools:
Weeks 11-12
Air Masses and Fronts
- anticyclones (highs), characteristics of highs (subsidence, fair
weather, light winds), air-mass types and formation, air-mass
boundaries, frontal zones, surface fronts, horizontal and vertical
structure (of cold and warm fronts), atmospheric cross sections, clouds
and precip associated with fronts, geostrophic adjustment,
mid-tropospheric fronts (occluded fronts), upper-tropospheric fronts
(tropopause folds), dry lines.
Midlatitude Cyclones (Lows)
- Bergen model, formation, evolution, tracks, intensity, seasonality,
characteristics (central pressure, vorticity, vertical motion, bad
weather), appearance in satellite images, behavior over Pacific near
western Canada, midlatitude (extratropical) cyclones, cyclogenesis, lee
cyclogenesis, conservation of potential vorticity, spin-up (vorticity
tendency), upward motion (omega, jet-stream curvature, jet-streak
divergence, ageostrophic wind), sea-level pressure tendency (mass
budget, diabatic heating), cyclolysis, iso-surfaces and their utility
(isentropic, isobaric).
Tools
Weeks 13 & 14
Hurricanes (Tropical Cyclones)
- characteristics (spiral bands, eye, eye wall), Saffir-Simpson
intensity scale, damage, tracks and steering winds, seasonality,
favorable and unfavorable environments, sea-surface temperature and
depth, dynamics (triggering in easterly waves, spin-up and
development), thermodynamics (warm core), hurricane decay mechanisms,
central pressure vs max wind speed, hurricane structure (pressure,
velocities, temperature, clouds), heavy rain, embedded thunderstorms,
storm surge, forecasting hurricanes, case studies of hurricanes
(Katrina, Isabel, The Perfect Storm, Juan, Ida), appearance in satellite and
radar image, hurricane hunter data and photos in eye, hurricane hazards
& safety.
West-coast weather - Pinapple express, outflow and gap winds, cyclone graveyard, Pacific data void, orographic precipitation, mountain waves.