Period 3, Lauren and Brian, Weather ABC's

Weather ABC'sBy: Lauren G. and Brian N.

http://bestclipartblog.com/23-rain-clip-art.html/rain-clip-art-4

http://orangecircle.deviantart.com/art/Happy-raindrop-131880668

http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/crocheting/toy/amigurumi-happy-weather-mobile-pattern/3237

Table of ContentsA is for Atmosphere ------------------------------------------------------------ page 3B is for Barometer -------------------------------------------------------------- page 4C is for Convection and Clouds --------------------------------------------- page 5D is for Dew Point -------------------------------------------------------------- page 6E is for Effect - the Coriolis Effect ----------------------------------------- page 7F is for Fronts -------------------------------------------------------------------- page 8G is for Global Winds --------------------------------------------------------- page 9H is for High Pressure -------------------------------------------------------- page 10H is for Hurricanes ------------------------------------------------------------- page 11I is for Isotherms and Isobars ----------------------------------------------- page 12J is for Jet Stream ------------------------------------------------------------ page 13K is for Knots ------------------------------------------------------------------- page 14L is for Low Pressure ---------------------------------------------------------- page 15M is for Maps -------------------------------------------------------------------- page 16N is for Nexrad ---------------------------------------------------------------- page 17O is for Ocean Currents ------------------------------------------------------ page 18P is for Precipitation ----------------------------------------------------------- page 19Q is for Quasi-Stationary Front ------------------------------------------- page 20R is for Rising and Falling Heat------------------------------------------- page 21S is for the Sun and Sun's Energy ---------------------------------------- page 22T is for Tornados --------------------------------------------------------------- page 23U is for Utensils --------------------------------------------------------------- page 24V is for Visualizations-------------------------------------------------------- page 25W is for Wind Currents ------------------------------------------------------- page 26X is for X-Rays ---------------------------------------------------------------- page 28Y is for Yellow Snow -------------------------------------------------------- page 29Z is for Zonal Flow ----------------------------------------------------------- page 30

A is for AtmosphereThe atmosphere comes in 4 layers: troposphere, stratosphere,

mesosphere, and thermosphere. The troposphere is the closest layer to earth's surface. The stratosphere is on top of the troposphere and contains the ozone layer, protecting us from the sun's rays. The mesosphere is the next layer, above the stratosphere. The thermosphere is the highest, thickest layer of the atmosphere. This is where small meteorites burn up and the northern lights occur.

http://www.vtaide.com/png/atmosphere.htm

B is for BarometerUsed to find air pressure. When the barometer rises it's

going to be sunny and dry, there is high pressure. When the barometer falls it's going to be wet and stormy, there is low pressure.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dosen-barometer.jpg

C is for CloudsThere are three types of clouds: stratus, cumulus, and cirrus clouds.

Stratus clouds come in layers and are lower than most clouds. Cumulus clouds are the white, fluffy clouds you see in the sky.Cirrus clouds look like feathers in the sky and are made of ice crystals.

stratus

http://urbanext.illinois.edu/kalani/18.cfm

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cumulus_clouds_in_fair_weather.jpeg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cirrus_cloud

cumulus

cirrus

D is for Dew PointWhen water condenses it hits a point called it's dew point. Condensation happens because water vapor that had

been evaporated by the sun has reached a point in the atmosphere where the temperature is cooler. This cooling brings it down to it's dew point. The dew point is when it changes from water vapor to a water droplet. Water droplets are what form clouds.

Dew point is also involved on the ground when it is a liquid. All bodies of water are made of water droplets, and the sun warms them past their dew point which causes them to evaporate.

Basically, the dew point is the temperature that water cools to a liquid from a gas.

E is for Effect-Coriolis EffectThe Coriolis Effect happens due to the rotation of the earth around it's axis.As you know, the earth rotates around it's axis, this movement causes wind and

water to change directions based on their hemisphere.In the Northern Hemisphere, the winds and water curve to the right.In the Southern Hemisphere, the winds and water curve to the left.

http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/fw/crls.rxml

F is for FrontsFronts happen because 2 different groups of air - with different temperatures and densities - run

into each other but do not mix.-Cold Front- This happens when a fast moving group of cold air runs into a slow moving group

of warm air. When they collide the faster moving, denser cool air moves under the slow moving, less dense warm air. This push causes the warm air to rise and the water vapor to condense. Warm air can hold more water vapor than cool air, so the water vapor condenses to meet this requirement, creating clouds. Since these are fast moving fronts, they bring sudden weather changes.

-Warm Front- This forms when warm air moves over cold air. These fronts move slowly and the condensing, cooling warm air can cause multiple days of rainy, cloudy, foggy weather.

-Occluded Front- When 2 cool air groups close in on a warm air group, the warm air gets pushed up because of its lighter density. The water vapor condenses and causes precipitation, either rain or snow. Below it, the 2 cool air groups mix and make the ground temperature drop.

G is for Global WindsGlobal winds are winds that blow steadily from a specific direction over a long distance.

Whereas local winds only blow over a short distance, in a small, local area.These winds are categorized into different types: doldrums, trade winds, prevailing westerlies,

polar easterlies, and horse latitudes.They are categorized by the latitude lines - as in longitude and latitude lines around the earth -

that they start and stop at.All of these winds occur around their entire strip of the earth and usually continue into another

section. This is how they are going in the same direction over a long distance. These winds also influence each other, they go from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure, which is how the wind is caused in the first place.

http://www.weatherwizkids.com/weather-wind.htm

H is for High PressureIf you have looked at the isobars this makes a lot of sense, so look at the

isobars first. High pressure is when the pressure of the atmosphere is higher than the

areas surrounding. This is cold air and has high winds. It is represented on a map with an H and all winds cyclone outwards in the direction that the coriolis effect directs that hemisphere. It is called high pressure because cool air is more dense than warm air.

H is for HurricanesStrong, rotating storms are called hurricanes. They form over warm

currents in the equator. Hurricane winds move in a circular, counterclockwise motion around a calm eye, called the eye of the storm, with rain, low air pressure, thunder and lightning. Hurricanes travel from the ocean, to the shore, and onto land, causing massive destruction, earning itself the title of a natural disaster.

http://noconsensus.wordpress.com/2010/02/02/the-power-behind-hurricanes-and-tornadoes/

I is for Isotherms and Isobars*Isotherm*If you've ever watched the weather you see that all the temperatures are about in the

same range. Your area might be 80 degrees and the areas around you will be in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. You also see that there are lines connecting these ranges of temperatures, as well as separating them. These are called isotherms. They are lines that represent equal temperatures. They are separated in 10 degree sections, so there is a line at 60 degrees, 70 degrees, 80 degrees, and so on.

*Isobar*As you've also see, there is pressure in the air, which is caused by temperature in wind. There are also lines called isobars. Isobars are lines of equal pressure. When 2 of these bars are close together, there are strong winds in that area. And when they are far apart, the winds are not strong. Windy weather has higher pressure, closer lines, and calm weather has lower pressure, far apart lines.

Isotherms

Isobars

http://www.ametsoc.org/AMSEDU/dstreme/extras/usr_guide/Pressure.html

J is for Jet StreamA jet stream is a fast, flowing, narrow air current found in the atmosphere.

The two types are polar and subtropical. These are caused by the meeting of air groups under the tropopause-part of the atmosphere. When two groups of different densities meet, wind increases due to change in pressure. They try to go from the warmer stratosphere to the cooler troposphere, but the coriolis effect does not allow this. This forces the air stream to go back to the area from the original two air groups. This causes a polar and subtropical jet stream to form in both hemispheres. These are mostly used in the airline industry to move faster. There are also non-permanent jet streams all over the world.

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/global/jet.htm

K is for KnotsA knot is another unit of measuring wind speed, like mph (miles per hour)

is a unit to measure wind speed. This is actually the standard unit used to measure wind speed, but the US doesn't use the metric system all other countries use, so we use mph, too. The knot is equal to 1.1507794 miles.

http://weather.about.com/od/forecastingtechniques/ss/mapsymbols_8.htm

http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/abby-sunderland-sailing-conditions_2010-06-10

L is for Low pressureAt this point you have seen the isobars page. This is also the opposite of

high pressure. The pressure of the atmosphere in this area is less than the areas surrounding it. They occur during warm weather and the weather is calm. They are represented by an L on weather maps and their winds cyclone outwards based on the coriolis effect on the hemisphere. It is called low pressure because warm air is less dense than cool air.

M is for MapsWeather maps are used to show weather conditions. They use symbols to

show what weather is happening where. They use isotherms, symbols for fronts, symbols for pressure, and symbols for weather patterns.

N is for NexradNexrad is an abbreviation for NEXt generation RADar. The next generation radar is a series of

159 doppler weather radars distributed and controlled by the National Weather Service within the United States Department of Commerce. These high-resolution NEXRADs can detect precipitation and wind. There are 2 modes that can be selected by the controller- a slow scanning clean-air mode to look for movement when there appears to be little activity. The precipitation mode scans fast to track fast moving, active weather. When it has scanned, the data is turned into a mosaic map that shows wind movement and precipitation patterns. It is the next generation because it focuses on its automation and math when it scans. It is also sometimes called - WSR-88D.

http://www.oar.noaa.gov/spotlite/archive/spot_craft.html

http://dwarmstr.blogspot.com/2006/08/nexrad-radar-and-cars.html

O is for Ocean CurrentsOcean currents happen because of surface currents.Surface currents are rivers of water moving through the ocean that travel to a depth of several hundred

meters and are driven by winds. the northern hemisphere winds move in a clockwise direction, and southern hemisphere a counter clockwise direction. This rotation happens because of the coriolis effect.

Currents affect the coast weather because of their temperatures. East and west coasts have different average temperatures because their currents originate from different areas. East coast currents come from the poles and west coast currents originate from the equator. One major warm current is the Gulf stream.

Density currents occur where wind can't make currents happen. They form when dense seawater sinks beneath less dense coldwater. They are sort of like a conveyer belt because cold water from ice caps moves on the bottom and warm water moves on top. These are very important to the climate because they bring the temperatures to the coasts.

The last major current is an upwelling, a current in the ocean that brings deep, cold water to the surface. An upwelling bring nutrients from the bottom of the ocean to the top, the warm water gets blown offshore, allowing for the cool water to come up.

P is for PrecipitationThere are four main types of precipitation: rain, sleet, snow, and hail.Rain is caused by water droplets condensing in a cloud, becoming heavy, and eventually falling

to earth in the form of rain.Snow happens similarly to rain. Water condenses, then gets heavy and falls, but with snow, the

water is frozen into ice crystals, which fall in the form of snowflakes.Sleet is very similar to snow, but when the snowflakes fall, they're only partially frozen. Sleet is a

combination of snow and ice.Hail is frozen pellets that fall to the earth. They act like rocks falling to the earth, crushing plants

and damaging property.

rain

http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/i%20love%20rain

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:UK_snow_February_2,_2009_img008.jpg

http://www.wunderground.com/wximage/glv/8

http://www.continentalcollisioncenter.com/car-hail-repair-austin-tx

snow

sleet

hail

Q is for Quasi-Stationary FrontAlso called a stationary-front, these fronts don't move at all, or move very

little. Usually travelling at a speed of 5 knots or less, these front occur when 2 air masses of different temperatures run into each other but neither is moving fast enough to push through the other. They stay there and some of the warm air mixes with the cool air, causing water to condense from water vapor. This forms clouds and brings precipitation. These fronts bring their weather for multiple days because they don't move at all.

R is for Rising and Falling Heat*CONVECTION* If you've ever heard the term 'heat rises', that's what

convection is. Or, convection is the movement of currents within a fluid or air. In this case, it is air. Since warm air is less dense than cool air it goes up, but when it gets up it cools and the cool air below it warms, so they switch places. This process continues all the time as long as the temperature of the air is changing.

S is for the Sun and Sun's EnergyThe sun is what the solar system revolves around and provides heat and

light to the earth. Since the earth is tilting at a 23.5 degree angle, the earth is unevenly heated by the sun. Most all weather patterns can be traced back to the heating of earth by the sun. For example, when the sun's heat meets the earth's surface, the warm air rises, and the cool air sinks, the up and down cycle of the warm and cool air makes wind. Another example is precipitation. The sun heats up bodies of water, causing water droplets to evaporate into the air as water vapor. From here, the vapor condenses to clouds and falls as precipitation.

http://www.livethedreameveryday.com/eleventh-day-christmas/

T is for TornadosTornados occur when winds of different temperature and speed meet in a

thunderstorm. When they meet, they make a horizontal rotating column of air. When this column of air is met by an updraft, the tornado becomes more condensed. Rain and hail from the thunderstorm cause the tornado to touch down onto the earth's surface.

http://mmem.spschools.org/grade5science/weather/tornadodiagram.html

U is for UtensilsScientists use many different instruments, or utensils, to measure weather. They are called

meteorological instruments.Thermometers- used to find the temperature of the air. When the temperature warms, the liquid

inside expands and flows up the thermometer. When the temperature cools, the liquid inside contracts and slides down the thermometer.

Anemometer- Used to find wind speed. Wind goes through rotating cups that are attached to a dial, which are attached to the instrument, and the dial shows the wind speed.

Sling Psychrometer- Used to find humidity in the air. Two thermometers are used in it. One of them is covered with a wet cloth, with a few swings around in the air, some of the water evaporates, making the temperature lower than the other.

thermometer

http://www.acurite.com/weather/humidity/8-5-thermometer-with-hygrometer-00339.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anemometerhttp://usatoday30.usatoday.com/weather/wsling.htm anemometer

V is for VisualizationsTo observe weather all over the world, scientists get images, or

visualizations, of the earth. They get these images from satellites. These images are then used to predict weather patterns all around the world.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/GOES-O/news/orbit_storage.html

http://weather.about.com/od/spaceweather/ig/Weather-Satellites/TRMM-Satellite.htm

W is for Wind CurrentsWind is the horizontal movement of air from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure,

so wind is caused by the difference in air pressure.Air pressure is caused by the unequal heating of the earth.All of these air currents should be going in a straight line from north to south, but the tilt and

rotation of the earth causes unequal heating and movement of wind and water. This is called the coriolis effect. These wind currents are classified by where they come from and how the coriolis effect affects them.

-Doldrums- The doldrums are a calm wind area. The uneven heating of the earth causes the equator, where they are, to be very warm. Even when cool air tries to enter, it gets warmed up before it can get far enough.

-Trade Winds- This wind area occurs between the equator and 30 degree latitude line on both hemispheres. They blow from east to west and were used by sailors during trading. They curve west because of the coriolis effect.

-Prevailing Westerlies- These winds blow from west to east. They occur between the 30 and 60 degree latitude line in both hemispheres. because of our position, these winds highly affect weather in the US. These winds are curved east because of the coriolis effect.

-Polar Easterlies- These winds blow from east to west from the 60 degree latitude line to the poles in both hemispheres. Because of the position the US is in, these winds also highly affect the weather because the coriolis effect turns these winds and the prevailing westerlies towards each other so they meet and create a polar front. These winds are curved west because of the coriolis effect.

-Horse Latitudes- Warm air rises at the equator, splitting the north and south. 30 degree latitude air stops moving towards the poles because of this, so it sinks, creating calm air. This is an area of calm falling air that feeds the polar easterly and prevailing westerly winds.

W is for Wind Currents

http://mail.colonial.net/~hkaiter/Wind_and_Water.htm

X is for X-RaysX-rays are like all rays that can harm skin, they come from the sun and it's heat. X-rays occur

during a solar flare, when energy stored above a sunspot is suddenly released. They make a burst of radiation across the entire spectrum - from radio waves to x rays and gamma rays. There are waves that make up all light coming from the sun, x-rays have very short waves. They are longer than gamma rays, but shorter than visible light, so we cannot see x-rays. They can penetrate most solids, and when absorbed in a gas, it can cause the gas to break down to it's original elements and molecules, or ionization. But most of these rays are absorbed in the earth's atmosphere, but it's power occurs between gamma rays and ultraviolet radiation. These are different from what you get at the doctor because they come from the sun, not a machine, though the same basic concept is used.

an x-class solar flare

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2008/15dec_solarflaresurprise/

Y is for Yellow SnowWhen you think of yellow snow, you think of "don't eat it!" because

everyone says that someone has used the bathroom in it. But that isn't always the case. In some cases, the snow has turned yellow because pollen from trees that stay alive during the winter - like pine and cypress - has gotten in it. If there is enough, the yellow/golden pollen causes the snow to turn yellow/gold. You still shouldn't eat this snow, though, because you don't want to eat pollen!

http://usahitman.com/early-pollen/

Z is for Zonal FlowA zonal flow occurs when there is a high amount of wind movement in the atmosphere. In a zonal flow, the east-to-west (latitude) direction is dominant, or more strong, and the north-to-south (longitude) is weaker. (There is also the meridional flow which is the opposite of this, the longitude winds are stronger than the latitude winds.)

http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/elements/jetstream2.htm

http://www.theweatherprediction.com/habyhints/159/

Work Share T-ChartLauren Brian-Title Page -Atmosphere-Table of Contents -Barometer-Dew Point -Clouds-Coriolis Effect -Hurricanes-Fronts -Precipitation-Global Winds -Sun and the Sun's Energy-High Pressure -Tornados-Isotherms and Isobars -Utensils-Jet Stream -Visualisations-Knots-Low Pressure-Weather Maps-Nexrad-Ocean Currents-Quasi-Stationary Front-Convection-Wind Currents-X-Rays-Yellow Snow-Zonal Flow-Hand drawn maps and images