UNIT 8Katy, Ashley, Anthony, and Nicole (7)

Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5

Kick Starter

How’s the weather?

T of C

Day 1 of the fun

History of Forecasting

Around 650 B.C., the Babylonians tried to predict short-term weather changes based on the appearance of clouds and optical phenomena such as haloes. By 300 B.C., Chinese astronomers had developed a calendar that divided the year into 24 festivals, each festival associated with a different type of weather.

Important EventsPerson Year Achievement

Aristotle 340BC Meteorologica, a philosophical treatise that included theories about the formation of rain, clouds, hail, wind, thunder, lightning, and hurricanes.

Nicholas Cusa Mid-fifteenth century

Hygrometer

Galileo Galilei 1592 Thermometer

Evangelista Torricelli 1643 Barometer

Radiosonde

During the ascent, these instruments transmit temperature, moisture, and pressure data (called soundings) back to a ground station. There, the data are processed and made available for constructing weather maps or insertion into computer models for weather prediction.

Types of Meteorology

Weather prediction (example: news) Research (example: NASA) Climatologists (pretty self explanatory) Forensic meteorology (Weather

detective)

Climate

Tropical rain forest climates straddle the equator

The Earth's coldest temperatures are found at the ice caps

Climate Types Humid Tropics: Known for their high

temperatures year-round and for their large amounts of perennial precipitation. These regions are found near the equator.

Arid Climates: Characterized by little precipitation and huge daily temperature range.

Humid Middle Latitudes Climates: Dominated by land/water differences. The eastern seaboard of the U.S. would be an example of this class, with cool winters and mild summers.

(cont)

Continental Climate: Found in the interior regions of land masses of exceptional size (i.e. Omaha, in the middle of the U.S.A.). Total precipitation is not very high in amount, and seasonal temperatures vary greatly.

Cold Polar Climates: Areas covered by permanent ice and tundra. Here, average temperatures reach above freezing only about one third of the year.

The Doppler Radar

Tips for Predicting the Weather Yourself Check the grass for dew at sunrise. Remember the rhyme. Look for a rainbow in the west. Detect which way the wind is blowing. Check for humidity Watch the clouds. Observe animals Look at the moon at night

Cloud Types

Stratus: Cirrus:

Cumulonimbus:

Kick Starter

What do you know about tornadoes?

T of C

The day of “Greats”

HurricanesTropical DepressionAn organized system of clouds and thunderstorms with a defined surface circulation and maximum sustained winds* of 38 mph (33 kt**) or less

Tropical StormAn organized system of strong thunderstorms with a defined surface circulation and maximum sustained winds of 39-73 mph (34-63 kt)

HurricaneAn intense tropical weather system of strong thunderstorms with a well-defined surface circulation and maximum sustained winds of 74 mph (64 kt) or higher

Estimated Maximum Wind Speed: 120 mph The official anemometer blew away after recording a sustained wind speed of 84 mph and gust of 102 mph.

Estimated Storm Surge: 15 to 20 ft Galveston's highest point stood only 8.7 feet above sea level.

The storm surge occurred at high tide. Lowest Observed Pressure: 28.53 inches (966 hPa) 27.49 inches Hg (931 hPa) At the Galveston Weather Office At sea. Estimated Saffir-Simpson Category: Category 4 Estimated Dead: 8,000 -- 6,000 in Galveston + 2,000 in surrounding area (Some

place the figure as high as 12,000). Estimated Number of Homes Destroyed: 3,600-plus in Galveston. Estimated Total Damage: $25 to 50 million (in 1900 dollars); $500 million to $1 billion (in 2003 dollars)

Great Galveston Hurricane

Tornadoes

Products of warm, humid air masses & a cold, dry air masse.

On average, produce winds of 110 miles per hour and are about 250 feet across.

Generally travel 1 mile before landing elsewhere.

The Great Tri-State Tornado3 states affected (Missouri, Illinois, Indiana)F5 tornado on the Fujita scale695 deaths—a record for a single tornado62 mph average speed3/4 mile average path width (some accounts of 1 mile wide—a record width)

Fujita ScaleScale Wind Speed (mph) Avg. Damage Path

(meters)

F0 40–72 10–50

F1 73–112 30–150

F2 113–157 110–250

F3 158–206 200–500

F4 207–260 400–900

F5 261–318 1100 ~

Scale Potential Damage

F0 Light damage. Some damage to chimneys; branches broken off trees; shallow-rooted trees pushed over; sign boards damaged.

F1 Moderate damage. The lower limit is the beginning of hurricane wind speed; peels surface off roofs; mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned; moving autos pushed off the roads; attached garages may be destroyed.

F2 Significant damage. Roofs torn off frame houses; mobile homes demolished; boxcars overturned; large trees snapped or uprooted; highrise windows broken and blown in; light-object missiles generated.

F3 Severe damage. Roofs and some walls torn off well-constructed houses; most trees in forest uprooted; skyscrapers twisted and deformed with massive destruction of exteriors; heavy cars lifted off the ground and thrown.

F4 Devastating damage. Well-constructed houses leveled; structures with weak foundations blown away some distance; trains overturned; cars thrown and large missiles generated. Skyscrapers and highrises toppled and destroyed.

F5 Catastrophic damage. Strong frame houses lifted off foundations and carried considerable distances to disintegrate; automobile sized missiles fly through the air in excess of 100 m (109 yd); trees debarked; steel reinforced concrete structures badly damaged.

Kick Starter

Are you ready for… the lab?

T of C

Lab day.

Kick Starter

You ready for a quiz?

T of C

Quizzing & Studying

Kick Starter

What is one thing you’ve learned in this unit?

T of C

Test day.