UBC  ATSC 201 - Meteorology of Storms
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Week 14  2 - 6  Dec 2024
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 PM Class:
  1. Turn in HW.
  2. Discussion & interaction on topics from last week (bring your clicker).
  3. Hurricane KeyNote lecture with imbedded videos.
  4. Tutorial on using thermo diagrams for hurricanes.
Readings:
  • S. Ch16: sections16.4 - 16.6.

Topic: Hurricane Dynamics, Thermodynamics and Models

   Textbook sections 16.4 - 16.6. .
Learning Goals
At the end of this section, you should be able to:

  1. Explain why warm sea-surface temperatures are needed.
  2. Explain what causes hurricanes to die.
  3. Explain why hurricanes need a warm core to exist.
  4. Relate the winds to the dynamics and thermodynamics of hurricanes.
  5. Explain the fundamental processes that explain how winds, pressure, and temperature are related to each other in hurricanes.
  6. Predict hurricane strength and track using numerical models, conceptual models, and climatology.

Evening Readings:
S.Ch16.  sections 16.7-16.9

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Topic: Hurricane Climatology, Hazards & Forecasting
    Textbook sections 16.7 - 16.9. .
Learning Goals
At the end of this section, you should be able to:

  1. Explain hurricane hazards and safety procedures to the general public.
  2. Compare and contrast tropical vs. extratropical cyclones.
Tuesday(D2)
Morning
Midday
Evening
10 PM Warm-up Questions:
Do quiz W14 D2 online on Canvas.

Deadline to finish warm-up Qs.
Wednesday (D3) .
Morning
Midday
2 PM Class: :
  1. Discussion & interaction on topics from readings (bring your clicker).
  2. Keynote slide show of hurricanes - part 3.
 

Evening Readings:
S.Ch13.  p472 (INFO Box on Pacific cyclones)

 Warm-up Questions:
Do quiz W14 D4 online on Canvas
 Topic: West-coast Weather & Course Synthesis
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Learning Goals
At the end of this course, you should be able to:
  1. Apply your knowledge of cyclones, fronts, and general circulation to explain the weather in Vancouver.  In particular ...
  2. ... Describe west-coast weather phenomena including: pre-frontal jets, the pineapple express (aka atmospheric rivers), the cyclone graveyard, orographic precipitation, instant occlusions upon landfall, polar lows, etc.

  3. Formulate in your mind a coherent picture of how the different weather phenomena discussed in class relate to each other.
  4. Compare the relative skill in forecasting these different phenomena.  
  5. Judge the value of spending tax dollars on improvement to weather forecasting.
  6. Identify the different subdisciplines within meteorology, and list which ones we covered and which we didn't.
  7. .
  8. For more depth on mountain meteorology, consider taking course ATSC 313 Renewable Energy Meteorology.
  9. For more depth on synoptics and weather forecasting, consider taking course ATSC 413 Forest Fire Weather and Climate.
Thurs (D4)
Morning
Midday
Evening
10 PM Finish warm-up Qs.
Friday (D5) .
Morning
Midday
2 PM Class: 
  1. Discussion & interaction on West-coast Weather topics (bring your clicker).
  2. Review / Recap of the whole course.
  3. Complete instructor & TA evaluations. 

 

No numerical homework this week.

. Here is some info to help you prepare for the final exam.
- - - - - - - - -
FINAL EXAM is comprehensive (i.e., covers all topics) but focuses on the Learning Goals for Weeks 9-13 .
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Namely, the exam focuses on readings:
S.Ch6. p159 -168 (left column), p170 top half, & p171 Info box only.

S.Ch8.p219-224 (top 2/3), and p227-235(top paragraph).

S.Ch9. p267-268, 274-276, 279-281.

S.Ch11.  p329-334, also
Figs. 11.11, 11.12, & 11.14 on global heat transport, 
p341(bottom 1/3 on hydrostatic thermal circulations) - 349,
 p357 - 359,
p 367 - 369,
p 371, 
p 374 (bottom paragraph on Transport by Rossby waves) -  378 first 3 paragraphs.

S.Ch12. p 389-407 (skip 394-395), &
p 413-418.

S.Ch13. p425-433, 443-446 ,
p451 (bottom 2/3)- 456 (top 2/3), 
p463-467,
p472 (Focus Box).

S.Ch16. all  (except p623)


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Although the focus is as listed above, the final exam will build on knowledge you gained from the whole course.
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The Final exam is open books, open laptop, open notes, open calculator. 
Topic: Review and Synthesis
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Learning Goals to Get Prepared for the Final Exam
Based on all the material since the midterm exam, you should be able to:
  1. Synthesize all the material you learned into a coherent understanding of:
    1. general circulation (global climate, jet streams, Rossby waves)
    2. synoptics (air masses, fronts, mid-latitude cyclones)
    3. hurricanes
  2. Be proficient at using the following tools:
    1. weather satellite images
    2. weather maps
  3. Be able to look at the sky and:
    1. identify the clouds
    2. make a short-term forecast (nowcast) for the local weather
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