2. 1 “The dawn came late and breakfast had to wait When the gales of November came slashing When afternoon came it was freezing rain In the face of a hurricane west wind” Gordon Lightfoot The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

3. METEOROLOGY 2008 SEVERE STORMS

4. 3 PRESENTED BY: MARK A. VAN HECKE EARTH-SPACE SCIENCE EVENT TRAINER ANCHOR BAY HIGH SCHOOL FAIR HAVEN, MICHIGAN mvanhecke@comcast.net

5. 4 PRESENTATION OBJECTIVES Define ‘Severe Weather’ Identify representative tasks students may be asked to complete in the Science Olympiad Meteorology event. Identify resources to help Coaches prepare their students for competition in the Science Olympiad Meteorology event.

6. 5 SCIENCE PROCESS SKILLS Observation Inference Data and diagram analysis Predictions Conclusions

7. 6 WHAT IS SEVERE WEATHER? Severe weather refers to any weather event that is disruptive or destructive to human life and property

8. 7 SEVERE WEATHER EVENTS The World Meteorological Organization at its 2004 conference identified severe weather events that are common throughout the world.

9. 8 HEAVY RAIN

10. 9 STRONG WINDS AND GUSTS

11. 10 HAIL

12. 11 LIGHTNING

13. 12 TORNADOES

14. 13 FLASH FLOODS

15. 14 EXTREME TEMPERATURES

16. 15 REGIONAL SEVERE WEATHER EVENTS The World Meteorological Organization has also identified forms of severe weather that are localized in specific regions of the world. These include:

17. 16 SNOW STORMS

18. 17 DUST AND SAND STORMS

19. 18 SEA SWELLS/TSUNAMIS

20. 19 HURRICANES-TROPICAL STORMS

21. 20 EXTENDED AREAS OF FOG

22. 21 The 2008 Science Olympiad Meteorology competition will emphasize severe weather events that are common to the United States and North America. Participants may be asked to complete one or more of the following representative tasks: REPRESENTATIVE TASKS 2008 SCIENCE OLYMPIAD METEOROLOGY EVENT Use weather station data, isobar maps, fronts, radar data, or meteograms alone or in conjunction with one another to interpret weather data. Demonstrate knowledge of the life cycle of different severe storms and be able to associate those conditions with radar and frontal data. Relate specific hazardous conditions of severe storms and interpret their significance. Complete storm tracking and prediction using provided weather data

23. 22 WEATHER STATION DATA

24. 23 ISOBARS Be able to read and draw isobars to determine the formation of low pressure systems that spawn severe weather

25. 24 FRONTS

26. 25 RADAR DATA

27. 26 METEOGRAMS

28. 27

29. 28 Meteograms This is a 25 hour time series for a particular station location. The plot is divided up into several subplots described top to bottom: * Temperature and dewpoint chart - This shows temperature as the top line and dewpoint as the bottom line. * EXTT (extreme temperature) - The maximum and minimum temperatures are plotted below the chart at specific reporting times. 12Z and 18Z are generally low temperatures and 0Z and 6Z are high temperatures. * WX (present weather data) - This shows the weather being reported at that time as a weather symbol. * SNWDP (snow depth) - This shows reported snow cover in inches. * PREC (precipitation) - This shows precipitation totals in inches. The values are 24 hour totals generally at 12Z, 6 hour totals at 0Z, 6Z and 18Z, 3 hour totals elsewhere. * VIS (visibility) - This shows the horizontal visibility in miles. * WGST (wind gusts) - This reports wind gusts in knots if the winds are strong and gusty. This is generally the maximum wind reported over a several minute period during the observation of data. * WIND (winds and cloud cover) - This is the standard wind and cloud cover symbols used in the surface data plots. Up is north. * Cloud chart - This chart gives cloud layer information. The vertical axis is height of cloud base in feet and is logarithmic. The layers are plotted as horizontal lines. Clear skies are plotted as a 'C'. Scattered cloud layers (1/8th to 3/8th coverage) are plotted as a single short dash. Broken cloud layers (4/8th to 7/8th coverage) are plotted as two short dashes. Overcast layers are plotted as a single long dash. The actual cloud ceiling is displayed below the chart in 100s of feet if the ceiling is below 10,000 feet. * Pressure chart - This chart plots sea level pressure (or altimeter setting if pressure not reported) in millibars. * Time - This is the reporting time in universal time.

30. 29 CONDITIONS OF SEVERE STORMS

31. 30 CONDITIONS OF SEVERE STORMS Thunderstorms are often a precursor to other forms of severe weather. They develop in three stages: Developing Mature Dissipating

32. 31 Stages of Thunderstorm Development

33. 32 STAGE ONE: DEVELOPING

34. 33 STAGE TWO: MATURE

35. 34 TORNADO FORMATION

36. 35 STORM TRACKING AND PREDICTION

37. 36 HURRICANE TRACKING

38. 37 TROPICAL DEPRESSIONS

39. 38 TROPICAL STORMS

40. 39 HURRICANES

41. 40 OTHER RESOURCES

42. 41 ON YOUR CD 2008 Science Olympiad Meteorology Text. An expanded and updated version of the 2007 Text with Severe storm information Weather indicators guide using wind direction and barometric pressure changes to forecast weather NOAA Publication Hurricane Basics Sample Science Olympiad Meteorology Events from past competitions with Severe Weather themes