METR Introduction to Synoptic Meteorology Introduction & Surface Observations University of Oklahoma 2004

Lecture Outline  Who am I?  What is this course all about?  Assessment: good news and bad news  Surface observations

Who am I?  Professor David Karoly, room 1366A, SEC ph: Office hours: Weds 11:30am – 1:30pm

What is this course all about?  Synoptic meteorology – an overview of current weather  Synoptic scale – larger than mesoscale - smaller than planetary scale - length scales ~300 - ~3000 km - time scales ~6 hours – 3 days

Arrangements  Monday – computing – Dr Laufersweiler  Wednesday – lecture – Dr Karoly  Friday – lab - Michael James TA  Web site  Prerequisites: MATH 2423 Calc II, PHYS 2514 Phys I, enforced  Textbooks: mainly for reference, do your reading assignements

Assessment: Good news and bad news  No final exam  Term project due Monday of finals week, 15% of final grade  Each week, computing assignment, homework, in- class lab (to finish after lab) (about 40 in total)  Announced and unannounced quizzes  85% from linear combination of all these  Do all work on time, make-up allowances only in exceptional circumstances

Surface observations  Basic: temperature, humidity, pressure, wind speed and direction, rainfall (every 3 hours)  Visual observations: weather phenomena, visibility, cloud type, base  ASOS: Automated surface observing system /sensrmap.html Replaced manual observing sites in NWS

ASOS  Tipping bucket rain gauge  Hygrothermometer  Present weather identifier  Wind speed and direction sensors  Ceilometer (Cloud height)  Freezing rain sensor  Thunderstorm sensor  Visibility sensor  Data collection package

Lecture Summary  Synoptic meteorology –An overview of current weather at scales of several hundred to several thousand kilmetres.  Assessment –No final exam, but a major project –Lots of homework; keep up to date!!  Surface observations –Representativeness of surrounding weather? –ASOS, manual obs