(Forecasting) Mesoscale Laboratory Meteorology 417/517 Spring 2009 Instructor: Bill Gallus Oce: 3025 Agronomy Oce Hours: 1:00 - 3 pm Wednesday Phone: [phone]; email: [e-mail] TA: Chris Schaer - 3018 Agronomy; email [e-mail] TA Oce Hours: 12 noon - 2 pm Thursday Class meetings Lecture period T 2:10-3:15 pm, Weather Discussions MW 3:05-3:30 pm, and Thursday 2:102:35 pm (also possibly on some Tuesdays). Lab periods T 3:15-4:30 and Thursday 2:35-4:30. (Many labs will be done in-class, often on Thursday, but sometimes on Tuesday or both days depending on the weather. Take-home portions will usually be due the Thursday of the following week. Lab periods also will be used for occasional forecasting quizzes.) Texts Required: 417/517 Course Notes Mesoscale Forecasting Manual (available in University bookstore). Web page with supplemental material: http://www.meteor.iastate.edu/classes/mt417/ Also helpful Severe and Hazardous Weather (your 311 book), Bluesteins SynopticDynamic Meteorology in Midlatitudes (in library). Additional supplemental material may be distributed in class when appropriate. Course Objectives This course is designed to hone the forecasting skills developed in previous synoptic labs, and expose students to mesoscale analysis and forecasting. Although the rst few classes will explore mesoscale aspects of winter storms, the majority of the course will explore convective storms and the forecasting of small-scale severe weather. After completion of this course, students should be able to explain in a physically meaningful and consistent way both the synoptic-scale and mesoscale features of any weather situation. Syllabus January 13, 15: Course organization; Forecasting heavy snowstorms. (pp 1-16) January 20, 22: Cold-air damming and lake-eect snowstorms. (pp 17-30) January 27, 29: CSI and internal gravity waves. (pp 31-51) February 3, 5: Verication methods; Basic thunderstorm structure, outow boundaries, other mesoscale boundaries. PROBABLE TAKE-HOME LAB (pp 52-54) February 10, 12: Mesoscale analysis and interpretation. GUEST instructor on 2/10 (pp 55-64) February 17, 19: Mesoscale sounding and stability analysis. (pp 143-158)
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February 24, 26: Wind shear analyses, hodographs, helicity, skew-Ts using to predict severe weather. (pp 143-158) March 3, 5: Storm type: Air mass thunderstorms, multicells and supercells. (pp 99-142) March 10: Mid-term review. March 12: MIDTERM (material through Feb 26). March 16, 18: Spring Break - NO CLASSES March 24, 26: Synoptic conditions favorable for severe storms, SPC IN-CLASS LAB. (pp 65-98) March 31, April 2: Mesoscale convective systems - description, diagnosis. TAKE-HOME LAB (pp 204-229) April 2-4: National Weather Association Severe Storms and Doppler Radar Conference in Des Moines (students are encouraged to attend) April 7, 9: Use of weather radar for severe weather forecasting and warnings. IN-CLASS LAB with GUEST instructor on 4/7 (pp 159-177) April 14, 16: Tornadogenesis dynamics and tornado forecasting (IN-CLASS CHASE LAB). (pp 178-203) April 21, 23: Flash oods, persistent convective events. GUEST instructor all week (pp 230-247) April 28: Forecasting check lists for heavy precipitation and severe weather, miscellaneous topics. April 30: Review May 4: FINAL (2:15-4:15pm) Grading: 40% class exercises 10% forecast contest, weather briengs and nowcast/forecast exercises 23% mid-term exam 27% nal exam NOTE ABOUT DISABILITIES: If you have a documented disability and anticipate needing accommodations in this course, please make arrangements to meet with me soon. Please request that a Disability Resources sta send a SAAR form verifying your disability and specifying the accommodation you will need. NOTE ABOUT ACADEMIC DISHONESTY: In this course, you will be permitted to do some of the weekly lab exercises outside of class. Although I understand it can be helpful to work with others in doing the lab exercises, I caution you to be sure to do your own work. Traditionally, many students receive far worse grades on the exams in this course than on the laboratory exercises, which usually indicates that the students relied too much on others when doing the labs. If I receive lab exercises from two or more students that are basically identical, I will regard it as cheating. All cases of such academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Students. In addition, if problems persist on the lab exercises, I may have to require that they be done in-class.
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