Current Weather Discussion

What to do when giving a weather disucssion

We have all seen or heard someone give some form of a weather discussion. It could be in a simple form you hear from a TV meteorologist or in the increasingly detailed form Professor Martin gives during class this semester.

How do you even start a weather discussion? Weather maps are so busy, things are going on in so many different locations. You start with the broad picture of the surface and focus in on interesting weather phenomenon, like cyclones, intense cold weather, strong winds etc. Then want to look at each significant level of the atmosphere and note large scale (synoptic scale) and smaller scale (meso-scale) features that play a role in you phenomenon of interest.

1. Synoptic Scale Overview

The synoptic overview consists of an overview of the major features. Where are the highs, where are the lows, where are the cold airmasses, where are the warm airmasses, where is there precipitation, where are the troughs, where are the ridges.

2. Synoptic Dynamics

This is when you discuss why everything in the synoptic scale overview is important. Why do we care about vorticity at 500 mb? What do the ridges and troughs have to do with weather?

This is when you discuss everything we've learned in this class. If there are clouds, thunderstorms, or just rain what do we know about the vertical motion? How does this related to stability (you can also look at atmospheric soundings when you talk about this), thickness and the thermal wind relationship, the forcing for the horizontal and vertical structure of cyclones.

3. Conclusion What is the major forcing behind the weather phenomenon of interest? Recap the key points of you discussion.

Today's Weather Discussion

• Surface maps (observation maps, radar, maybe satellite maps)- Highs, lows, cold airmasses, warm airmasses, moist air, dry air, fronts, precipitation.
  1. Current US observations
  2. Current US observations and fronts
  3. ETA 6 hour forecast valid during class time
  4. Current US Radar
  5. Current IR satellite, surface pressure, and fronts
  6. Current GOES-12 visible satellite image
• Jet level map (300-200 mb) - Jet streaks, jet entrance/exit regions
  1. 250 mb observation map
  2. ETA 300 mb 6 hour forecast valid during class time
• Upper Troposphere map (500 mb) - Troughs, ridges, vorticity
  1. 500 mb observation map
  2. ETA 500 mb 6 hour forecast valid during class time
• Lower Troposphere map (850 mb) - Actual temperature (as far as forecasting type of precipitation), temperature advection
  1. 850 mb observation map
  2. ETA 850 mb 6 hour forecast valid during class time
• Atmospheric Soundings - Stable layers, unstable layers, inversions
  1. United States atmospheric soundings

• Storm Prediction Center
• National Weather Service
• UW-AOS weather page
• National Hurricane Center
• Hydrometeorological Prediction Center