Meteorology and

Oceanography 1
M ET01
College of Maritime Education
 Disclaimer Statement:

This Course Study Guide is not intended to be presented as the original work of
the module compiler. It is meant to be the primary reference material for the
course composed of the flexible learning syllabus, learning plans, course
content, and assessments compiled from various sources. Accordingly, the sale
and distribution of such outside the University of the Visayas is strictly
prohibited.

2
 Course Study Guide Contents

Week No. Module Topic Page

1 Shipborne Meteorological instruments and Its Use to Weather

System Reporting 5

2 Weather system reporting system reporting procedures and

recording 35

3 Application of the Meteorological information 77

Weather forecasting 93
4

Editorial Committee

Module Compiler 2M RENE T. GODINEZ

2M Fritz Nomar Basnillo

Content Experts CM Judelito D. Balos
2M Kent Climaco

Language Editor Dr. Ma Crispy B. Velasco, RGC, LPT

Ms. Jedidiah K. Singo

Design/ Media Specialist
Dr. Ma. Crispy B. Velaso, RGC, LPT

3
 Flexible Learning Course Syllabus
Flexible Learning Course Syllabus
College of Maritime Education
Professional Education Subjects
First Semester, Academic Year 2020 - 2021
I. Course Information
The subject aims to make the students familiar with the science of
Course Code MET 01 Course weather and sea current, and to apply practical knowledge in aid of
Meteorology Description navigation. Topic include the distributions of the atmospheric pressure
Course Title oceanography 1 on earth, what causes bad weather and how it is formed.

1. Interpret information obtained from ship borne meteorological

Prerequisites(s) None instruments while vessel is underway.
Course 2. Discuss various weather systems, reporting procedures, and
Learning recording systems.
Outcomes 3. Use appropriate meteorological information and observations in
Credit Unit 3 Units determining expected weather conditions.

1.Ability to use and interpret information obtain from ship borne meteorological instrument.
2.Knowledge of the characteristics of the various weather system reporting procedures and recording
KUP
systems.
3. Ability to apply the meteorological information available.
Competency Plan and conduct a passage and determine position
II Instructor’s Information
Corporate
Instructor Name RENE T. GODINEZ rgodinez@uv.edu.ph
Email
nd
Title: 2 Mate Phone +6392177719998
III Course Syllabus
Mode of Assessment
Learning Materials and
No. of Intended Learning Instruction/ Task/ Graded
Week Module Topic Resources
Hours Outcomes Delivery Tools Output
No.
Required Suggested
13.5 Lesson 1:  Lesson 1 Course  Martins,  Course Packet Learning Log 1:
Total Shipborne  discuss the principles Module on Renato P. and  Printed Identifying
Meteorology and
hours Meteorological and uses of the Matheson  Digital Shipboard
Oceanography 1,
Instruments common shipborne College of Guisela  Microsoft Meteorological
12.0 and Its Use to meteorological Maritime Santiago G.: Teams Instruments
hour Weather System instruments; Education, Meteorology
self- Reporting University of the and Learning Log 2:
directed  discuss the layers of Visayas; Oceanography Essay on the
 Table A-II/1 of the
learning Sub-topic 1: atmosphere, solar , Elsevier, Composition and
1978 STCW Code
and Meteorological radiation and its as amended Brazzil: 2017 Properties of the
1.5 Instruments; effect on isolation of a Function: Atmosphere
hour of variation; Navigation at the
assess Sub-topic 2: The operational level ; Learning Log 3:
 IMO Model Course
1 ment Atmosphere and
its Composition
 determine how
surface pressure rises 7.03;
Mind Game on
Atmospheric
 CMO No.67 series
and Physical if air is added to the of 2017: Revised Pressure
Properties; column above surface PSG for BS Marine
and vice versa; and Transportation and
Learning 4:
Sub-topic 3:The BS Marine
Engineering Short Answer on
Atmospheric  determine the true
Programs the Kinds of Wind
Pressure; wind velocity by using
and Its Effect
a vector diagram,
Sub-topic 4: given the apparent
Wind(True, wind and the ship’s
Weekly Student
Relative, Speed course and speed.
Journal Entry 1
and force)

13.5 Lesson 2:  discuss how clouds  Lesson 2 Course  Dijkstra,  Course Packet Learning Log 5:
Total Weather System are made of and their Module on Henk A.:  Printed Short Answer on
Meteorology and
hours Reporting role in weather; Nonlinear  Digital Clouds and
Oceanography 1,
Procedures and College of Climate  Microsoft Precipitation
12.0 Recording  determine the Maritime Dynamics: Teams
2 hour Sub-topic reduction of visibility Education, Cambridge, Learning Log 6:
self- 1:Clouds and by the presence of University of the New York; Short Answer on
directed Precipitation particles in the Visayas; Cambridge the Principles that
learning atmosphere, near the University will Affect
 Table A-II/1 of
and Sub-topic 2: earth’s surface; the 1978 STCW Press 2013 Visibility
1.5 Principles that Code as Learning Log 7:

4
 hour of Affect the  explain the surface amended Essay on the
assess Visibility; wind circulation Function: Information from
Navigation at the
ment around high and low wind and pressure
operational level
Sub-topic 3 pressure centers; and ; system
Information from
Wind and  discuss the typical  IMO Model Learning Log 8:
Pressure System; movement and Course 7.03; Essay on the
characteristics of movement and
 CMO No.67
Sub-topic 4: The depression characteristics of
series of 2017:
Movement and approaching from Revised PSG for depression
Characteristics of west passing between BS Marine
Depressions the observer and the Transportation Weekly Student
near poles and BS Marine Journal Entry 2
Engineering
Programs
13.5  determine the  Lesson 3 Course  Martins,  Course Packet Learning Log 9:
Total Lesson 3: organization, Module on Renato P.  Printed Short Answer on
Meteorology and
hours Application of functions and and  Digital Anticyclones and
Oceanography 1,
the objectives of the College of Matheson  Microsoft Other Pressure
12.0 Meteorological world meteorological Maritime Guisela Teams System
hour Information organization Education, Santiago G.: Learning Log
self- University of the Meteorology 10: Essay on the
directed Sub-topic 1:  differentiate ridges Visayas; and Weather services
 Table A-II/1 of the
learning Anticyclones and and cols or voids Oceanograph and information
1978 STCW Code
and other Pressure between the as amended y, Elsevier, provided by
3 1.5 Systems; and convergence of Function: Brazzil: 2017 meteorological
hour of pressure systems on a Navigation at the office
assess Sub-topic 2: surface synoptic or operational level;
ment Weather Services prognostic chart  IMO Model Course Weekly Student
7.03; and
and Information Journal Entry 3
 CMO No.67 series
Provided by  interpret the types of of 2017: Revised
Meteorological information received PSG for BS Marine
Office by facsimile machine Transportation and
including the service BS Marine
provided for storm Engineering
Programs
warning
13.5  Lesson 4 Course  Venkatesan,  Course Packet Learning Log
Total Lesson 4:  comprehend the Module on R; Tendon,  Printed 11:
essence of weather Meteorology and Amit; D’Asaro,
hours Weather  Digital Weather
Oceanography 1, Eric;
forecasting forecasting;  Microsoft Teams Recording,
College of Atmanand,
12.0 Maritime Reporting and
 discuss on how to M.A.:
hour Sub-topic 1: Education, Forecasting
Observing the
4 self- Recording and record report weather
observations; and
University of the
Visayas; Oceans in Real
directed Reporting Time; World
 Table A-II/1 of the
learning Weather Meteorological Weekly Student
1978 STCW Code
and Observations; and  understand weather Organization, Journal Entry 4
as amended
1.5 information and ideas Function: Cham,
hour of Sub-topic 2: of forecasting. Navigation at the Switzerland:
assess Weather operational level; Springer;
ment information and  IMO Model Course Geneva,
7.03; and Switzerland:
Forecasting
 CMO No.67 series 2018
of 2017: Revised
PSG for BS Marine
Transportation and
BS Marine
Engineering
Programs
IV - A Points for Graded Output IV-B. Grade Equivalent Based on Points Earned
100% 1.0 86% 2.1
Course Week Module Topic Output Points
99% 1.1 85% 2.2
98% 1.2 84% 2.3
1 Major 235 97% 1.2 83% 2.4
96% 1.3 82% 2.4
2 Major 320 95% 1.4 81% 2.5
94% 1.5 80% 2.6
3 Major 220 93% 1.6 79% 2.7
92% 1.6 78% 2.7
4 Minor 125 91% 1.7 77% 2.8
90% 1.8 76% 2.9
89% 1.9 75% 3.0
Total 900
88% 2.0
74% and below INC
87% 2.0
INC is given if the final grade is 2.5 or better but missing any two of the course requirements listed above. INC should be complied
within 365 days immediately after the close of the Semester.

Approval
Prepared by: Reviewed by: Approved by:

2M RENE T. GODINEZ CM JUDELITO D. BALOS DR. AILEEN B. CATACUTAN DR. ANNA LOU C. CABUENAS
Instructor Program Coordinator Director of Libraries Chief Academic Officer

5
Les
Lesson 1
Shipborne Meteorological
Instruments Operation

At the end of the lesson, the student should be able to:

1. discuss the principles and uses of the common Shipborne Meteorological
instruments;
2. discuss the layers of atmosphere, solar radiation and its effect on isolation of a
variation;
3. determine how surface pressure rises if air is added to the column above surface
and vice versa; and
4. determine the true wind velocity by using a vector diagram, given the apparent
wind and the ship’s course and speed

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 College College of Maritime Education
Program Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation
Course Code Met01
Course Title Meteorology oceanography 1
Credit Unit 3 units (Lecture)
Lesson 1 Week 1
Module Topic Shipborne Meteorological Instruments and Its Use to Weather Systems Reporting
At the end of the lesson the students are able to:
1. discuss the principles and uses of the common shipborne meteorological instruments;
Intended Learning 2. discuss the layers of atmosphere, solar radiation and its effect on isolation of a variation; and
Outcomes 3. determine the true wind velocity given the apparent wind and the ship’s course and speed.
Number of Hours 13.5 Hours (12 Hours Self-Directed Learning and 1.5 Hours Assessment Tasks)
1. Why is there a need to understand the principles and uses of the Shipborne Meteorological
Study Questions Instruments?
2. How do temperature pressure, density and composition of the atmosphere vary with altitude?
3. How to determine the true wind velocity?
Required Suggested
 Table A-II/1 of the 1978 STCW Code  Martins, Renato P. and Matheson Guisela
as amended Function: Navigation at Santiago G.: Meteorology and Oceanography,
the operational level Elsevier, Brazzil: 2017
Learning Resources  IMO Model Course 7.03
 CMO No.67 series of 2017: Revised
PSG for BS Marine Transportation
and BS Marine Engineering Programs

1. The student shall learn and study Lesson 1 about Shipborne Meteorological Instrument
Operation and Its Use to Weather. He may consider the required reading materials provided in
this course study and may refer to other suggested resources as additional reading.
2. To engage the student with the lesson he will view and study a video clip on the Principles and
Uses of common ship borne instrument https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPgWtdgIDt0.
3. While watching and studying the video, the students shall familiarize and identify Shipboard
Learning Activity Meteorological Instruments from the video clip thru learning Log. No. 1.
4. After watching the video the student shall continue his readings and shall comprehend Sub -
topic 2: The Atmosphere and its Composition and Physical Properties; Sub-topic 3:The
Atmospheric Pressure; and Sub-topic 3: Wind(True, Relative, Speed and force)
5. To verify the students understanding about the rest of the topics in Lesson 1, he shall log his
learning to the different Learning Logs, provided in this module.
6. To synthesize student’s learning he shall make a Weekly Student Journal entry one about Ship
borne Meteorological Instrument and Its Use to Weather Reporting.

Learning Log 1 to 3
Required Output Weekly Student Journal Entry 1
Learning Log No. 1 - Identifying Shipboard Meteorological Instruments
Learning Log No. 2 - Essay on the Composition and Properties of the Atmosphere
Assessment Tasks Learning Log No. 3 - Mind Game on Atmospheric Pressure
Learning Log No. 4 - Short Answer on the Kinds of Wind and Its Effect
Weekly Student Journal Entry 1
1. Short Answer Rubric
Assessment Tool
2. Student Journal Rubric
Target Competency Ability to use and interpret information obtained from Shipborne Meteorological Instruments
Prepared by: Reviewed by: Approved for use:

2M RENE T. GODINEZ CM JUDELITO D. BALOS DR. ANNA LOU C. CABUENAS

Instructor BSMT Program Coordinator Chief Academic Officer

7
Sub-topic 1: Meteorological Instruments
Introduction

The focus of this lesson is to gain insights on how the atmospheric pressure
is distributed around the earth and its effect on the prevailing winds and
ocean surface currents, as well as shipborne meteorological instruments and
their operation, various weather systems, reporting procedures and recording
systems, the meteorological information, and the ocean currents and waves.

Hence, this lesson was carefully studied to provide education and training
resources to benefit the students and instructors in the Maritime Profession,
especially the students of the University of the Visayas particularly the
College of Maritime Education and anyone interested in learning the basics of
Marine meteorology and oceanography.

Meteorology is a branch of science that deals with the atmosphere of a

planet particularly that of the earth, the most important application of which
is the analysis and prediction of weather (Columbia encyclopedia). Moreover,
it is a discipline involving the study of the atmosphere and its phenomena
(Sci Tech Encyclopedia). Finally, it is from the Greek: μετέωρον, meteoron,
"high in the sky"; and λόγος, logos, "knowledge" which is the interdisciplinary
scientific study of the atmosphere that focuses on weather processes and forecasting.

Meteorological instruments are the equipment used to find the state of the atmosphere at a given time. Each
science has its own unique sets of laboratory equipment. Meteorology, however, is a science which does not use much
laboratory equipment but relies more on on-site observation and remote sensing equipment. In science, an
observation, or observable, is an abstract idea that can be measured and for which data can be taken. Rain was one
of the first quantities to be measured historically. Two other accurately measured weather-related variables are wind
and humidity. Many attempts had been made prior to the 15th century to construct adequate equipment to measure
atmospheric variables.

These are Devices used to measure weather phenomena in the mid-20th century were the rain gauge, the
anemometer, and the hygrometer. The 17th century saw the development of the barometer and the Galileo
thermometer while the 18th century saw the development of the thermometer with the Fahrenheit and Celsius scales.
The 20th century developed new remote sensing tools, such as weather radars, weather satellites and wind profilers,
which provide better sampling both regionally and globally. Remote sensing instruments collect data from weather
events some distance from the instrument and typically store the data where the instrument is located and often
transmits the data at defined intervals to central data centers.

In 1441, king PUBG Sejong's son, Prince PUBG Munjong, invented the first standardized rain gauge. These were sent
throughout the Joseon Dynasty of Korea as an official tool to assess land taxes based upon a farmer's potential
harvest. In 1450, Leone Battista Alberti developed a swinging-plate anemometer, and is known as the
first anemometer. In 1607, Galileo Galilei constructs a thermoscope. In 1643, Evangelista Torricelli invents the
mercury barometer. In 1662, Sir Christopher Wren invented the mechanical, self-emptying, tipping bucket rain gauge.
In 1714, Gabriel Fahrenheit creates a reliable scale for measuring
temperature with a mercury-type thermometer. In 1742, Anders
Celsius, a Swedish astronomer, proposed the 'centigrade'
temperature scale, the predecessor of the current Celsius scale. In
1783, the first hair hygrometer is demonstrated by Horace-Bénédict
de Saussure. In 1806, Francis Beaufort introduced his system for
classifying wind speeds. The April 1960 launch of the first successful
weather satellite, TIROS-1, marked the beginning of the age where
weather information became available globally.

1. Barometer is a scientific instrument that is used to measure air

pressure in a certain environment. Pressure tendency can
forecast short term changes in the weather. Many measurements
of air pressure are used within surface weather analysis to help
find surface troughs, pressure systems and frontal boundaries. Aneroid Barometer
1.1. Aneroid Barometer is considered to be the most accurate.
The simple Aneroid Barometer is in the form of corrugated
8
 capsule. By means of linkage system its movement can be magnified which is shown by a moving pointer.
The pointer rotates over a dial graduated in hectopascals or Millibars.

The elastic properties of the metal capsule change with the time and the instrument should therefore be
checked at frequent intervals against an accurate barometer to determine index error. Barometer is also used
to observe the change in pressure over a period using a knurled
knob.

An aneroid barometer is the standard instrument used to measure

pressure; it is easier to read and transport. The aneroid barometer
contains a closed vessel called an aneroid cell that contracts or
expands with changes in pressure. The aneroid cell attaches to a
pressure indicator with a mechanical linkage to provide pressure
readings. The pressure sensing part of an aircraft altimeter is
essentially an aneroid barometer. It is important to note that due to
the linkage mechanism of an aneroid barometer, it is not as accurate
as a mercurial barometer.

1.2. Mercurial Barometer is a barometer in which the weight of a

column of mercury in a glass tube with a sealed top is balanced
against that of the atmosphere pressing on an exposed cistern
of mercury at the base of the mercury column, the height of the
column varying with atmospheric pressure. Hence, it is a device that
measures temperature or temperature gradient using a variety of
different principles Hygrometer or Psychrometer.

Atmospheric pressure historically was measured in inches of mercury (“Hg) by a mercurial barometer. [Figure
12-6] The barometer measures the height of a column of mercury inside a glass tube. A section of the
mercury is exposed to the pressure of the atmosphere, which exerts a force on the mercury. An increase in
pressure forces the mercury to rise inside the tube. When the pressure drops, mercury drains out of the tube
decreasing the height of the column. This type of barometer is typically used in a laboratory or weather
observation station, is not easily transported, and difficult
to read.

2. Hygrometer is an instrument used to measure the amount of

water vapor in air, in soil, or in confined spaces. Humidity
measurement instruments usually rely on measurements of
some other quantities such as temperature, pressure, mass, a
mechanical or electrical change in a substance as moisture is
absorbed.

Wet and dry bulb psychrometers are the most simple and
common way of measuring humidity. This type of hygrometer
uses two basic mercury thermometers, one with a wet bulb one
with a dry bulb. Evaporation from the water on the wet bulb
causes its temperature reading to drop, causing it to show a
lower temperature than the dry bulb.

Relative humidity is calculated by comparing the readings using

a calculation table that compares the ambient temperature (the
temperature given by the dry bulb) to the difference in
temperatures between the two thermometers.

A mechanical hygrometer uses a slightly more complex system,

based on one of the first hygrometers designed in 1783 by Horace Bénédict de Saussure. This system uses an
organic material (usually human hair) that expands and contracts as a result of the surrounding humidity (that
also explains why you always seem to have a bad hair day when it’s hot and humid!). The organic material is held
under slight tension by a spring, which is linked to a needle gauge that indicates the level of humidity based on
how the hair has moved.

3. Anenometer is a device used for measuring wind speed and direction. It is also a common weather station
instrument. The term is derived from the Greek word anemos, which means wind, and is used to describe any
wind speed instrument used in meteorology. It is a meteorological instrument used for measuring wind
9
 speed (the rate of airflow). It forms an integral part of a weather station for measuring current and
forecasting future atmospheric conditions.

Types of Anenometers and How Anemometers Work?

3.1 A cup anemometer consists of 3-4 cylindrical cups on horizontal arms

rotating around a central axis. It is connected to and drives a shaft inside
the axis that starts to turn as the cups start spinning.

As the wind speed increases, the cups spin faster, which results in the shaft
rotating more quickly as well. The number of rotations is counted, which is
used to calculate the wind speed and then gets displayed on a calibrated
analog or digital wind speed meter.
For the most accurate readings, a cup anemometer must be installed
approximately 10 meters (32.8 feet) above the ground in an open area.
Placing it close to large objects that will influence airflow can lead to false
readings.

3.2 Vane Anemometers also known as a propeller or windmill

anemometer, also make use of wind speed to rotate. Unlike cup
anemometers, though, they use blades to rotate and is also
horizontally mounted (as opposed to vertically mounted cup
anemometers).

The shaft that connects to the blades is also mounted in a horizontal

position, parallel to the airflow. Like the cup anemometer, the rotating
blades make the shaft turn, and the number of rotations is counted to
calculate the wind speed.

The blades of a vane anemometer are in the shape of an airplane

propeller (hence the propeller analogy), and also reacts in the same
way to wind movement. This is the reason it must be mounted
horizontally to operate correctly and make accurate measurements.

Crucially, the blades must also face directly into the wind to perform accurate readings. To ensure this
positioning, the anemometer's body rotates freely on an axis, with a vane fixed on the opposite side of the blades.
The vane forces the body to turn into and face the wind.

Vane anemometers have several advantages and increased in popularity as a result. Some benefits include
the ability to be used outdoors and indoors. They can also be compact and used in handheld devices, and measure
other atmospheric parameters besides wind speed.

3.3 Hot-Wire Anemometers

Unlike cup and vane anemometers which are mechanical devices, a hot-wire
anemometer (also known as constant current anemometers) uses electricity
and heat to measure and calculate wind speed.
It uses electricity to heat a thin wire suspended in the air. As the
wind cools the wire down, the rate at which it cools down gets
measured to calculate the wind speed.

Using this method to calculate wind speed is possible since a metal's

temperature directly influences its ability to conduct electricity (its
resistance). A hot metal has a high resistance and does not conduct an
electrical current as well as a cold metal with much less resistance.

As the heated wire starts to cool down while air passes over it, the
resistance begins to decrease as well. By measuring the rate at which
the resistance in the wire decreases, the wind speed can be
calculated.

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Hot-wire anemometers also have several other benefits. They can be used in more applications than just the field of
meteorology. They can be used to measure gas flow in pipes, and also be used in fluids to measure the flow rate of a
liquid.

Since hot-wire anemometers are very sensitive to slight changes, they are particularly accurate at
measuring very low wind speeds. This capability makes them important for use in environments where the
slightest air movement is of importance.

The three types of anemometers can be considered to be the most relevant wind measuring devices in meteorology.
They are by no means the only anemometers in existence, though.
Laser Doppler anemometers use lasers as the name suggests. Ultrasonic anemometers utilize sound waves. And plate
anemometers are used to measure high wind speeds.
The examples mentioned above are just a few examples of a broader range of anemometers also available.

4. Wind Vane

A weather vane, wind vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for

showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural
ornament to the highest point of a building. The word vane comes from
the Old English word fana, meaning 'flag'.

Knowing the direction of the wind is an important part of predicting

weather because wind brings us our weather. A wind vane, also called a
weather vane, is a tool for measuring wind direction and was probably
one of the first weather instruments ever used. To determine wind
direction, a wind vane spins and points in the direction from which the
wind is coming and generally has two parts, or ends: one that is usually
shaped like an arrow and turns into the wind and one end that is wider
so that it catches the breeze. The arrow will point to the direction the
wind is blowing from so if it is pointing to the east, it means the wind is
coming from the east. Additionally, wind direction is where the wind is blowing from. Therefore a west wind is
blowing from the west. To use a wind vane, you must know where north, south ,east, and west are.

Sub-topic 2: The Atmosphere, Its Composition and

Physical Properties
The gases in the atmosphere are composed of neutral, uncharged
particles. Except for the noble gases, atoms in the gas phase share
electrons with other atoms in chemical bonds so that their electron
count can approach the more stable filled-shell configuration. The
Earth's atmosphere consists of a mixture of noble gas atoms and many
kinds of molecules.

Composition of the Atmosphere

Earth's primordial atmosphere was probably similar to the gas cloud

that created the sun and planets. It consisted of hydrogen and helium,
along with methane, ammonia, and water. This was a reducing
atmosphere. There was no molecular oxygen or other reactive oxides.
Over time, some of this first atmosphere, particularly the lighter gases,
outgassed and was lost. More water may have arrived with comets
colliding on the surface of the planet. Volcanic activity in the early, Earth created major changes with release of water
vapor, carbon dioxide, and ammonia along with small quantities of SO2, H2S, HCl, N2, NO2, He, Ar, and other noble
gases. This produced the second atmosphere.

Comet impacts may have increased the amount of water. Water vapor formed clouds. These produced rain. Over a
period of thousands of years, the liquid water accumulated as rivers, lakes, and oceans on the Earth's surface. Bodies
of liquid water acted as sinks for carbon dioxide. Chemical and biological processes transformed CO2 gas to carbonate
rocks. The nitrogen and argon accumulated in the atmosphere. They do not react with water or other atmospheric
components. Oxygen existed in only trace quantities before life began.

11
Living things created much of the third atmosphere, the one that now exists on Earth. Cyanobacteria were responsible
for the rise in the atmospheric concentration of oxygen beginning 2.3 billion years ago. These bacteria, algae, and
other plants produce oxygen by photosynthesis. Although most of this oxygen is used in respiration (biological
oxidation) or in the atmospheric oxidation of the carbon-containing products, approximately 0.1 % of the organic
matter is sequestered in sediments and that quantity of oxygen is added to the atmosphere. Over time, the excess
oxygen has built up so that it is now makes up nearly 20% of the gases close to Earth.

Molecular nitrogen and molecular oxygen are the most common gases in today's atmosphere. Others are present in
small concentrations. The other more common gases are shown in the table below. There is a remarkable difference
between the original, reducing atmosphere and the current oxidizing atmosphere.

The concentration of each gas is given in parts per billion (x/109) of all atoms or molecules present.
 Molecular nitrogen is present as 7.8 x 108/109 or 0.78, 78% of all gas particles.
 Molecular hydrogen is present as 5.0 x 102/109 or only 0.00000050, 0.000050% of all gas particles.

Note that helium in the atmosphere is derived from radioactive decay, loss of an alpha particle from some other
nucleus. Many of the molecules are products of living things, oxygen from plants in photosynthesis for example.
Chlorofluorocarbons, such as CF2Cl2, are made only through industrial processes.

Thickness of the Atmosphere

 Most of the atmospheric mass is confined in the
lowest 100 km above the sea level.
 The thickness of the atmosphere is only about 2%
of Earth’s thickness (Earth’s radius = ~6500km).
 Because of the shallowness of the atmosphere, its
motions over large areas are primarily horizontal.
Typically, horizontal wind speeds are a thousands time
greater than vertical wind speeds.

(But the small vertical displacements of air have an

important impact on the state of the atmosphere.)

Permanent and Variable Gases

Those gases that form a constant

portion of the atmospheric mass

Those gases whose concentrations

changes from time to time and from
place to place. Some of those gases are
12 important to weather and climate.
Water Vapor (H2O)

 The most abundant variable gas. ‰

 Water vapor is supplied to the atmosphere by
evaporation from the surface and is removed
from the atmosphere by condensation (clouds
and rains). ‰
 The concentration of water vapor is maximum
near the surface and the tropics (~ 0.25% of
the atmosphere by volume) and decreases
rapidly toward higher altitudes and latitude (~
0% of the atmosphere). ‰
 Water vapor is important to climate because it
is a greenhouse gas that can absorb thermal
energy emitted by Earth, and can release
“latent heat” to fuel weather phenomena.

Water vapor (H2 O) is found in the atmosphere in small and highly variable amounts. While it is nearly absent in most
of the atmosphere, its concentration can range up to 4% in very warm, humid areas close to the surface. Despite its
relative scarcity, atmospheric water probably has more of an impact on Earth than any of the major gases, aside from
oxygen. Water vapor is an element of the hydrologic cycle, the process that moves water between the oceans, the
land surface waters, the atmosphere, and the polar ice caps. Water cycling drives erosion and rock weathering,
determines Earth’s weather, and sets up climate conditions that make land areas dry or wet, habitable or inhospitable.
When cooled sufficiently, water vapor forms clouds by condensing to liquid water droplets, or, at lower temperatures,
solid ice crystals. Besides creating rain or snow, clouds
affect Earth’s climate by reflecting some of the energy
coming from the sun, making the planet somewhat cooler.
Water vapor is also an important greenhouse gas. It is
concentrated near the surface and is much more prevalent
near the tropics than in the Polar Regions.

Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

 Carbon dioxide is supplied into the atmosphere by

plant and animal respiration, the decay of organic
material, volcanic eruptions, and natural and
anthropogenic combustion. ‰
 Carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere by
photosynthesis. ‰
 CO2 is an important greenhouse gas.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) affects Earth’s climate and plays a large support role in the biosphere, the collection of living
things that populate Earth’s surface. Only about 0.0325% of the atmosphere is CO2. Carbon dioxide is required by
plant life for photosynthesis, the process of using sunlight to store energy as simple sugars, upon which all life on
Earth depends. Carbon dioxide is also one of a class of compounds called greenhouse gases. These gases are made up
of molecules that absorb and emit infrared radiation, which is felt as heat. The solar energy radiated from the sun is
mostly in the visible range, within a narrow band of wavelengths. This radiation is absorbed by Earth’s surface, then
re-radiated back out to space not as visible light, but as
longer wavelength infrared radiation. Greenhouse gas
molecules absorb some of this radiation before it escapes to
space, and re-emit some of it back toward the surface. In
this way, these gases trap some of the escaping heat and
increase the overall temperature of the atmosphere. If the
atmosphere had no greenhouse gases, it is estimated that
Earth’s surface would be 90°F (32°C) cooler.

Ozone (O3)

Ozone (O3) is found almost exclusively in a layer about 9–36

mi (15–60 km) in altitude. At lower altitudes, ozone gas is
irritating to eyes and skin and chemically attacks rubber and
plant tissue. Nevertheless, it is vital to life on Earth because
it absorbs most of the high-energy radiation from the sun that is harmful to plants and animals. A portion of the
13
energy radiated by the sun lies in the ultraviolet (UV) region. This shorter wavelength radiation is responsible for
suntans and is sufficiently powerful to harm cells, cause skin cancer, and burn skin. The ozone molecules, along with
molecules of O2, absorb nearly all the high-energy UV rays, protecting Earth’s surface from the most damaging
radiation. The first step in this process occurs high in the atmosphere, where O2 molecules absorb very high energy
UV radiation. Upon doing so, each absorbing molecule breaks up into two oxygen atoms. The oxygen atoms
eventually collide with another O2 molecule, forming a molecule of ozone, O3 (a third molecule is required in the
collision to carry away excess energy). Ozone in turn may absorb UV of slightly longer wavelength, which removes
one of its oxygen atoms and leaves O2. The free oxygen atom, being very reactive, will almost immediately recombine
with another O2, forming more ozone. The last two steps of this cycle repeat themselves but do not create any new
chemical compounds; they only act to absorb ultraviolet radiation. The amount of ozone in the stratosphere is small.
If it were all transported to the surface, the ozone gas would form a layer about 0.1–0.16 in (2.5–4.0 mm) thick. This
layer, as thin as it is, is sufficient to shield Earth’s
occupants from harmful solar radiation.

Methane

 A variable gas in small but recently increasing

concentrations
 Released to the atmosphere through fossil fuel
activities, livestock digestion, and agriculture
cultivation (esp. rice).
 As a very effective absorber of terrestrial radiation
it plays an active role in near surface warming

Methane is gas that is found in small quantities in Earth's

atmosphere. It is the simplest hydrocarbon, consisting of
one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms. It is a powerful greenhouse gas. It is flammable, and is used as a fuel
worldwide. It is a principal component of natural gas. In short:

Other Atmospheric Constituents

Aerosols

In addition to gases, the atmosphere has a wide variety of suspended particles known collectively as aerosols. These
particles may be liquid or solid and are small enough that they may require very long times to settle out of the
atmosphere by gravity. Examples of aerosols include suspended soil or desert sand particles, smoke particles from
wildfires, salt particles from evaporated ocean water, plant pollen, volcanic dust, and particles formed from the
pollution created by coal burning power plants. Aerosols significantly affect atmospheric heat balance, cloud growth,
and optical properties. The particles in aerosols cover a wide range of sizes. Raindrops suspended in a cloud are about
0.04–0.24 in (1–6 mm) in diameter. Fine desert sand and cloud droplets range in diameter down to about 0.0004 in
(0.01 mm). Sea salt particles and smoke particles are 1/100th of this, about 0.0001 mm, or 0.1 micrometer, in
diameter (1 micrometer = one thousandth of a millimeter). Smallest of all are the particles that form when certain
gases condense—that is, when several gas molecules come together to form a stable cluster. These are the Aitkin
nuclei, whose diameters can be measured down to a few nanometers (1 nanometer = one millionth of a millimeter).
The size of some aerosol particles allows them to efficiently scatter sunlight and create atmospheric haze. Under some
conditions, aerosols act as collecting points for water vapor molecules, encouraging the growth of cloud droplets and
speeding the formation of clouds. They may also play a role in Earth’s climate. Aerosols are known to reflect a portion
of incoming solar radiation back to space, which lowers the temperature of Earth’s surface. Current research is
focused on estimating how much cooling is provided by aerosols, as well as how and when aerosols form in the

Air Pollutants

Air pollution is a mix of particles and gases that can reach harmful concentrations both outside and indoors. Its effects
can range from higher disease risks to rising temperatures. Soot, smoke, mold, pollen, methane, and carbon dioxide
are a just few examples of common pollutants.

Common air pollutants are those gases or aerosols produce by human activity whose concentration threatens living
organisms or the environment.

Origins of the Atmosphere

When the Earth was formed 4.6 billion years ago, Earth’s atmosphere was probably mostly hydrogen (H) and helium
(He) plus hydrogen compounds, such as methane (CH 4) and ammonia (NH 3).
14
  Those gases eventually escaped to the space. ‰

The release of gases from rock through volcanic eruption (so-called outgassing) was the principal source of
atmospheric gases.

 The primeval atmosphere produced by the outgassing was mostly carbon dioxide (CO 2) with some Nitrogen (
N 2) and water vapor ( H 2 O), and trace amounts of other gases.

15
Layers of the Atmosphere

The atmosphere is composed of discrete layers. Atoms and molecules travel rapidly within a layer but only very slowly
between layers. The layering results from temperature variations of the gas molecules.

1. The troposphere is the region of the atmosphere closest

to the Earth and is the region of all-weather events. This
layer is heated by the surface of the Earth, which in turn is
heated by absorbing visible and infrared electromagnetic
radiation from the sun.
The troposphere contains over 80% of the mass of the
atmosphere, along with nearly all of the water vapor. This
layer contains the air we breathe, the winds we observe, and
the clouds that bring our rain. All of what we know as
weather occurs in the troposphere, the name of which
means “changing sphere.” All of the cold fronts, warm fronts,
high and low pressure systems, storm systems, and other
features seen on a weather map occur in this lowest layer.
Severe thunderstorms may penetrate the tropopause. Within
the troposphere, temperature decreases with increasing
height at an average rate of about 11.7°F per every 3,281 ft (6.5°C per every 1,000 meters). This quantity is known
as the lapse rate. When air begins to rise, it will expand and cool at a faster rate determined by the laws of
thermodynamics. This means that if a parcel of air begins to rise, it will soon find itself cooler and denser than its
surroundings, and will sink back downward. This is an example of a stable atmosphere in which vertical air movement
is prevented. Because air masses move within the troposphere, a cold air mass may move into an area and have a
higher lapse rate. That is, its temperature falls off more quickly with height. Under these weather conditions, air that
begins rising and cooling will become warmer than its surroundings. It then is like a hot-air balloon: it is less dense
than the surrounding air and buoyant, so it will continue to rise and cool in a process called convection. If this is
sustained, the atmosphere is said to be unstable, and the rising parcel of air will cool to the point where its water
vapor condenses to form cloud droplets. The air parcel is now a convective cloud. If the buoyancy is vigorous enough,
a storm cloud will develop as the cloud droplets grow to the
size of raindrops and begin to fall out of the cloud as rain.
Thus, under certain conditions the temperature profile of the
troposphere makes possible storm clouds and precipitation.
During a strong thunderstorm, cumulonimbus clouds (the
type that produce heavy rain, high winds, and hail) may
grow tall enough to reach or extend into the tropopause.
Here they run into strong stratospheric winds, which may
shear off the top of the clouds and stop their growth. One
can see this effect in the anvil clouds associated with strong
summer thunderstorms.
Most of the UV radiation is filtered out by absorption in the
stratosphere. Because the heat comes from the Earth, the
temperature decreases as altitude increases in this layer.

2. The tropopause is the boundary in the Earth's

atmosphere between the troposphere and the stratosphere. It
is a thermodynamic gradient stratification layer, marking the
end of troposphere. It lies, on average, at 17 kilometres above
equatorial regions, and about 9 kilometres over the Polar
Regions.

3. The stratosphere is home to the ozone layer. In the

stratosphere, the chemical bonds between oxygen atoms in
molecular oxygen (O2) break and in ozone (O3) break when the
molecules absorb ultraviolet radiation. Re-forming those bonds
releases heat energy so the temperature increases with altitude
in this layer.
The beginning of the stratosphere is defined as that point where
the temperature reaches a minimum and the lapse rate

16
abruptly drops to zero. This temperature structure has one important consequence: it inhibits rising air. Any air that
begins to rise will become cooler and denser than the surrounding air. The stratosphere is therefore very stable. The
stratosphere contains most of the ozone found in Earth’s atmosphere, and the presence of ozone is the reason for the
temperature profile found in the stratosphere. Ozone and oxygen gas both absorb short wave solar radiation. In the
series of reactions that follow, heat is released. This heat warms the atmosphere in the layer at about 12–27 mi (20–
45 km) and gives the stratosphere its characteristic temperature increase with height. The ozone layer has been the
subject of concern. In 1985, scientists from the British Antarctic Survey noticed that the amount of stratospheric
ozone over the South Pole fell sharply during the spring months, recovering somewhat as spring turned to summer.
An examination of the historical records revealed that the springtime ozone losses had begun around the late 1960s
and had grown much more severe by the late 1970s. By the mid-1980s virtually all the ozone was disappearing from
parts of the polar stratosphere during the late winter and early spring. These ozone losses, dubbed the ozone hole,
were the subject of intense research both in the field and in the laboratory. Although the stratosphere has very little water,
clouds of ice crystals may form at times in the lower stratosphere over the polar regions. Early Arctic explorers named these clouds
nacreous or mother-of-pearl clouds because of their iridescent appearance. More recently, very thin and widespread clouds have been
found to form in the polar stratosphere under extremely cold conditions. These clouds, called polar stratospheric clouds, or PSCs,
appear to be small crystals of ice or frozen mixtures of ice and nitric acid. PSCs play a key role in the development of
the ozone hole. The understanding that has emerged implicates chlorine as the chemical responsible for ozone
destruction in the ozone hole. Chlorine apparently gets into the stratosphere from chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs—
industrial chemicals widely used as refrigerants, aerosol propellants, and solvents. Laboratory experiments show that
after destroying an ozone molecule, chlorine is tied up in a form unable to react with any more ozone. However, it
can chemically react with other chlorine compounds on the surfaces of polar stratospheric cloud particles, which frees
the chlorine to attack more ozone. In other words, each chlorine molecule is recycled many times so that it can
destroy thousands of ozone molecules. The realization of chlorine’s role in ozone depletion brought about an
international agreement in 1987, the Montreal Protocol, which committed the participating industrialized countries to
begin phasing out CFCs.
4. In the mesosphere, matter exists as atoms. There is sufficient energy in electromagnetic radiation from the sun to
break the chemical bonds in molecules. The very highest energy electromagnetic radiation that causes ionization is
filtered out by absorbtion in the ionosphere.

The mesosphere is the third layer of the atmosphere, directly

above the stratosphere and directly below the thermosphere. In
the mesosphere, temperature decreases as altitude increases.
This characteristic is used to define its limits: it begins at the top
of the stratosphere (sometimes called the stratopause), and ends
at the mesopause, which is the coldest part of Earth's atmosphere
with temperatures below −143 °C (−225 °F; 130 K). The exact
upper and lower boundaries of the mesosphere vary with latitude
and with season (higher in winter and at the tropics, lower in
summer and at the poles), but the lower boundary is usually
located at altitudes from 50 to 65 km (31 to 40 mi; 164,000 to
213,000 ft) above the Earth's surface and the upper boundary
(the mesopause) is usually around 85 to 100 km (53 to 62 mi;
279,000 to 328,000 ft).

5. Thermosphere. The layer of very rare air above the

mesosphere is called the thermosphere. High-energy X-rays and
UV radiation from the Sun are absorbed in the thermosphere,
raising its temperature to hundreds or at times thousands of
degrees. However, the air in this layer is so thin that it would
feel freezing cold to us! In many ways, the thermosphere is
more like outer space than a part of the atmosphere. Many
satellites actually orbit Earth within the thermosphere! Variations
in the amount of energy coming from the Sun exert a powerful
influence on both the height of the top of this layer and the
temperature within it. Because of this, the top of the
thermosphere can be found anywhere between 500 and 1,000
km (311 to 621 miles) above the ground. Temperatures in the
upper thermosphere can range from about 500° C (932° F) to
2,000° C (3,632° F) or higher. The aurora, the Northern Lights
and Southern Lights, occur in the thermosphere.

17
6. The thermopause is the atmospheric boundary of Earth's energy system, located at the top of the thermosphere.
The temperature of the thermopause could range from nearly absolute zero to 987.548 °C (1,810 °F)

6. In the ionosphere, there is plasma. High energy solar radiation causes the atoms to ionize, separating free
electrons from cations. The average kinetic energy is very high for the particles in the ionosphere but the gas density
is very low.

The ionosphere is defined as the layer of the Earth's

atmosphere that is ionized by solar and cosmic radiation. It lies
75-1000 km (46-621 miles) above the Earth. (The Earth’s
radius is 6370 km, so the thickness of the ionosphere is quite
tiny compared with the size of Earth.) Because of the high
energy from the Sun and from cosmic rays, the atoms in this
area have been stripped of one or more of their electrons, or
“ionized,” and are therefore positively charged. The ionized
electrons behave as free particles. The Sun's upper
atmosphere, the corona, is very hot and produces a constant
stream of plasma and UV and X-rays that flow out from the Sun
and affect, or ionize, the Earth's ionosphere. Only half the
Earth’s ionosphere is being ionized by the Sun at any time.

During the night, without interference from the Sun, cosmic

rays ionize the ionosphere, though not nearly as strongly as the
Sun. These high energy rays originate from sources throughout our own galaxy and the universe -- rotating neutron
stars, supernovae, radio galaxies, quasars and black holes. Thus the ionosphere is much less charged at nighttime,
which is why a lot of ionospheric effects are easier to spot at night – it takes a smaller change to notice them.

The ionosphere has major importance to us because, among other functions, it influences radio propagation to distant
places on the Earth, and between satellites and Earth. For the very low frequency (VLF) waves that the space weather
monitors track, the ionosphere and the ground produce a “waveguide” through which radio signals can bounce and
make their way around the curved Earth:

8. Exosphere. Although some experts consider the thermosphere

to be the uppermost layer of our atmosphere, others consider the
exosphere to be the actual "final frontier" of Earth's gaseous
envelope. As you might imagine, the "air" in the exosphere is very,
very, very thin, making this layer even more space-like than the
thermosphere. In fact, air in the exosphere is constantly - though
very gradually - "leaking" out of Earth's atmosphere into outer
space. There is no clear-cut upper boundary where the exosphere
finally fades away into space. Different definitions place the top of
the exosphere somewhere between 100,000 km (62,000 miles)
and 190,000 km (120,000 miles) above the surface of Earth. The
latter value is about halfway to the Moon!

18
Sub-topic 3: The Atmospheric Pressure
A key measure of gas-phase molecules is their pressure. For a gas in a container, the pressure of the gas is the force
exerted by the gas particles hitting the surface of the container. There isn't really a container for our atmosphere so
we need to think of pressure in a slightly different way.
1. All atoms and molecules in the Earth's atmosphere are held by the gravitational force of the planet. The
force decreases by 1/(distance)2 so the particles are held less tightly as the distance between them and the
Earth (altitude) increases.
2. The gas density that is the mass of gas particles in every liter of volume decreases as the altitude increases.
3. The weight of a column of gas particles, which is the Earth's gravitational force acting on the mass of the gas
particles, above any point must decrease as the altitude increases. This weight is atmospheric pressure.

The atmospheric pressure at the Earth's surface is given a unit of 1.0 atmosphere (atm). The SI unit for pressure is
the pascal (Pa).
1 atm = 1.013 x 105 Pa = 1013 hPa

Atmospheric Structure

The atmosphere can be divided into layers based on the atmospheric pressure and temperature profiles (the way
these quantities change with height). Atmospheric temperature drops steadily from its value at the surface, about
290K (63°F; 17°C), until it reaches a minimum of around 220K (–64°F;–53°C) at 6 mi (10 km) above the surface.
This first layer is called the troposphere and ranges in pressure from over 1,000 millibars at sea level to 100 millibars
at the top of the layer, the tropopause. Above the tropopause, the temperature rises with increasing altitude up to
about 27 mi (45 km). This region of increasing temperatures is the stratosphere, spanning a pressure range from 100
millibars at its base to about 10 millibars at the stratopause, the top of the layer. Above 30 mi (50 km), the
temperature resumes its drop with altitude, reaching a very cold minimum of 180K (–135°F;–93°C) at around 48 mi
(80 km). This layer is the mesosphere, which at its top (the mesopause) has an atmospheric pressure of only 0.01
millibars (that is, only 1/100,000th of the surface pressure). Above the mesosphere lies the thermosphere, extending
hundreds of miles upward toward the vacuum of space. It is not possible to place an exact top of the atmosphere
because air molecules become scarcer until the atmosphere blends with the material found in space.

Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the
atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as 101,325 Pa (1,013.25
hPa; 1,013.25 mbar), which is equivalent to 760 mm Hg, 29.9212 inches Hg, or 14.696 psi.The atm unit is roughly
equivalent to the mean sea-level atmospheric pressure on Earth, that is, the Earth's atmospheric pressure at sea level
is approximately 1 atm. In most circumstances, atmospheric pressure is closely approximated by the hydrostatic
pressure caused by the weight of air above the measurement point. As elevation increases, there is less overlying
atmospheric mass, so that atmospheric pressure decreases with increasing elevation. Pressure measures force per
unit area, with SI units of Pascals (1 pascal = 1 newton per square metre, 1 N/m2). On average, a column of air with
a cross-sectional area of 1 square centimetre (cm2), measured from mean (average) sea level to the top of Earth's
atmosphere, has a mass of about 1.03 kilogram and exerts a force or "weight" of about 10.1 newtons, resulting in a
pressure of 10.1 N/cm2 or 101 kN/m2 (101 kilopascals, kPa). A column of air with a cross-sectional area of 1 in2
would have a weight of about 14.7 lbf, resulting in a pressure of 14.7 lbf/in2. Atmospheric pressure is caused by the
gravitational attraction of the planet on the atmospheric gases above the surface, and is a function of the mass of the
planet, the radius of the surface, and the amount and composition of the gases and their vertical distribution in the

19
atmosphere. It is modified by the planetary rotation and local effects such as wind velocity, density variations due to
temperature and variations in composition.

At sea level, a mercury column will rise a distance of 760 mm. This atmospheric pressure is reported as 760 mmHg
(millimeters of mercury). At higher altitudes, the atmospheric pressure is decreased and so the column of mercury will
not rise as high. On the summit of Mt. Everest (elevation of 8848 m), the air pressure is 253 mmHg. Atmospheric
pressure is slightly dependent on weather conditions. From the graph we can see the decrease in atmospheric
pressure as the altitude increases. At sea level, the atmospheric pressure would be a little over 100 kPa (one
atmosphere or 760 mm Hg). If we climb to the top of Mount Everest (the highest mountain in the world at 29,029 feet
or 8848 meters), the atmospheric pressure will drop to slightly over 30 kPa (about 0.30 atmospheres or 228 mm Hg).
This marked decrease in atmospheric pressure results in much lower levels of oxygen. Teams that climb this mountain
must bring supplies of oxygen with them in order to breathe at these high altitudes.

The Mean Sea-level Pressure (MSLP) is the

atmospheric pressure at mean sea level (PMSL). This
is the atmospheric pressure normally given in
weather reports on radio, television, and newspapers
or on the Internet. When barometers in the home
are set to match the local weather reports, they
measure pressure adjusted to sea level, not the
actual local atmospheric pressure. The altimeter
setting in aviation is an atmospheric pressure
adjustment. Average sea-level pressure is
1013.25 mbar (101.325 kPa; 29.921 inHg;
760.00 mmHg). In aviation, weather reports
(METAR), QNH is transmitted around the world in
millibars or hectopascals (1 hectopascal = 1
millibar), except in the United States, Canada,
and Colombia where it is reported in inches of
mercury (to two decimal places). The United States
and Canada also report sea-level pressure SLP,
which is adjusted to sea level by a different method, in the remarks section, not in the internationally transmitted part
of the code, in hectopascals or millibars. [5] However, in Canada's public weather reports, sea level pressure is instead
reported in kilopascals.

Sub-topic 4: The Wind (Wind, True, Relative and

force)
Wind is the movement of air from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure. In fact, wind exists because the
sun unevenly heats the surface of the Earth. As hot air rises, cooler air moves in to fill the void. As long as the sun
shines, the wind will blow. And wind has long served as a power source to humans.

Ancient mariners used sails to capture the wind. Farmers once used windmills to grind their grains and pump water.
Today, more and more wind turbines wring electricity from the breeze. Over the past decade, wind turbine use has
increased more than 25 percent per year. Still, it only provides a small fraction of the world's energy.

1. Apparent Wind in Sailing. The apparent wind is the wind experienced by an observer in motion and is the relative
velocity of the wind in relation to the observer. The velocity of the apparent wind is the vector sum of the velocity of
the headwind (which is the velocity a moving object would experience in still air) plus the velocity of the true wind.
The headwind is the additive inverse of the object's velocity; therefore, the velocity of the apparent wind can also be
defined as a vector sum of the velocity of the true wind minus the velocity of the object. In sailing, apparent wind is
the speed and direction of wind indicated by a wind instrument (anemometer) on a moving craft (on water, land or
ice) in undisturbed air. It is composed of the combined speeds and directions of the craft and wind observed by
a stationary wind instrument—the true wind. A true wind coming from the bow increases the apparent wind induced
by the speed of the craft, coming from the stern it decreases apparent wind, and coming from the side the apparent
wind angle and speed change according to the combined speed and direction of each the craft and the true wind.
Apparent wind is important to sailors in order to set sail angle with respect to the wind and to anticipate how much
power the wind will generate on a point of sail.

20
2. True wind that is experienced by a stationary observer and composed of the true wind speed (TWS) and true wind
direction (TWD) or the TWS and true wind angle (TWA) relative to the boat if it were stationary. In nautical terminology,
apparent wind is measured in knots and degrees. Note that a number of additional factors come into play when
converting the measurements from the masthead anemometer into the true wind if a high degree of accuracy is
required, including the following:
 Leeway (or drift on power vessels) - it is very seldom that a craft is pointing in the direction it is going, and on
a sailboat the angle of leeway is the difference between the heading of the craft and its actual track through
the water. This must be corrected for when converting apparent wind angle to true wind direction. The same
effect is found when the craft is altering course;
 Mast twist - the rigging loads often put a significant amount of torsion on the mast, especially if the rig has
runners, so it is twisted along its length;
 Mast rotation - many racing multihulls have a mast that can be rotated, so the anemometer reading needs to
be corrected by the angle of rotation of the mast;
 Heel angle - this is a simple trigonometric correction;
 Upwash from the sails - the airflow around the top of the mast is distorted by the presence of the sails. This
effect varies with the sails set at the time, the wind speed and the point of sail, but is noticed by the true wind
angle changing from port to starboard tack, and the true wind speed changing from when beating to running;
 Boat motions - as the masthead is so distant from the centre of motion of the craft, inertial effect on both the
wind vane and the anemometer cups can be significant when the craft is moving, especially when pitching and
rolling;
 Wind shear - there can be a significant change in both wind speed and direction between the water’s surface
and the top of the mast, especially in conditions of unstable, light airs. The wind instruments are just
measuring conditions at the masthead, and these are not necessarily the same at all heights. In the presence
of a current, the true wind is considered to be that measured on the craft drifting with the water over the
bottom, and wind with respect to the sea bed as the ground or geographical wind.

The apparent wind on board (a boat) is often quoted as a speed measured by a masthead transducer containing
an anemometer and wind vane that measures wind speed in knots and wind direction in degrees relative to
the heading of the boat. Modern instrumentation can calculate the true wind velocity when the apparent wind and
boat speed and direction are input.

Implications on Sailing Speeds

In sailboat racing, and especially in speed sailing, apparent wind is a vital factor, when determining the points of sail a
sailboat can effectively travel in. A vessel traveling at increasing speed relative to the prevailing wind will encounter
the wind driving the sail at a decreasing angle and increasing velocity. Eventually, the increased drag and diminished
degree of efficiency of a sail at extremely low angles will cause a loss of accelerating force. This constitutes the main
limitation to the speed of wind-driven vessels and vehicles. Windsurfers and certain types of boats are able to sail
faster than the true wind. These include fast multihulls and some planing monohulls. Ice-sailors and land-sailors also
usually fall into this category, because of their relatively low amount of drag or friction. In the foiling AC72 America's
cup catamarans, the boats sail through the water at up to double the environmental wind strength. The effect of this
is to radically change the apparent wind direction when sailing "downwind". In these boats the forward speed is so
great that the apparent wind is always forward—at an angle that varies between 2 and 4 degrees to the wing sail. This
means that AC72's are effectively tacking downwind, although at a greater angle than the normal 45-degree upwind
angle, usually between 50 and 70 degrees.

Other Areas of Relevance

In fixed-wing aircraft, apparent wind is what is experienced on board, and it determines the necessary speeds for
take-off and landing. Aircraft carriers generally steam directly upwind at maximum speed, in order to increase
apparent wind and reduce the necessary take-off velocity. Land-based airport traffic, as well as most mid-sized and
large birds generally take off and land facing upwind for the same reason.

The Wind and Pressure Systems over the Oceans

The Coriolis effect is the observed deflection of a moving object, caused by the moving frame of reference on the
spinning Earth. As air warms, expands, and rises at the equator, it moves toward the pole, but instead of traveling in
a straight path, the air is deflected eastward. In the Northern Hemisphere air turns to the right. In the Southern
Hemisphere air turns to the left.

Wind is air in motion. It is produced by the uneven heating of the earth’s surface by the sun. Since the earth’s surface
is made of various land and water formations, it absorbs the sun’s radiation unevenly. Two factors are necessary to
specify wind: speed and direction.
21
As the sun warms the Earth’s surface, the atmosphere warms too. Some parts of the Earth receive direct rays from
the sun all year and are always warm. Other places receive indirect rays, so the climate is colder. Warm air, which
weighs less than cold air rises. Then cool air moves in and replaces the rising warm air. This movement of air is what
makes the wind blow.

The Apparent wind is the wind experienced by an observer in motion and is the relative velocity of the wind in
relation to the observer. True wind is the wind relative to a fixed point the observation of which is not affected by the
motion of the observer. The Apparent wind is the wind experienced by an observer in motion and is the relative
velocity of the wind in relation to the observer. True wind is the wind relative to a fixed point the observation of which
is not affected by the motion of the observer.

The wind will just blow us off the dock. We raise sails and move ahead on a close reach at 5 knots. We know the true
wind is 10 knots and, since we will be moving forward we will be producing 5 knots of wind ourselves.

BUY’S BALLOT LAW

Northern Hemisphere Face the wind. The Low Pressure area is towards to the right and slightly behind. The High
Pressure area is towards to the left and slightly in front.

BUY’S BALLOT LAW

Southern Hemisphere Face the wind. The Low Pressure area is towards to the left and slightly behind. The High
Pressure area is towards to the right and slightly in front.

Sample illustration of weather chart showing surface wind directions, pressure distribution and relative wind speeds at
various places within the pressure field

22
The pressure gradient is the force that is usually responsible for accelerating a parcel of air from a high atmospheric
pressure region to a low pressure region, resulting in wind.

A low pressure system winds blow towards the low pressure, and the air rises in the atmosphere where they meet.

A high pressure system wind blows away from high pressure swirl, opposite direction from low pressure system.

23
Once air has been set in motion by the pressure gradient force, it undergoes an apparent deflection from its path. This
apparent deflection is called the Coriolis force and is a result of the earth's rotation.

CORIOLIS FORCE

This is named after French mathematician Gustave Coriolis. The “Coriolis Effect” is produced by the rotation of the
Earth and has a direct bearing on wind and ocean current pattern. Because Earth is spinning anti – clockwise, wind
and ocean current traveling from either pole to the Equator are deflected. To the right in N.H and to the left in S.H.
The deflection is greater in high latitudes and more effective in deep water.

24
Types of Wind

Wind in simple terms is nothing but moving air. We all enjoy wind rustling through the leaves in our garden. It has
also expanded the range of transport and has provided a power source in terms of mechanical energy for the
generation of electricity in windmills and recreation purposes in hot air balloons. Wind power was also used in voyages
by sailors to direct their ships. When the winds are strong, they lead to the destruction of life and property in the form
of cyclones and storms, causing forest fires, landslides etc. In this article, we will learn about the causes of wind and
the destruction caused by winds.

1. Planetary Winds

Planetary winds comprise winds distributed throughout the lower atmosphere. The winds blow regularly throughout
the year confined within latitudinal belts, mainly in north-east and south-east directions or from high-pressure polar-
regions to low-pressure regions.

2. Trade Winds

These winds are also known as tropical easterlies and blow from the right in Northern hemisphere and to the left in
the Southern hemisphere due to Coriolis effect and Ferrel’s law. They start blowing from the sub-tropical high-
pressure areas towards the equatorial low-pressure belt. In the Northern hemisphere, they blow as northeastern
trades and in the Southern hemisphere, they blow as southeastern trades.

3. The Westerlies
These winds are also known as Shrieking Sixties, Furious Fifties, and Roaring Forties. They blow from the subtropical
high-pressure belts towards sub-polar low-pressure belts. The westerlies of Southern hemisphere are stronger and
constant than the westerlies of Nothern hemisphere.

4. Periodic Winds
These winds change their direction periodically as there is a change in the seasons. Following are the types of periodic
winds:
 Monsoon winds: The temperature difference created due to the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and Bay of
Bengal on one side and the Himalayan wall on the other forms the basis of monsoons in the Indian
subcontinent.
 Land breeze: These winds blow from land to sea, carrying no moisture but dry and warm.
 Sea breeze: These winds blow from sea to land, carrying some moisture.
 Mountain and valley breeze: Valley breeze is the hot air blowing from the valley which flows up to the
slopes of mountain slopes. While mountain breeze is the reverse of the valley breeze that is the cold air from
the mountain flow towards the valley.

5. Local winds

The local winds include the sea and the land breeze created due to the pressure difference between the air over the
sea and the land regions. Loo is the local winds that blow in the northern part of India.

25
6. True wind is what the wind is truly doing and it can be computed from the measured apparent wind by subtracting
the vessels speed. ... If the boat speed of 5 knots was subtracted from the apparent wind speed, then the
computed true wind speed would be 5 knots.

7. Relative wind is the direction of the airflow produced by an object moving through the air. The relative wind for
an airplane in flight flows in a direction parallel with and opposite to the direction of flight; therefore, the actual flight
path of the airplane determines the direction of the relative wind.

8. An anabatic wind, from the Greek anabatos, verbal of anabainein meaning moving upward, is a warm wind which
blows up a steep slope or mountain side, driven by heating of the slope through insolation. It is also known as an
upslope flow. These winds typically occur during the daytime in calm sunny weather.
How is Wind Measured?

9. A katabatic wind is the technical name for a drainage wind, a wind that carries high-density air from a higher
elevation down a slope under the force of gravity. Such winds are sometimes also called fall winds; the spelling
catabatic winds is also used.

10. True wind angle (TWA)

The direction of the true wind relative to the head of the vessel, usually listed as port or starboard. It varies from 0°
(wind on the bow), through 90° (wind on the beam), on around to 180° (wind on the stern). The true wind angle is
always larger (aft of) the apparent wind.

The wind has speed as well as direction. To measure these two parameters two different devices are used and they
are as follows:
 Anemometers . These instruments are a common weather station instrument which is used for measuring
the speed of the wind. Cup anemometer, hotwire anemometer, windmill anemometer, sonic anemometer, and
Laser Doppler anemometer are the different types of
anemometer.
 Wind vanes. These devices are also known as
weathervane which is used for determining the direction of
the wind.

Causes of Wind

The main cause of generation of wind is the uneven heating of two

regions. Following are the examples of uneven heating we see
around us:
 Uneven heating between land and sea. Seawater gets
heated more slowly as compared to land. As the
temperature of the land rises, the air above it gets heated
by conduction. The density of warm air is less than the
surrounding environment, because of which it rises,
creating a vacuum in its place. The cooler air from the sea
rushes to fill the vacuum which creates a cool coastal
breeze. At night, the land cools off more quickly, which
creates a temperature difference between the temperature
onshore and that offshore. Because of this temperature
difference, again a pressure drop is created establishing a
land breeze.
 Uneven heating between equator and pole. The equatorial
and tropical regions (close to the equator) get the
maximum heat from the sun; hence they get hotter than
the polar regions. The air surrounding this region gets
heated up and rises to create a vacuum. Cooler air from
the poles rushes to fill the vacuum. The wind does not flow
in the north-south direction because a change in direction
is caused by the rotation of the earth.

26
 LEARNING LOG NO. 1

Identifying Shipborne Meteorological Instruments

Direction: Identify the following Shipborne Meteorological Instruments and in no more than 5 words discuss its use in
the Weather System Reporting. A Rubric is provided in the succeeding page for you to know on how you will be
graded.

1.

2.

3.

4.

27
 Short Answer Rubric

Reminder: This rubric will be rated by your instructor only!

Note: Each of the items in Learning Log No. 1 requires a 15-point answer guided with the criteria and levels of assessment.

Levels of Assessment

Criteria
Exemplary Above Average Adequate Inadequate

1
5 3 2
Writing shows high Writing is coherent and Writing is coherent and Writing lacks logical
Organization of degree of attention to logically organized with logically organized. organization. It shows
Thoughts logic and reasoning of transitions used between Some points remain some coherence but
(5) points. Unity clearly leads ideas and paragraphs to misplaced and stray ideas lack unity.
the reader to the create coherence. Overall from the topic. Serious errors.
conclusion and stirs unity of ideas is present. Transitions evident but
thought regarding the not used throughout
topic. essay.
1
5 3 2
Content indicates Content indicates original Content indicates Shows some thinking
Level of Content synthesis of ideas, in thinking and develops ideas thinking and reasoning and reasoning but
(5) depth analysis and with sufficient and firm applied with original most ideas are
evidences original evidence. thought on a few ideas. underdeveloped and
thought and support for unoriginal.
the topic.

1
5 3 2
Development Main points well Main points well developed Main points are present Main points lack
(choice of words and developed with high with quality supporting with limited detail and detailed development.
grammar) quality and quantity details and quantity. Critical development. Some Ideas are vague with
(5) support. Reveals high thinking is weaved into critical thinking is little evidence of
degree of critical points. present. critical thinking.
thinking.

Organization of Level of Content Development

Item No. Points
Thoughts (5) (5)
(5)

1
/15

2
/15

3
/15

/15

Total Points /60

*Adapted from: Teaching Commons, Center for Innovation and Excellence in Learning, by Dr. Rhonda Dubec,2018

28
 LEARNING LOG NO. 2

Essay on the Composition and Properties of Atmosphere

Direction: Guided with the questions and info graphics below, apply your thoughts by making an essay on what you
have learned from your readings about the Atmosphere, its Composition and Physical Properties. Your essay must not
exceed 250 words. A rubric in the succeeding page is provided for you know on how you will be graded.

29
 Essay Rubric

Reminder: This rubric will be rated by your instructor only!

Note: Each of the items in Learning Log No. 1 requires a 15-point answer guided with the criteria and levels of assessment.

Levels of Assessment

Criteria Points
Exemplary Above Average Adequate Inadequate

1
15 12 7
Writing shows high Writing is coherent and Writing is coherent Writing lacks
Organization of degree of attention to logically organized with and logically logical
Thoughts logic and reasoning of transitions used between organized. Some organization. It
(5) points. Unity clearly ideas and paragraphs to points remain shows some
leads the reader to the create coherence. Overall misplaced and coherence but
conclusion and stirs unity of ideas is present. stray from the ideas lack unity.
thought regarding the topic. Transitions Serious errors.
topic. evident but not
used throughout
essay. /10
1
15 12 7
Content indicates Content indicates original Content indicates Shows some
Level of Content synthesis of ideas, in thinking and develops thinking and thinking and
(5) depth analysis and ideas with sufficient and reasoning applied reasoning but
evidences original firm evidence. with original most ideas are
thought and support for thought on a few underdeveloped
the topic. ideas. and unoriginal.

/10
1
20 18 10
Main points well Main points well Main points are Main points lack
Development developed with high developed with quality present with detailed
(choice of words quality and quantity supporting details and limited detail and development.
and grammar) support. Reveals high quantity. Critical thinking development. Ideas are vague
(5) degree of critical is weaved into points. Some critical with little
thinking. thinking is present. evidence of
critical thinking.
/20

Total Points
/50
*Adapted from: Teaching Commons, Center for Innovation and Excellence in Learning, by Dr. Rhonda Dubec,2018

30
 LEARNING LOG NO. 3

Mind Game on Atmospheric Pressure

Direction: Challenge yourself by answering the cross-word puzzle below. This tests your hardwork in
comprehending important terminologies from the atmosphere.

1. 4.

3.

2.

10. 8.

11. 5.

6.

12. 7.

13.

15.

14. 9.

Down:

1. What is the coldest layer of the atmosphere

2. What is the third layer of the earth surface
3. What do you called the first layer of the earth’s atmosphere
4. The lowest layer of earth’s atmosphere
5. What do called the hottest layer of the atmosphere
6. Will helps protect us from ultraviolet radiation is called
7. What do you call a low dark, shapeless cloud
Across:
8. A massive cloud with great vertical produces shower
9. Composed of soft, gray, boll shaped masses followed by clear skies during the night
10. A low cloud in a uniform layer resendling fog
11. A dense clouds with vertical development form by rising air
12. A grayish or bluish, fibrous veil or sheet corona
13. A layer of large , ball like masses
14. Thin, whitish high clouds covering the sky
15. Composed of small white flakes or scales mackerel sky

31
 LEARNING LOG NO. 4
Short Answer on the Kinds of Wind and its Effect
Direction: Answer the following essay questions in a maximum of 50 words. A rubric is provided I the next page as to
how you will b graded.

1. Explain the formation of anabatic and katabatic winds.

2. Discuss the Coriolis Effect.

3. How to calculate true wind speed?

4. How is Wind being Measured?

5. Discuss true wind direction, relative wind speed, and full value wind.

32
 Short Answer Rubric

Reminder: This rubric will be rated by your instructor only!

Note: Each of the items in Learning Log No. 4 requires a 15-point answer guided with the criteria and levels of assessment.

Levels of Assessment

Criteria
Exemplary Above Average Adequate Inadequate

5 3 2 1
Writing shows high degree Writing is coherent and Writing is coherent and Writing lacks logical
of attention to logic and logically organized with logically organized. Some organization. It shows
Organization of reasoning of points. Unity transitions used between points remain misplaced some coherence but
Thoughts clearly leads the reader to ideas and paragraphs to and stray from the topic. ideas lack unity. Serious
(5) the conclusion and stirs create coherence. Overall Transitions evident but errors.
thought regarding the unity of ideas is present. not used throughout
topic. essay.
5 3 2 1
Content indicates synthesis Content indicates original Content indicates Shows some thinking
of ideas, indepth analysis thinking and develops ideas thinking and reasoning and reasoning but most
Level of Content and evidences original with sufficient and firm applied with original ideas are
(5) thought and support for evidence. thought on a few ideas. underdeveloped and
the topic. unoriginal.
5 3 2 1
Main points well developed Main points well developed Main points are present Main points lack detailed
Development with high quality and with quality supporting details with limited detail and development. Ideas are
(choice of words and quantity support. Reveals and quantity. Critical thinking development. Some vague with little
grammar) high degree of critical is weaved into points. critical thinking is evidence of critical
(5) thinking. present. thinking.

Organization of Level of Content Development

Item No. Points
Thoughts (5) (5)
(5)

1 /15

2 /15

3 /15

4 /15

/15
5

Total Points /75

*Adapted from: Teaching Commons, Center for Innovation and Excellence in Learning, by Dr. Rhonda Dubec,2018

33
 Weekly Student Journal Entry No. 1

Direction: Based on your readings about the topics in Shipborne Meteorological Instruments Operation and Its Use to
Weather System Reporting. Write a maximum of 250 words on the salient points you have gained from the next page
of what is expected from you and how you will be graded. Start your Journal Entry with the given introductory
statement.

Shipborne Meteorological Instruments Operation and Its Use to Weather System Reporting

I have learned from the topics that __________________________________________________

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34
 Weekly Student Journal Rubric

Reminder: This rubric will be rated by your instructor only!

Levels of Assessment

Exceeds Meets
Acceptable Unacceptable Points
Criteria Expectations Expectations

20 15 10 1

Selected items that Selected items that Selected items and Selected items and
are important and are important in details that discuss details that are not
help make content discussing the the activities for important or
interesting; the activities for the the week, but they relevant
details focus on the week; the details are not very
Content most important help the reader see important.
information. things about the
Choices help the items in interesting
reader see things in ways.
a new way. /20

20 15 10 1

Organization of
thought units Journal entry is Journal entry is Journal entry is Journal entry lacks
logical and generally logical somewhat illogical logical order and
effective. and effective with a and confusing in organization. /20
few minor places.
problems.

10 7 4 1

Mechanics and Correct spelling and Few or no spelling Several spelling Fulfills few of the
Grammar appropriate errors; some minor errors. Many requirements of the
grammar. punctuation instances of assignment.
mistakes incorrect spelling
and grammar.
/10

Total Points
/50
*Adapted from: Teaching Commons, Center for Innovation and Excellence in Learning, by Dr. Rhonda Dubec, 2018

35
 Lesson 2
LESSON 2:

Weather System Reporting

Procedures and Recording

Google Image

At the end of the lesson, the student should be able to:

1. discuss how clouds are made of and their role in weather;
2. determine the reduction of visibility by the presence of particles in the
atmosphere, near the earth’s surface;
3. explain the surface wind circulation around high and low pressure centers;
and
4. discuss the typical weather experienced with depression approaching from
west passing between the observer and the near poles.

36
 College College of Maritime Education
Program Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation
Course Code Meteorology and Oceanography 1
Course Title Met 01
Credit Unit 3 units (Lecture)
Lesson 2 Week 2
Module Topic Weather system reporting system reporting procedures and recording systems.
At the end of the lesson the students are able to:
1. discuss how clouds are made of and their role in weather;
Intended Learning 2. determine the reduction of visibility by the presence of particles in the atmosphere, near the
Outcomes earth’s surface;
3. explain the surface wind circulation around high and low pressure centers; and
4. discuss the typical movement and characteristics of depression approaching from west
passing between the observer and the near poles.
Number of Hours 13.5 Hours (12 Hours Self-Directed Learning and 1.5 Hours Assessment Tasks)
1. How clouds are made and their role in weather?
Study Questions 2. How is visibility being affected by the particles of the atmosphere?
3. What is the surface of wind circulation around high and low pressure centers?
4. How is the movement and characteristics of depression affecting the ship’s navigation?
Required Suggested
 Lesson 1 Course Module on Meteorology and
Oceanography 1, College of Maritime  Dijkstra, Henk A.: Nonlinear Climate
Education, University of the Visayas; Dynamics: Cambridge, New York;
 Table A-II/1 of the 1978 STCW Code as Cambridge University Press 2013
Learning Resources amended Function: Navigation at the
operational level;
 IMO Model Course 7.03; and
 CMO No.67 series of 2017: Revised PSG for BS
Marine Transportation and BS Marine
Engineering Programs
1. The student shall learn and study Lesson 2 about Weather System Reporting Procedures and
Recording with the following sub-topics:
Sub-topic 1:Clouds and Precipitation
Learning Activity Sub-topic 2: Principles that Affect Visibility
Sub-topic 3 Information from Wind and Pressure System
Sub-topic 4: The Movement and Characteristics of Depressions
2. He shall consider the required reading materials provided in this course study and may refer
to other suggested resources as additional reading.
3. While learning and studying the different sub-topics, student shall work on the different
Learning Logs prepared for each sub-topic:
4. To synthesize student’s learning he shall make a Weekly Student Journal Entry 2.
Required Output Learning Log 5 to 8
Weekly Student Journal Entry 2
Learning Log No. 5 - Short Answer on Clouds and Precipitation
Learning Log No. 6 - Short Answer Assessment on the Principles that Affects Visibility
Assessment Tasks Learning Log No. 7 - Essay on the Information from Wind and Pressure System
Learning Log No. 8 - Essay on the Movement and Characteristics of Depression
Weekly Student Journal Entry 2
1. Short Answer Rubric
Assessment Tool
2. Student Journal Rubric
Knowledge of the characteristics of the various weather systems, reporting procedures and recording
Target Competency
systems
Prepared by: Reviewed by: Approved for use:

2M RENE T. GODINEZ CM JUDELITO D. BALOS DR. ANNA LOU C. CABUENAS

Instructor BSMT Program Coordinator Chief Academic Officer

37
Sub-topic 1: Clouds and Precipitation

Clusters of water droplets (called cloud droplets) and crystallized frozen water (called ice crystals or snow crystals)
form clouds A cloud can contain both of these, depending on its temperature. For instance, a cloud's top may be
cooler than the lower regions, creating a mix of liquid and frozen water.

Gravity causes all this water to fall as rain. The average size and volume of a cloud droplet is tiny, but, if a cloud
droplet manages to attract enough water, the influence of gravity causes it to become a raindrop and fall.
That being said, snow happens a lot like rain. As snow crystals condense and clump together, snowflakes form. When
they reach the point where they're too heavy to remain aloft, they fall together as snow. Different surrounding
temperatures affect what type of snowflakes will develop. Sometimes on the way down, snowflakes melt into rain;
other times they fall intact.

You may be asking, "If water droplets and snow crystals make up clouds, how do
we get hail, sleet and freezing rain?" The answer is that once cloud droplets and ice
crystals condense and reach critical falling mass, a few additional processes can
occur.

Freezing rain, also known as glaze, can occur where warm and cold air fronts meet.
A snowflake can fall into cold air, then pass through a layer of warmer air and melt.
As it continues to fall and right before it hits, the snowflake passes through a layer
of cold air and becomes supercooled. This means that it won't refreeze, but upon
impact with a cold object, such as the street or a tree branch, it will immediately
turn to ice.

Sleet starts the same way as freezing rain, but the melted snowflakes have time to
refreeze before they hit the ground.

Hail forms during severe storms. The gusty updrafts produced by high winds may
knock snowflakes and raindrops up and down until the supercooled water droplets collect themselves into chunks of
ice. This can happen repeatedly, until the heavy hail can no longer be lifted by the storm's powerful updrafts. The
resulting ice chunks can be quite large when they're finally released and create quite an impact if they hit objects like
the hood of your car.
38
Besides precipitation, do clouds serve any other purpose? Clouds have several other important functions that benefit
life on Earth. Read about these benefits on the next page.

The Purpose of Clouds

Clouds have many effects on our climate besides simply hurling down hail and covering us in snow. For example, they
serve as barriers for heat moving both in and out of the Earth's atmosphere. Researchers estimate that clouds'
current net effect on our planet's atmosphere is to cool it slightly. This is, however, something researchers are
examining closely, as part of efforts to gather information on possible climate change.

Clouds generally affect the temperature in two ways. Over the surface of the planet, clouds reflect about 20 percent of
the incoming heat back into space [source: Tarbuck]. Clouds, water vapor and other atmospheric gasses also absorb
about 20 percent of this incoming solar radiation. Low-level clouds reflect the greatest amount of heat, which is why
we enjoy cooler temperatures during a cloudy day. Conversely, a cloudy night is warmer than a cloudless night
because clouds also create a blanketing effect. Clouds partially absorb outgoing heat (such as the heat released in the
evenings, as the ground cools) and reradiate a portion of that heat back towards the Earth's surface. High-level clouds
typically absorb this outgoing heat.

Clouds regularly help shift dust, bacteria and other particles throughout the planet's surface. Clouds carry dust at a
rate much faster than you might think. One estimate puts the amount of dust moving from Africa to a portion of the
Amazon basin in South America at about 13 million tons annually [source: Phillips].

Unfortunately, too much dust in the atmosphere can decrease the amount of rain that falls on a region. This is
thought to be due to the fact that when raindrops form by lots of nucleators, these drops grow smaller and are
therefore less prone to fall. So if a region has a lot of dust in the air, it likely will receive less rain. This can contrib ute
to desertification (where a local climate slowly changes to desert) and is one of the factors scientists believe is behind
the landscape changes around central Africa.

Think we're done? We still haven't talked about some of the most interesting clouds of all, so go to the next page to
learn all about them.

How Clouds Form?

Clouds are made of water droplets or ice crystals that are so

small and light they are able to stay in the air. But how does the
water and ice that makes up clouds get into the sky? And why
do different types of clouds form?

Water Vapor Evaporates into the Air -The water or ice that make
up clouds travels into the sky within air as water vapor, the gas
form of water. Water vapor gets into air mainly by evaporation –
some of the liquid water from the ocean, lakes, and rivers turns
into water vapor and travels in the air. When air rises in the
atmosphere it gets cooler and is under less pressure. When air
cools, it’s not able to hold all of the water vapor it once was. Air
also can’t hold as much water when air pressure drops. The
vapor becomes small water droplets or ice crystals and a cloud is
formed.Water Vapor Condenses to Form a Cloud - It’s easier for
water vapor to condense into water droplets when it has a particle to condense upon. These particles, such as dust
and pollen, are called condensation nuclei. Eventually, enough water vapor condenses upon pieces of dust, pollen or
other condensation nuclei to form a cloud.Clouds Form in Different Ways - Some clouds form as air warms up near the
Earth's surface and rises. Heated by sunshine, the ground heats the air just above it. That warmed air starts to rise
because, when warm, it is lighter and less dense than the air around it. As it rises, its pressure and temperature drop
causing water vapor to condense. Eventually, enough moisture will condense out of the air to form a cloud. Several
types of clouds form in this way including cumulus, cumulonimbus, mammatus, and stratocumulus clouds.

Some clouds, such as lenticular and stratus clouds, form when wind blows into the side of a mountain range or other
terrain and is forced upward, higher in the atmosphere. The side of the mountains that the wind blows towards is
called the windward side. The side of the mountains where the wind blows away is called the leeward side. This can
also happen without a dramatic mountain range, just when air travels over land that slopes upward and is forced to
rise. The air cools as it rises, and eventually clouds form. Other types of clouds, such as cumulus clouds, form above
mountains too as air is warmed at the ground and rises.

39
Clouds also form when air is forced upward at areas of low pressure. Winds meet at the center of the low pressure
system and have nowhere to go but up. All types of clouds are formed by these processes, especially altocumulus,
altostratus, cirrocumulus, stratocumulus, or stratus clouds.

Weather fronts, where two large masses of air collide at the Earth’s surface, also form clouds by causing air to rise.
 At a warm front, where a warm air mass slides above a cold air mass, the warm air is pushed upward forming
many different types of clouds – from low stratus clouds to midlevel altocumulus and altostratus clouds, to
high cirrus, cirrocumulus and cirrostratus clouds. Clouds that produce rain like nimbostratus and
cumulonimbus are also common at warm fronts.

 At a cold front, where heavy a cold air mass pushes a warm air mass upward, cumulous clouds are common.
They often grow into cumulonimbus clouds, which produce thunderstorms. Nimbostratus, stratocumulus, and
stratus clouds can also form at cold front.

Classification of Clouds

Clouds are condensed droplets or ice crystals from

atmospheric water vapor. Clouds form by the rising and
cooling of air caused by convection, topography,
convergence, and frontal lifting. Convection occurs when the
Sun's radiation heats the ground surface, and warm air rises,
cooling as it goes. Air also is cooled if an air mass is forced to
move upward as a result of higher topography (e.g., a
mountain range) in a process known as orographic lifting.
Interestingly, when the air mass descends on the other side
of the mountain, it warms and the clouds may disappear as
the droplets transfer back to vapor.

The counter clockwise motion of a low-pressure center draws

air inward, and the convergence forces the air upward. Air also is lifted and cooled along either a cold front or a warm
front. A cold front is the leading edge of an air mass that is colder than the air it is replacing. The front forms a wedge
that pushes under the warmer air ahead, lifting it. A warm front is the leading edge of an air mass warmer than the
air it is replacing.

Clouds are classified based on their shape and the height of the cloud's base above the ground. The most common
shapes are cirriform, appearing feathery or fibrous; stratoform, appearing layered; and cumuloform, appearing as if
piled up. Two additional words used to describe clouds are "nimbus," meaning rain, and "alto," meaning middle. Basic
cloud types are based on height above the land surface and on the cloud's vertical development, as summarized
below:
 High clouds (cloud base above 7 kilometers or 23,000 feet). Usually consisting of ice crystals, these include
cirrus, cirrostratus, and cirrocumulus;
 Middle clouds (2 to 7 kilometers or 6,500 to 23,000 feet). Consisting of liquid droplets, these include
altocumulus and altostratus;
 Low clouds (below 2 kilometers or 6,500 feet). Consisting of liquid droplets, these include stratus,
stratocumulus, and nimbostratus.
 Clouds of vertical development (cloud base generally is in the low cloud range, but the tops may reach
great heights). These include cumulus clouds and the towering cumulonimbus.

A scheme in distinguishing and grouping clouds according to their appearance, and, where possible, to
their process of formation is being considered.

The one in general use, based on a classification system introduced by Luke Howard in 1803, is that adopted by the
World Meteorological Organization and published in the International Cloud Atlas (1956). This classification is based
on the determination:

1. Genera—the main characteristic forms of clouds;

The ten cloud genera are cirrus, cirrocumulus, cirrostratus, altocumulus,
altostratus, nimbostratus, stratocumulus, stratus, cumulus, and cumulonimbus.

1.1 Cirrus - These clouds have a fibrous aspect and/or a silky sheen. Many of
the ice crystal particles of cirrus are sufficiently large to acquire an appreciable
speed of fall; therefore, the cloud elements have a considerable vertical extent.
Wind shear and variations in particle size usually cause these fibrous trails to
40
be slanted or irregularly curved. For this reason, cirrus does not usually tend, as do other clouds, to appear
horizontal when near the horizon. Because cirrus elements are too narrow, they do not produce a complete
circular halo. Cirrus often evolves from virga of cirrocumulus or altocumulus (Ci cirrocumulogenitus or Ci
altocumulogenitus), or from the upper part of cumulonimbus (Ci cumulonimbogenitus). Cirrus may also result
from the transformation of cirrostratus of uneven optical thickness, the thinner parts of which dissipate (Ci
cirrostratomutatus). It may be difficult at times to distinguish cirrus from cirrostratus (often impossible when
near the horizon); cirrostratus has a much more continuous structure, and if subdivided, its bands are wider.
Thick cirrus (usually cirrus spissatus) is differentiated from patches of altostratus by its lesser extension and
white color. The term "cirrus" is frequently used for all types of cirriform clouds.

1.2 Cirrocumulus - The elements may be merged or separate, and more

or less regularly arranged; they subtend an angle of less than 1° when
observed at an angle of more than 30° above the horizon. Holes or rifts
often occur in a sheet of cirrocumulus. Cirrocumulus may be composed of
highly supercooled water droplets, as well as small ice crystals, or a mixture
of both; usually, the droplets are rapidly replaced by ice crystals.
Sometime corona or irisation may be observed. Mamma may appear.
Small virga may fall, particularly from cirrocumulus castellanus and floccus.
(For further details, see cirriform.) Cirrocumulus, as well as altocumulus,
often forms in a layer of cirrus and/or cirrostratus (Cc cirrogenitus or Cc cirrostratogenitus). In middle and
high latitudes, cirrocumulus is usually associated in space and time with cirrus and/or cirrostratus; this
association occurs less often in low latitudes. Cirrocumulus differs from these other cirriform clouds in that it is
not on the whole fibrous, or both silky and smooth; rather, it is rippled and subdivided into little cloudlets.
Cirrocumulus is most often confused with altocumulus. It differs primarily in that its constituent elements are
very small (see above) and are without shadows. The term cirrocumulus is not used for incompletely
developed small elements such as those on the margin of a sheet of altocumulus, or in separate patches at
that level.

1.3 Cirrostratus - Sometimes a banded aspect may appear, but the

intervals between the bands are filled with thinner cloud veil. The edge of a
veil of cirrostratus may be straight and clear-cut, but more often it is
irregular and fringed with cirrus. Some of the ice crystals that compose the
cloud are large enough to fall and thereby produce a fibrous aspect.
Cirrostratus occasionally may be so thin and transparent as to render it
nearly indiscernible, especially through haze or at night. At such times, the
existence of a halo may be the only revealing feature. The angle of
incidence of illumination upon a cirrostratus layer is an important consideration in evaluating the identifying
characteristics. When the sun is high (generally above 50° elevation), cirrostratus never prevents the casting
of shadows by terrestrial objects; and a halo might be completely circular. At progressively lower angles of the
sun, halos become fragmentary and light intensity noticeably decreases. Cirrostratus may be produced by the
merging of elements of cirrus (Cs cirromutatus); from cirrocumulus (Cs cirrocumulogenitus); from the
thinning of altostratus (Cs altostratomutatus); or from the anvil of cumulonimbus (Cs cumulonimbogenitus).
Since cirrostratus and altostratus form from each other, it is frequently difficult to delineate between the two.
In general, altostratus does not cause halo phenomena, is thicker than cirrostratus, appears to move more
rapidly, and has a more even optical thickness. When near the horizon, cirrostratus may be impossible to
distinguish from cirrus.

1.4 Altocumulus - These elements usually are sharply outlined, but they
may become partly fibrous or diffuse; they may or may not be merged;
they generally have shadowed parts; and, by convention, when observed at
an angle of more than 30° above the horizon, an altocumulus element
subtends an angle between 1° and 5°. Small liquid water droplets invariably
compose the major part of the composition of altocumulus. This results in
sharpness of outline, small internal visibility (both common cumuliform
characteristics), and in the occurrence of coronae and irisation (colored
diffraction phenomena). With sufficiently low temperatures, ice crystals may
appear in all forms of altocumulus, but mainly in the species castellanus or floccus, each unit of which may
produce an individual snow shower. The crystals that fall from altocumulus sometimes produce parhelia, or a
moon or sun pillar, any of which indicates the presence of tabular crystals. Should the composition become
entirely ice crystals, the cloud would lose its characteristic sharpness of outline. Altocumulus often forms
directly in clear air. It may be produced by an increase in size or thickening of the elements of an entire layer
or patch of cirrocumulus (Ac cirrocumulomutatus); by subdivision of a layer of stratocumulus (Ac
stratocumulomutatus); by transformation of altostratus (Ac altostratomutatus) or nimbostratus (Ac
41
nimbostratomutatus); or by the spreading of cumulus or cumulonimbus (Ac cumulogenitus or Ac
cumulonimbogenitus). Altocumulus frequently occurs in a given sky at different levels; also, it often is
associated with clouds of other genera. Virga may appear with most of the species of altocumulus. This
supplementary feature, however, should not be confused with the very white trails of ice crystals that
frequently are formed with the dissipation of altocumulus floccus. When detached, the ice crystal trails are
cirrus. Sometimes mamma occur with altocumulus. Cirrocumulus and stratocumulus are the clouds most
easily confused with altocumulus. The elements of cirrocumulus never have shadows of their own, and nearly
always are smaller. Stratocumulus elements are larger than those of altocumulus. The rolls or cells that are
associated with altocumulus are thought to be a result of the absorption of terrestrial radiation and/or the
presence of wind shear, which drives Rayleigh–Bénard convection or Kelvin–Helmholtz shear instability.

1.5 Altostratus - Altostratus very often totally covers the sky and may, in
fact, cover an area of several thousand square miles. The layer has parts
thin enough to reveal the position of the sun, and if gaps and rifts appear,
they are irregularly shaped and spaced. Within the rather large vertical
extent of altostratus (from several hundred to thousands of feet) a very
heterogeneous particulate composition may exist. In this most complete
case, there may be distinguished 1) an upper part, mostly or entirely ice
crystals; 2) a middle part, a mixture of ice crystals and/or snowflakes and
supercooled water droplets; and 3) a lower part, mostly or entirely
supercooled or ordinary water droplets. A number of partial combinations of
these composition types may occur, but never an entire cloud like 3) above.
The particles are widely enough dispersed so as not to obscure the sun except by its thickest parts, but rather
to impose a "ground-glass" effect upon the sun's image, and to prevent sharply outlined shadows from being
cast by terrestrial objects. Halo phenomena do not occur. Altostratus is a precipitating cloud (praecipitatio)
and therefore often is accompanied by virga and mamma. Rain, snow, ice pellets, etc., are present in the
cloud and under its base, frequently rendering the base quite indistinct, particularly when the precipitation
does not reach the ground. When precipitation reaches the ground, it is usually very light and of a relatively
continuous nature. Altostratus may be formed by the thickening of cirrostratus (As cirrostratomutatus), or by
the thinning of nimbostratus (As nimbostratomutatus). If widespread precipitation develops in altocumulus,
altostratus may result (As altocumulogenitus). Sometimes, particularly in the tropics, altostratus may be
produced by the spreading of the middle or upper portion of cumulonimbus (As cumulonimbogenitus).
Cirrostratus and nimbostratus are the two other forms most easily confused with altostratus. In the first case,
it should be remembered that cirrostratus does allow terrestrial shadows and frequently produces halo
phenomena. Nimbostratus is darker colored, hides the sun, is more uniform in optical thickness, and always
produces precipitation. At night, if precipitation does not reach the ground, it is conventional to call the
doubtful layer altostratus. Any stratiform (layered) cloud necessarily forms because further vertical
development is inhibited by the presence of a temperature inversion. Rolls and cells in altostratus are thought
to be of similar origin to those in altocumulus.

1.6 Nimbostratus - In most cases the precipitation reaches the ground,

but not necessarily. Nimbostratus is composed of suspended water
droplets, sometimes supercooled, and of falling raindrops and/or snow
crystals or snowflakes. It occupies a layer of large horizontal and vertical
extent. The great density and thickness (usually many thousands of feet)
of this cloud prevent observation of the sun; this, plus the absence of
small droplets in its lower portion, gives nimbostratus the appearance of
dim and uniform lighting from within. It also follows that nimbostratus
has no well-defined base, but rather a deep zone of visibility attenuation.
Frequently a false base may appear at the level where snow melts into
rain. Nimbostratus usually results from the thickening of altostratus to the
point where the sun becomes totally indiscernible (Ns altostratomutatus); this point in time usually coincides
with the beginning of relatively continuous precipitation. Rarely, it may evolve in like manner from
stratocumulus or altocumulus (Ns stratocumulomutatus or Ns altocumulomutatus). Nimbostratus sometimes
forms by the spreading of cumulonimbus or cumulus congestus when these clouds produce rainfall (Ns
cumulonimbogenitus or Ns cumulogenitus). By definition, nimbostratus is always accompanied by the
complementary features praecipitatio or virga. The accessory cloud, pannus, also is a common feature. At first
the pannus consists of separate units, but later they may merge into a continuous layer and extend upward
into the nimbostratus. Nimbostratus is most easily confused, in identification, with thick masses of altostratus,
stratus, or stratocumulus. Altostratus, however, is lighter in color, appears less uniform from below, and does
not completely hide the sun. In case of further doubt, a cloud is called nimbostratus if precipitation from it
reaches the ground. Stratus also may have precipitation, but only of very small-sized particles. Stratocumulus
shows clear relief and a well-defined limit of its base.
42
1.7 Stratocumulus - Its elements are tesselated, rounded, roll-
shaped, etc.; they may or may not be merged, and usually are
arranged in orderly groups, lines, or undulations, giving the appearance
of a simple (or occasionally a cross-pattern) wave system. These
elements are generally flat-topped, smooth, and large; observed at an
angle of more than 30° above the horizon, the individual stratocumulus
element subtends an angle of greater than 5°. When a layer is
continuous, the elemental structure is revealed in true relief on its
under surface. Stratocumulus is composed of small water droplets,
sometimes accompanied by larger droplets, soft hail, and (rarely) by
snowflakes. When the cloud is not very thick, the diffraction
phenomena corona and irisation appear. Under ordinary conditions, ice
crystals are too sparse even to give the cloud a fibrous aspect; however, in extremely cold weather, ice
crystals may be numerous enough to produce abundant virga, and sometimes even halo phenomena. Mamma
may be a supplementary feature of stratocumulus, in which case the mammiform protuberances may develop
to the point where they seem about to detach themselves from the main cloud. Virga may form under the
cloud, particularly at very low temperatures. Precipitation rarely occurs with stratocumulus. Stratocumulus
frequently forms in clear air. It may also form from the rising of stratus, and by the convective or undulatory
transformation of stratus, or nimbostratus, with or without change of height (Sc stratomutatus or Sc
nimbostratomutatus). Stratocumulus is analogous to altocumulus and forms directly from the latter when the
elements grow to a sufficient size (Sc altocumulomutatus). The further humidification, accompanied by
turbulence and/or convection, of an already humid layer of air near the base of nimbostratus or even
altostratus can form stratocumulus (Sc nimbostratogenitus or Sc altostratogenitus). If the ascending currents
that produce cumulus or cumulonimbus approach an upper layer of stable air, they slow down, and all or a
portion of the mother-cloud tends to diverge gradually and spread horizontally, often producing stratocumulus
(Sc cumulogenitus or Sc cumulonimbogenitus). A particular form of Sc cumulogenitus, previously called
stratocumulus vesperalis, often occurs in the evening when convection decreases, resulting in the gradual
dissipation of both bases and tops of cumuliform clouds. Since stratocumulus may be transformed directly
from or into altocumulus, stratus, and nimbostratus, all transitional stages may be observed. By convention,
altocumulus is composed of apparently smaller elements (often simply because of its higher altitude); stratus
and nimbostratus do not show regular subdivisions or wave form, and they have a more fibrous aspect. When
the base of stratocumulus is rendered diffuse by precipitation, the cloud becomes nimbostratus.

1.8 Status - Stratus does not usually produce precipitation, but when it
does occur it is in the form of minute particles, such as drizzle, ice
crystals, or snow grains. Stratus often occurs in the form of ragged
patches, or cloud fragments (stratus fractus), in which case rapid
transformation is a common characteristic. Stratus clouds have
characteristically low vertical velocities, usually less than 1 m s-1. When
the sun is seen through the cloud, its outline is clearly discernible, and it
may be accompanied by corona phenomena. In the immediate area of the
solar disk, stratus may appear very white. Away from the sun, and at
times when the cloud is sufficiently thick to obscure it, stratus gives off a
weak, uniform luminance. The particulate composition of stratus is quite
uniform, usually of fairly widely dispersed water droplets and, at lower temperatures, of ice crystals (although
this is much less common). Halo phenomena may occur with this latter composition. Dense stratus often
contains particles of precipitation. The prior existence of any other cloud in the low or middle levels is seldom
required for the formation of stratus. A common mode of stratus development is the transformation of fog, the
lower part of which evaporates while the upper part may rise (St nebulomutatus). As can be expected by its
close relationship to fog, stratus follows a diurnal cycle with a maximum (over land) in the night and early
morning. Insolation tends to dissipate this cloud rapidly, and often brings about the transformation of stratus
fragments to cumulus clouds. Fog arriving from the sea frequently becomes stratus over the adjacent land.
Coastal regions also provide the low-level moisture and frequently the lapse-rate stability conducive to its
formation, and therefore these areas have the greatest stratus status. Stratus also develops from
stratocumulus when the undersurface of the latter descends or for any reason loses its relief or apparent
subdivisions (St stratocumulomutatus). Nimbostratus and cumulonimbus often produce stratus fractus, as
precipitation from these clouds causes low-level condensation (St fractusnimbostratogenitus or St fractus
cumulonimbogenitus). Stratus fractus in this form constitutes the accessory feature pannus of these mother-
clouds. Stratocumulus and nimbostratus are the clouds most difficult to distinguish from stratus. Stratus is
lower and lacks the uniform undulations or relief of stratocumulus. More difficulty is encountered when
differentiating it from nimbostratus. Their modes of formation are different, nimbostratus usually having been
formed from a preexisting mid- or low-level cloud; nimbostratus is more dense and has a wetter aspect, and

43
its precipitation is of the ordinary varieties. As a final distinction, the wind accompanying nimbostratus is
usually stronger than that with stratus.

1.9 Cumulus - These elements develop vertically, appearing as rising

mounds, domes, or towers, the upper parts of which often resemble a
cauliflower. The sunlit parts of these clouds are mostly brilliant white;
their bases are relatively dark and nearly horizontal. Near the horizon
the vertical development of cumulus often causes the individual clouds
to appear merged. If precipitation occurs, it is usually of a showery
nature. Various effects of wind, illumination, etc., may modify many of
the above characteristics. Strong winds may shred the clouds, often
tearing away the cumulus tops to form the species fractus. Under
certain conditions cumulus clouds may be arranged in files, cloud
streets, oriented approximately parallel to the wind direction. Changes in direction of illumination and in
background cause modification of color and of apparent surface relief. Cumulus is composed of a great density
of small water droplets, frequently supercooled. Within the cloud larger water drops are formed that may, as
the cloud develops, fall from the base as rain or virga. Ice crystal formation will occur within the cloud at
sufficiently low temperatures, particularly in upper portions as the cloud grows vertically. Occasionally the
growth of ice crystals at the expense of water droplets will reduce the entire cloud to diffuse trails of snow.
Cumulus most often forms directly in clear air as a result of convection in air of sufficiently high moisture
content for a condensation level to be reached. As a result, a distant diurnal cycle of cumulus frequency is
observed. Over a landmass, the cumulus maximum occurs after midday (for a horizontal extent, early
afternoon; for vertical extent, somewhat later). Over a water surface, the cycle is reversed and much less
obvious, with the cumulus maximum generally recognized as occurring after midnight. The vertical growth of
a cumulus cell is restricted and modified by the existence and character of layers of relative static stability
above the cloud base. Cumulus may also evolve from the convective transformation of stratus or
stratocumulus (Cu stratomutatus or Cu stratocumulomutatus). Cumulus may be generated by altocumulus
and, again, stratocumulus (Cu altocumulogenitus and Cu stratocumulogenitus).Cumulonimbus is the ultimate
manifestation of the growth of cumulus; therefore, at a certain point, it is difficult to differentiate between the
two. If a cloud in doubt reveals no fibrous structure, it is still cumulus; if still in doubt, cumulonimbus further
differs in that it is accompanied by lightning, thunder, and sometimes hail. The elements of altocumulus are
smaller and, along with those of stratocumulus, tend to be more merged than the separated units of cumulus.
Cumulus has the unique ability to penetrate other preexisting cloud layers, sometimes partially dissipating, at
other times apparently fusing with, the impaled layers. The cumulus, in this instance, retains its identity as
long as it remains primarily vertically developed, is physically (although perhaps not visibly) separate from the
other cloud, and has a tower- or dome-shaped summit.

1.10 Cumulonimbus - These clouds appear as mountains or huge towers,

at least a part of the upper portions of which is usually smooth, fibrous, or
striated, and almost flattened as it approaches the tropopause. This part
often spreads out in the form of an anvil (incus) or vast plume. Under the
base of cumulonimbus, which is often very dark, there frequently exist
virga, precipitation (praecipitatio), and low, ragged clouds (pannus), either
merged with it or not. Its precipitation is often heavy and always of a
showery nature. The usual occurrence of lightning and thunder within or
from this cloud leads to its popular appellations: thundercloud,
thunderhead (the latter usually refers only to the upper portion of the cloud), and thunderstorm.
Cumulonimbus is composed of water droplets and ice crystals, the latter almost entirely in its upper portions.
It also contains large water drops, snowflakes, snow pellets, and sometimes hail. The liquid water forms may
be notably supercooled. Within a cold air mass in polar regions, the fibrous ice crystal structure may extend
virtually throughout the cloud mass. Cumulonimbus always evolves from the further development of cumulus
congestus, which, in turn, usually has resulted from the growth of cumulus (Cb cumulogenitus). This complete
development may initiate also from stratocumulus castellanus (Cb stratocumulogenitus) or from altocumulus
castellanus (Cb altocumulogenitus). In the latter case the cumulonimbus base is particularly high. It may also,
but infrequently, develop from a portion of altostratus or nimbostratus (Cb altostratogenitus or Cb
nimbostratogenitus). The formative process of cumulonimbus starts as a result of convection from the earth's
surface or instability in the upper air, or both simultaneously. It therefore has a predominant diurnal cycle
similar to that of cumulus. Cumulonimbus is rare over the polar regions, and becomes increasingly frequent
with decreasing latitude, and is, in fact, an almost regular climax of the diurnal cloud cycle in the humid areas
of the tropical regions and in humid and unstable air masses penetrating the temperate latitudes. Because of
its great vertical size and of the magnitude and variety of forces that act within and upon it, cumulonimbus is
a vertical cloud factory. In addition to the complex of accessory features it may possess, which includes
tornadoes (tuba), it may also be responsible for the formation of nearly all of the other cloud genera. Cumulus
44
 congestus always preexists, and therefore is often easily confused with, cumulonimbus. A cloud is called
cumulus congestus until its upper portion begins to show the diffuseness or fibrous quality indicative of ice
crystal predominance. Only cumulonimbus is accompanied by lightning, thunder, or hail; only cumulus
congestus can rival the intensity of its shower-type precipitation.

2. Species—the peculiarities in shape and differences in internal structure of clouds;

The fourteen cloud species are fibratus, uncinus, spissatus, castellanus, floccus, stratiform, nebulosus,
lenticularis, fractus, humilis, mediocris, congestus, calvus, and capillatus.

2.1 Fibratus - The extremities of these filaments are always thin and never terminated by tufts or hooks.
This species is found mainly in the genera cirrus and cirrostratus. Cirrostratus fibratus may develop from
cirrus fibratus or cirrus spissatus.

2.2 Uncinus - A cloud species unique to the genus cirrus.

2.3 Spissatus - A cloud species unique to the genus cirrus.

2.4 Castillanus - This castellanus character is especially evident when the cloud is seen from the side. The
cumuliform cloud elements generally have a common base and usually seem to be arranged in lines. The
species is found only in the genera cirrus, cirrocumulus, altocumulus, and stratocumulus. Cirrus castellanus
differs from cirrocumulus castellanus in that its vertical protuberances subtend an angle of more than 1° when
observed at an angle of more than 30° above the horizon. When altocumulus castellanus and stratocumulus
castellanus attain a considerable vertical development, they become cumulus congestus and often develop
into cumulonimbus. Stratocumulus castellanus should not be confused with stratocumulus pierced by cumulus.

2.5 Flocus - Cloud species in which each cloud element is a small tuft with a cumuliform or rounded
appearance, the lower part of which is more or less ragged and often accompanied by virga. This species is
found in the genera cirrus, cirrocumulus, altocumulus, and sometimes also in stratocumulus. Cirrocumulus
floccus sometimes evolves as the result of the dissipation of the common base of cirrocumulus castellanus; in
like manner, altocumulus floccus may evolve from altocumulus castellanus. Cirrus floccus differs from
cirrocumulus floccus in that its elements subtend an angle of greater than 1° when observed at an angle of
more than 30° above the horizon.

2.6 Stratiform - Descriptive of clouds of extensive horizontal development, as contrasted to the vertically
developed cumuliform types.

2.7 Nebulosus - A cloud species with the appearance of a nebulous veil, showing no distinct details. This
species is found principally in the genera cirrostratus and stratus. Stratus nebulosus is the most common
species of stratus. Cirrostratus nebulosus produces halo phenomena.

2.8 Lenticularis - A cloud species the elements of which have the form of more or less isolated, generally
smooth lenses or almonds; the outlines are sharp and sometimes show irisation. These clouds appear most
often in formations of orographic origin, the result of lee waves, in which cases they remain nearly stationary
with respect to the terrain (standing cloud), but they also occur in regions without marked orography. This
species is found mainly in the genera cirrocumulus, altocumulus, and (rarely) stratocumulus. Altocumulus
lenticularis differs from cirrocumulus lenticularis in that, when smooth and without elements, it has shadowed
parts while the latter is very white throughout. When undulated or subdivided, the altocumulus species differs
from stratocumulus lenticularis in that its elements subtend an angle of less than 5° when viewed at an angle
of more than 30° above the horizon.

2.9 Fractus - A cloud species in which the cloud elements are irregular but generally small in size, and that
presents a ragged, shredded appearance, as if torn. All of these characteristics change ceaselessly and often
rapidly. Stratus fractus is distinguishable from cumulus fractus by its smaller vertical extent, darker color, and
by the greater dispersion of its particles. Cumulus fractus actually looks like a ragged cumulus cloud. The
species fractus occurs only in the genera mentioned above.

2.10 Humilis - A cloud species unique to the genus cumulus.

2.11 Mediocris - A cloud species unique to the genus cumulus.

2.12 Congestus - A cloud species unique to the genus cumulus.

45
 2.13 Calvus - The protuberances of its upper portion have begun to lose their cumuliform outline; they loom
and usually flatten, then transform into a whitish mass with more or less diffuse outlines and vertical
striations. Cirriform cloud is not present, but the transformation into ice crystals often proceeds with great
rapidity. Most often, this cloud is accompanied by showers. By convention, the name cumulonimbus calvus is
given to any highly developed cumuliform cloud that produces lightning, thunder, or hail, although the top
shows no obvious trace of transformation into ice. The species calvus is unique to the genus cumulonimbus.

2.14 Capillatus - A species of cumulonimbus cloud characterized by the presence, mostly in its upper
portion, of distinct cirriform parts, frequently in the form of an anvil (incus), a plume, or a vast and more or
less disorderly mass of hair. This cloud is usually accompanied by a shower or thunderstorm, often by a
squall, and sometimes by hail. It generally produces very apparent virga. The species capillatus is unique to
the genus cumulonimbus.

3. Varieties—special characteristics of arrangement and transparency of clouds;

The nine cloud varieties are intortus, vertebratus, undulatus, radiatus, lacunosus, duplicatus, translucidus,
perlucidus, and opacus.

3.1 Intortus - A cloud unique to the genus cirrus.

3.2 Vertebratus - A cloud variety (applied mainly to the genus cirrus), the elements of which are arranged
in a manner suggestive of vertebrae, ribs, or a fish skeleton.

3.3 Undulatus - A cloud variety composed of merged or separate elements that are elongated and parallel,
either suggestive of ocean waves or arranged in ranks and files. Sometimes two distinct wave systems are
apparent (biundulatus). The formation is by gravity waves that exhibit broad, nearly parallel lines of cloud
oriented normal to the wind direction, with cloud bases near an inversion surface.

3.5 Radiatus - A cloud variety, the elements of which are arranged in straight parallel bands. Owing to the
effect of perspective, these bands seem to converge toward a point on the horizon, or, when the bands cross
the entire sky, toward two opposite points (radiation points, V points, vanishing points, radiant points). This
variety occurs in the genera cirrus, altocumulus, altostratus, and stratocumulus, and may modify many of the
species, but principally stratiformis.

3.6 Laconosus - A cloud variety characterized more by the appearance of the spaces between the cloud
elements than by the elements themselves. The gaps are generally rounded and often have fringed edges.
The overall appearance is that of a honeycomb or net, the negative of that of clouds composed of separate
rounded elements. This variety is a modification mainly of the genera cirrocumulus and altocumulus and may
apply to the species stratiformis, castellanus, or floccus.

3.7 Duplictus - A cloud variety composed of superimposed layers, sheets, or patches. These stratified parts,
at slightly different levels, are sometimes partly merged. This variety modifies the species fibratus,
uncinus, stratiformis, and lenticularis in the genera cirrus, cirrostratus, altocumulus, and altostratus.

3.8 Translucidus - A cloud variety occurring in a layer, patch, or extensive sheet, the greater part of which is
sufficiently translucent to reveal the position of the sun, or through which higher clouds may be discerned.
This variety is found in the genera altocumulus, altostratus, stratocumulus, and stratus, and is usually a
modification of the species stratiformis or lenticularis. (Note: With the exception of cirrus spissatus, all
cirriform clouds are inherently translucent.)

3.9 Perlusidus - A cloud variety, usually of the species stratiformis, in which distinct spaces between its
elements permit the sun, moon, blue sky, or higher clouds to be seen. These openings may be very small.
This variety is found only in the genera altocumulus and stratocumulus.

3.10 - Opacus - A variety of cloud (sheet, layer, or patch), the greater part of which is sufficiently dense to
obscure the sun (betweeen 10 and 20 optical depths). This variety is found in the genera altocumulus,
altostratus, stratocumulus, and stratus. (Note: cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds are inherently opaque.) In
the case of altocumulus opacus or stratocumulus opacus the elements stand out in true relief at the cloud
base, rather than as a consequence of varying degrees of opacity. Also, in these cases, this variety usually
modifies the species stratiformis.

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4. Supplementary features and accessory clouds—appended and associated minor cloud forms; and
The nine supplementary features and accessory clouds are incus, mamma, virga, praecipitatio, arcus, tuba,
pileus, velum, and pannus. (Note: Although these are Latin words, it is proper convention to use only the
singular endings, e.g., more than one cirrus cloud is cirrus, not cirri.)

4.1 Incus - A supplementary cloud feature peculiar to cumulonimbus capillatus; the spreading of the upper
portion of cumulonimbus when this part takes the form of an anvil with a fibrous or smooth aspect.

4.2 Mammatus - Hanging protuberances, like pouches, on the undersurface of a cloud. This supplementary
cloud feature occurs mostly with cirrus, cirrocumulus, altocumulus, altostratus, stratocumulus, and
cumulonimbus; in the case of cumulonimbus, mamma generally appear on the underside of the anvil (incus).

4.3 Virga - Wisps or streaks of water or ice particles falling out of a cloud but vaporizing before reaching the
earth's surface as precipitation. Virga is frequently seen trailing from altocumulus and altostratus clouds, but
also is discernible below the bases of high-level cumuliform clouds from which precipitation is falling into a dry
subcloud layer. It typically exhibits a hooked form in which the streaks descend nearly vertically just under
the precipitation source but appear to be almost horizontal at their lower extremities. Such curvature of virga
can be produced simply by effects of strong vertical wind shear, but ordinarily it results from the fact that
droplet or crystal vaporization decreases the particle terminal fall velocity near the ends of the streaks. Under
some conditions, virga is associated with dry microbursts, which are formed as a product of the vaporization.

4.4 Praeciptatio - A cloud supplementary feature for precipitation falling from a cloud and apparently
reaching the earth's surface.

4.5 Arcus - A dense and horizontal roll cloud or wedge-shaped accessory cloud, sometimes appearing ragged
and turbulent and other times smooth, occasionally with multiple layers. It is seen most often in association
with cumulonimbus clouds on the leading edge of a gust front. When extensive and approaching, it gives the
appearance of a menacing arch. It may also occur with fronts in the absence of a cumulonimbus or in the
absence of any thermal boundary.

4.6 Tuba - In meteorology, a cloud column or inverted cloud cone, pendant from a cloud base. This
supplementary feature occurs mostly with cumulus and cumulonimbus; when it reaches the earth's surface it
constitutes the cloudy manifestation of an intense vortex, namely, a tornado or waterspout.

4.7 Pileus - An accessory cloud of small horizontal extent, often cirriform, in the form of a cap, hood, or
scarf, which occurs above or attached to the top of a cumulus or cumulonimbus (less often stratocumulus)
cloud that often pierces it. Sometimes several pileus clouds are observed above each other. Pileus is formed
as a moist layer locally lifted due to rising cloud below.

4.8 Velum - An accessory cloud of small horizontal extent, often cirriform, in the form of a cap, hood, or
scarf, which occurs above or attached to the top of a cumulus or cumulonimbus (less often stratocumulus)
cloud that often pierces it. Sometimes several pileus clouds are observed above each other. Pileus is formed
as a moist layer locally lifted due to rising cloud below.

4.9 Pannus - These shreds may constitute a layer, which may be separated from the main part of the cloud,
or attached to it. This accessory cloud occurs mostly with nimbostratus, cumulus, and cumulonimbus.

5. Mother-clouds—the origin of clouds if formed from other clouds.

A scheme of classifying clouds according to their usual altitudes.

Three classes are distinguished: high, middle, and low. High clouds include cirrus, cirrocumulus, cirrostratus,
occasionally altostratus, and the tops of cumulonimbus. The middle clouds are altocumulus, altostratus, nimbostratus
and portions of cumulus and cumulonimbus. The low clouds are stratocumulus, stratus and most cumulus and
cumulonimbus bases, and sometimes nimbostratus.

A scheme of classifying clouds according to their particulate composition, namely, water clouds, ice-
crystal clouds, and mixed clouds.

47
The first are composed entirely of water droplets (ordinary and/or supercooled), the second entirely of ice crystals,
and the third a combination of the first two. Of the cloud genera, only cirrostratus and cirrus are always ice-crystal
clouds; cirrocumulus can also be mixed; and only cumulonimbus is always mixed. Altostratus is nearly always mixed,
but can occasionally be water. All the rest of
the genera are usually water clouds,
occasionally mixed; altocumulus, cumulus,
nimbostratus, and stratocumulus.

Precipitation

Precipitation is any liquid or frozen water

that forms in t he atmosphere and falls back
to the Earth. It comes in many forms, like
rain, sleet, and snow. Along
with evaporation and condensation,
precipitation is one of the three major parts
of the global water cycle.

Precipitation forms in the clouds when water

vapor condenses into bigger and bigger
droplets of water. When the drops are heavy
enough, they fall to the Earth. If a cloud is
colder, like it would be at higher altitudes,
the water droplets may freeze to form ice. These ice crystals then fall to the Earth as snow, hail, or rain, depending on
the temperature within the cloud and at the Earth’s surface. Most rain actually begins as snow high in the clouds. As
the snowflakes fall through warmer air, they become raindrops.
Particles of dust or smoke in the atmosphere are essential for precipitation. These particles, called “condensation
nuclei,” provide a surface for water vapor to condense upon. This helps water droplets gather together and become
large enough to fall to the Earth.

A common misconception is that when raindrops fall, they have a teardrop shape. In fact, smaller raindrops (ones that
are approximately 1 millimeter (0.039 inches) across) are almost perfectly spherical. Larger raindrops (2–3
millimeters (.078-.118 inches) across) are also round, but with a small indent on their bottom side. They look more
like kidney beans when falling to the Earth. Very large rain drops (larger than 4.5 millimeters (.177 inches)) have a
huge indent and look more like a parachute. These extra-large drops usually end up splitting into two smaller
droplets. The indents on raindrops are caused by air resistance.

Precipitation is always fresh water, even when the water originated from the ocean. This is because sea salt does not
evaporate with water. However, in some cases, pollutants in the atmosphere can contaminate water droplets before
they fall to the Earth. The precipitation that results from this is called acid rain. Acid rain does not harm humans
directly, but it can make lakes and streams more acidic. This harms aquatic ecosystems because plants and animals
often cannot adapt to the acidity.

Forms of Precipitation
Water is part of a cycle called the Water Cycle. As water evaporates from the various bodies of water, plants, and
animals, it rises into the atmosphere. There, some of the water rises high enough to cool at the higher altitude, which
causes the water vapor to condense into tiny water droplets that form clouds. Some clouds produce precipitation,
during which the water that forms the clouds falls back to the earth.

Precipitation is in different forms depending on the altitude of the cloud. The altitude affects the temperature in the
atmosphere and therefore the form of the water droplets that form the clouds. Another influence on the type of
precipitation that forms is whether there are strong upward drafts of air inside the cloud.

1. Rain is a water droplet in liquid form, usually in lower altitude clouds.

2. Snow falls when clouds are in higher and colder altitudes, which causes the water vapor to freeze as
it condenses to form ice crystals instead of water droplets that form the cloud.
3. Drizzle is a fine sprinkle of tiny water droplets of size less than 0.5mm and intensity greater than
1mm/h. The tiny drops forming a drizzle appear to float in the air.
4. Sleet is rain that freezes as it is falling in cold temperatures.
5. Freezing Rain is rain that freezes when it contacts the ground.
6. Hail forms inside tall clouds with air currents blowing the water droplets up and down. Rain starts to
fall inside the cloud, but it is caught by an upward sweeping wind and forced into a higher altitude.
48
 The drop of rain freezes in the higher altitude and falls, forming more condensation on it. It can be
swept up again to refreeze, forming a larger hailstone. The size of the hailstone depends on the
number of times this cycle repeats, which depends on the strength of the upward draft of wind in the
cloud.

Types of Precipitation

Precipitation occurs when the moist air mass undergoes condensation. This process happens when the air is cooled
and saturated with the same amount of moisture. This process of cooling air mass is performed only when the air
mass moves up to higher altitudes. The air mass can be lifted to higher altitudes mainly by three methods based on
which there are three types of precipitation namely:

1. Cyclonic Precipitation. A cyclone is a region in the atmosphere with large low pressure having circular wind
motion. The cyclonic precipitation is caused by the movement of moist air mass to this region due to the difference in
pressure. Cyclones can be of two types frontal and non-frontal precipitation.
 Frontal Precipitation. A frontal is called as the hot moist air mass boundary. This precipitation is caused by the
expansion of air near the frontal surface.
 Non-Frontal Precipitation. This is a cold moist air mass boundary that moves and results in precipitation.

2. Convective Precipitation. The air above the land area gets heated up by some cause. The most warmer air rises
up and cools and precipitates. Convective precipitation is showery in nature. This type of precipitation happens in
varying intensities. The areal extent of convective precipitation is small in the range of less than 10km in diameter.

3. Orographic Precipitation. Moving air masses have chances to strike barriers like mountains. Once they strike,
they rise up which causes condensation and precipitation. The precipitation is greater in the windward side of the
barrier compared to the leeward side of the barrier.

Occurrence of Precipitation

Precipitation occurs when the atmosphere has sufficient moisture. There must be sufficient nuclei (salt particles,
products of combustion, etc) in the atmosphere to make condensation happen. Weather conditions must be favorable
for the condensation of water vapor to take place.

Under favorable weather conditions, water vapor condenses over these nuclei to form tiny water droplets of size
(generally less than 0.1mm in diameter). The clouds are carried by the wind while its turbulence helps to retain water
droplets in suspension (similar to particles in a colloidal suspension).

Precipitation occurs when these water droplets come together and coalesce, forming larger drops of water that can
dropdown. When the precipitation occurs, a considerable part of it evaporates back into the atmosphere.

Net precipitation at a place and its form depend on a number of meteorological factors such as temperature, humidity,
wind, pressure in the region.

49
Sub-topic 2: Principles that Affect Visibility
Visibility is a measure of the distance at which an
object or light can be clearly discerned.can be
estimated by an observer during the day simply by
recording the maximum distance that a suitably
large, dark coloured object can be seen on the
horizon against the sky. This estimation can
however be difficult to provide accurately when
there are not many objects at a known distance
from the observer for comparison.

Visibility estimates can also be made during the

night by observing the maximum distance that a
light of known intensity can be identified, although
this has the same sources of ambiguity as daytime
estimates,With the additional effect of light intensity
loss by spreading that produces a natural limit to
the distance it can be seen by an observer, even under perfectly clear conditions. Mist is a phenomenon caused by
small droplets of water suspended in air. Visibility degradation is caused by the absorption and scattering of light
by particles and gases in the atmosphere.

Haze – is an atmospheric phenomenon where dust, smoke and other dry particles obscure the clarity of the sky.

Fog is caused by the cooling of air in contact with the surface to a temperature at which it can no longer maintain, in
an invisible state, the water vapour, which is present in it. Fog may build in different ways. A distinction is made in
terms of development between radiation fog, advection fog, evaporative fog, orographic fog (or rising fog) and mixed
fog. Sometimes, these forms appear in combinations.

Evaporation fog or Sea Smoke forms occurs when the air is very cold. Instead of condensing into water droplets, the
water vapor desublimates directly into ice crystals. It forms when a light wind of very cold air mixes with a shallow
layer of saturated warm air immediately above the warmer water.

Sea smoke forms when a light wind of very cold air mixes with a shallow layer of saturated warm air immediately
above the warmer water. The warmer air is cooled beyond the dew point and can no longer hold as much water
vapor, so the excess condenses out. The effect is similar to the "steam" produced over a hot bath or a hot drink, or
even an exercising person.

The orographic fog (or rising fog), also called mountain mist, is also a type of cooling fog. The air cooling occurs
through decrease of air pressure if, because of wind streams, air masses passed over a mountain or on a mountain.
The fog is visible as a cloud around the mountain peaks.

Radiation fog usually forms when the air is cooled to such an extent that the relative humidity reaches 100%, the
saturation point. It usually forms during the night due to the heat irradiation from the surface of the Earth and the
associated cooling of the lower air layer.

Dispersal of Radiation Fog As the sun rises, and the surface temperature increases, the air in contact with the
surface will warm and the fog will gradually disperse. The fog may rise to form a low layer of stratus.
Advection fog occurs when warm air slides over colder air layers and is cooled. Advection fog usually occurs as
heavy fog, during an inversion. This means that a warmer air layer has slidden over a colder layer, which does usually
not occur. Between the two layers, a thick blanket of fog is then created.

The accurate reporting of visibility is a vital part of an observation. Pilots use information on reported visibility to
assist in making critical operational decisions. The observer's responsibility in this respect cannot be over emphasised.

The key concept to remember when making a visibility observation is that it is a measure of the transparency of the
atmosphere and does not depend on the general illumination level. That is, variations in visibility between day and
night do not occur except when a change occurs in the transparency of the atmosphere i.e. in the number of
'obscuring particles' between the observer and visibility markers being used.

50
Further, when determining the visibility, it is not sufficient merely to see the object; it must be recognised as
well. An observer may, because of their knowledge of the locality, recognise an object which can just be seen, but
which would not be identified by an observer unfamiliar with the surroundings. Such recognition should not be allowed
to affect the visibility observation.

Factors affecting Visibility

The distance at which an object can be seen depends on:
a. the transparency of the atmosphere, i.e., the number of obscuring particles present;
b. the position of the sun;
c. the contrast between the object and its background (by day);
d. the general level of illumination (by night); and
e. the size of the object.

An observer must eliminate the effects of (b) to (e) above so that the reported visibility will depend solely on
atmospheric transparency (a).

The effect of the sun is significant at sunrise and sunset and can be eliminated by viewing objects at 90 degrees or
more from the sun’s position. Suitable selection of visibility makers will eliminate issues regarding contrast,
illumination and size.

Weather Phenomena and Visibility

The following phenomena will affect the atmospheric transparency to a varying extent depending on the intensity:

1. Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny 2. Mist is a phenomenon caused by small

water droplets or ice crystals suspended in
the air at or near the Earth's surface. Fog can
be considered a type of low-lying cloud
usually resembling stratus, and is heavily
influenced by nearby bodies of water,
topography, and wind conditions.
droplets of water suspended in air. Physically,
it is an example of a dispersion. It is most
commonly seen where warm, moist air meets
sudden cooling, such as in exhaled air in the
winter, or when throwing water onto the hot
stove of a sauna.

3. Haze is traditionally an atmospheric
phenomenon in which dust, smoke, and other
dry particulates obscure the clarity of the sky.
51
4. Sea smoke, frost smoke, or steam fog is fog
which is formed when very cold air moves over
warmer water. Arctic sea smoke is sea smoke
forming over small patches of open water in sea
ice. It forms when a light wind of very cold air
mixes with a shallow layer of saturated warm air
immediately above the warmer water.
 5. Dust is made of fine particles of solid
matter. On Earth, it generally consists of
particles in the atmosphere that comes from
various sources such as soil, dust lifted by
wind (an aeolian process), volcanic eruptions,
and pollution.
6. A dust storm, also called sandstorm, is a
meteorological phenomenon common in arid
and semi-arid regions. Dust storms arise
when a gust front or other strong wind blows
loose sand and dirt from a dry surface.

7. Volcanic ash consists of fragments of 8. Precipitation. A probability

rock, minerals, and volcanic glass, created
during volcanic eruptions and measuring less
than 2 mm in diameter. The term volcanic
ash is also often loosely used to refer to all
explosive eruption products, including
particles larger than 2 mm.
of precipitation (POP), also referred to as
chance of precipitation or chance of rain, is a
measure of the probability that at least some
minimum quantity of precipitation will occur
within a specified forecast period and
location. It is often published with weather
forecasts.

Selection of Visibility Markers

Daylight Observations

Markers should be well distributed in azimuth so that visibility in different directions can be estimated, and should
comply with the following requirements:

 Markers should be black or dark with a horizon background. White or light coloured objects should not be
used; if there are insufficient objects to comply with this, dark objects having a terrestrial background may be
selected. The object however, must stand out from the background for a distance of at least half that between
the object and the observer;

 For uniformity of observations, the object size is standardized. The object should subtend an angle of not less
than ½ a degree and not more than 5 degrees from the observer’s position. (The width of half a finger and
three fingers held at arm’s length subtend angles of approximately ½ and 5 degrees respectively).

52
Night observations

The most suitable markers for determining the visibility at night F401 Plan of Visibility Markers
are unfocussed light sources of ‘moderate’ intensity at known
distances. The following details are specified:

 Unfocussed incandescent lights of approximately 40 watts

and never greater than 100 watts are suitable for
estimates up to 2000 m; lights between 100 and 250
watts are suitable for estimates in excess of 2000 m;
 White lights should be selected where practicable, but
green and red may be used as an alternative;
 Avoid selecting lights in a direction which have excessive
background glare from the illumination of towns and
cities.

Plan of Visibility Markers

When making observations for visibility, an observer should have

access to a plan of the location of suitable visibility markers
relative to the observing location. The Bureau uses the F401 for
this purpose.

If a plan of visibility markers is not available, a topographic chart or satellite image may help determine the distance
from the observing point of suitable markers. When using these methods, special care must be taken to ensure the
accuracy of the information.

Procedure for Making Visibility Observations

Daylight observations

The following procedure is to be followed when making daylight observations:

 Study the whole horizon and select the furthest object that can be seen and identified in each direction with
the aid of a plan of markers.
 If a visibility marker is just recognisable, then the distance to that marker is the visibility in that direction. In
practice though, the visibility may lie somewhere between the distances of two markers; in this instance an
estimate of the visibility must be made of the distance at which an imaginary suitable marker could be seen
and recognised, based on the relative clarity and distance of the two known markers.
 The estimated visibility is not to be limited by the distance of the furthest available marker. If for example, the
furthest visibility marker is clear with sharp outlines and relief, with little or no blurring of colours, the visibility
may be determined to be twice the distance to that marker.
 When the visibility varies with direction, any sector reductions may also be included depending on the
reporting type.

Night Observations
The procedure for night observations is the same as for day observations, with the following additional requirements:
 Allow the eyes to become accustomed to the dark for at least two minutes. Direct vision becomes fully
adjusted after this time whereas indirect vision (looking a little to one side of a light) will continue to increase
in sensitivity for several hours while exposed to the dark. Observers must make sure they regard a marker
(light source) as visible only if they can see it when looking directly at it.
 Where the number of lights is limited, silhouettes of hills or mountains and the brilliance of stars near the
horizon are useful aids.
 When available, use the output from the visibility meter to assist.

Units for Reporting Visibility

The unit of measurement for reporting visibility may vary depending on the reporting mechanism. The following
generalisations can be made with respect to reporting visibility for aviation purposes:
 An Aerodrome Weather Report indicates visibility in metres, with 9999 indicating a visibility of 10km or
greater.
 In a Take-off and Landing Report, the visibility is typically broadcast in metres up to and including 5000m, and
in kilometres above that value. A visibility ‘greater than 10km’ may be indicated when appropriate.

53
Visibility Meter

Principle of Operation

The Vaisala FD12 Visibility Meter measures air clarity using the
principle of forward scattering of light. Infra-red light is
transmitted into a scattering volume (approximately 1 litre) which
is viewed by a receiver. The amount of light received is expressed
as a measure of visibility, which is output by the instrument every
15 seconds.

An algorithm collects a set of 40 observations taken at 15 second

intervals over a 10 minute period to produce a visibility estimate.
This visibility estimate is biased towards the lowest reports of
visibility received during the 10 minute sampling period.

Automated visibility data can provide guidance to observers with

their estimations of visibility. Observers should be mindful of the
following when interpreting output from the visibility meter and
visibility algorithm:

 The more uniform the weather, the more accurate and

representative of the entire airport is the visibility meter
measurement; ‘patchy’ visibility reductions may go
undetected.
 The algorithm uses data collected over a 10 minute
period, resulting in a time lag; there will be a delay in the
accurate reporting by the visibility meter when rapid
changes in visibility occur.
 The human eye can face physical limitations such as
viewing angle, contrasts and individual eye response, in
determining the representative visibility. As the visibility Vaisala FD12
meter is not affected by these limitations, there will be
times when the automated parameter and the observer’s
estimation will be different.

Visibility meters are also installed at non-staffed sites to provide

observations where otherwise none would be available.
Most display consoles allow users to view both one-minute output
as well as the 10-minute processed output. Below is an example
of a typical display. The one-minute visibility (Vis) is in metres.

Principle of Forward Scattering

54
Sub-topic 3 Information from Wind and Pressure
System
The Corioliseffect is the observed deflection of a moving object, caused by the moving frame of reference on the
spinning Earth. As air warms, expands, and rises at the equator,
it moves toward the pole, but instead of traveling in a straight
path, the air is deflected eastward. In the Northern Hemisphere
air turns to the right. In the Southern Hemisphere air turns to
the left.

Coriolis Effect

Air moves in cells, influenced by the Corioliseffect. The wind belts

girdling the planet are organised into three cells: the Hadley cell,
the Ferrel cell, and the Polar cell. Air moves in cells, influenced
by the Corioliseffect. The wind belts girdling the planet are
organised into three cells: the Hadley cell, the Ferrel cell, and
the Polar cell.

Westerlies are on the polar sides of the oceanic anticyclones

where the wind direction becomes predominantly W. It generally lie on 40 deg N and 40 deg S. The continual process
of depressions from W to E across these zones causes the wind to vary greatly in both direction and strength.

Prevailing Winds

Polar easterlies (also Polar Hadley cells) are the dry, cold prevailing winds that blow from the high-pressure areas of
the polar highs at the north and south poles towards low-pressure areas within the Westerlies at high latitudes.

The trade winds are the prevailing pattern of easterly surface winds found in the tropics, within the lower portion of
the Earth's atmosphere, in the lower section of the troposphere near the Earth's equator.

Subtropical high, one of several regions of semipermanent high atmospheric pressure located over the oceans
between 20° and 40° of latitude in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres of the Earth. The circulation around
the highs is clockwise in the Northern
Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the
Southern Hemisphere.

Mean surface pressure and wind distribution

over the Earth’s surface in January and July.

Location and prevailing weather situation

in the Doldrums, the Intertropical
convergence zone, and the horse latitude

The doldrums is the name given to the zone of

light and variable winds, often associated with
heavy rain or thunderstorms, which form a
narrow, roughly latitudinal, belt occupying a
position between the equator and about latitude
12 degree N, which varies with longitude and
with season. In the days of sailing-vessels, the
zone was dreaded on account of the risk of being
becalmed. This is the zone where the trade-wind systems of the northern and southern hemispheres converge
together and where, after prolonged heating over the equatorial ocean, some of the air finally ascends vertically.

The Intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) is the low latitudes in which the trade winds of the two hemispheres
converge. In this zone the horizontal convergence and subsequent ascent of air in the troposphere results in cloud
development, Analysis of satellite images show that while cloud development is a feature of this zone, it is not
continuous in the horizontal plane at any given time, nor is it a persistent feature at any particular point over a period.
The cloud type is cumuliform ranging from cumulus to cumulonimbus with diameters between 1 and 10 km. A
collection of these clouds, termed a convective all, may have a diameter in the range of 10 and 100km. A number of
55
such cells may form a cold cluster which may have a diameter in the range of 100km and 1000km. Wheather
conditions may be light winds., squalls, and showers(Cu cloud), or thunderstorms and heavy precipitation(Cb cloud).
In contrast, clear skies indicate that there is no convergence of air with its result ascent.

Monsoon is the seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating
of land and sea. Usually, the term monsoon is used to refer to the rainy phase of a seasonally changing pattern,
although technically there is also a dry phase.The major monsoon systems of the world consist of the West
African and Asia-Australian monsoons. Tropical monsoon climates are also commonly found in South and Central
America. However, there are sections of South Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa (particularly West and Central Africa), the
Caribbean, and North America that also feature this climate.

Local winds are small scale convective winds of local origin caused by temperature differences. Local terrain has a
very strong influence on local winds, and the more varied the terrain, the greater the influence.
Common Local Winds
1. Land and Sea Breeze 3.Thunderstorm downdrafts
2. Slope and Valley Winds 4. Whirlwinds

A sea breeze is a gentle wind that develops over bodies of water near land due to differences in air pressure created
by their different heat capacity. It is a common occurrence along coasts during the morning as solar radiation heats
the land more quickly than the water.

A land breeze or offshore breeze is the reverse effect, caused by land cooling more quickly than water in the
evening. The sea breeze dissipates and the wind flows from the land towards the sea. Both are important factors in
coastal regions' prevailing winds.

56
Local Winds

Katabatic wind is a wind that carries high density air from a higher elevation down a slope under the force of
gravity. Such winds are sometimes also called fall winds. Katabatic winds can rush down elevated slopes at hurricane
speeds.

Local WindsThe air at the bottom of the valley is warmed by conduction from the heated land during the day, and
this air, being less dense than the air above it, takes the easiest path to the top of the valley by following the warm
sides.

Pressure System

A pressure system is a relative peak or lull in the sea level

pressure distribution. The surface pressure at sea level
varies minimally, with the lowest value measured 87
kilopascals (26 inHg) and the highest recorded 108.57
kilopascals (32.06 inHg). High- and low-pressure systems
evolve due to interactions of temperature differentials in
the atmosphere, temperature differences between the
atmosphere and water within oceans and lakes, the
influence of upper-level disturbances, as well as the
amount of solar heating or radiationized cooling an area
receives. Pressure systems cause weather to be
experienced locally. Low-pressure systems are associated
with clouds and precipitation that minimize temperature
changes throughout the day, whereas high-pressure
systems normally associate with dry weather and mostly
clear skies with larger diurnal temperature changes due to
greater radiation at night and greater sunshine during the Weather map showing high and low pressure
day. Pressure systems are analyzed by those in the field of
meteorology within surface weather maps.

57
What are Pressure Systems?

Have you ever wondered why one day it's dreary and
pouring rain, but the next day it's perfect for a trip to the
beach? A lot of factors go into the often fickle weather
system, which is why meteorologists sometimes give
inaccurate weather forecasts. One of these factors is the
pressure system. If you ever watched a weather report,
you may have heard about high and low pressure systems,
often marked with L or H on a weather map. But what is a
pressure system?

A pressure system is an area of the Earth's atmosphere

that has a particularly high or low pressure compared to
the air around it. Pressure simply refers to how far apart
the air molecules are. When the air is squeezed and packed
together, that's high pressure. And when the air is spread Clear skies are associated with high pressure.
apart, that's low pressure.

What causes these pressure systems? That's the more complicated part and can relate to the motion of air currents in
the area, the terrain (whether it is flat or mountainous), the presence of the sea, and other factors. In any case, high-
pressure air is denser than low-pressure air. Now, let's explore how pressure systems affect weather.

Effects of Pressure Systems

If you watch enough of the weather forecast, you've

probably noticed that high-pressure air tends to lead to
good weather: warm temperatures and clear skies. Low-
pressure air, on the other hand, is associated with cloudy
and rainy conditions. These weather conditions occur, in
part, due to the way that pressure systems move.
Have you ever taken a bath with a rubber duck or went
swimming with an inflatable tube? What happens when you
try to push it under the water? You'll find that it bobs back
up the surface. That's because the water is denser than the
rubber duck. (The particles in the water are closer together
than the particles of air inside the rubber duck.) Lighter,
less dense things tend to rise, and heavier, more dense
things tend to sink. The same happens with air.
Low-pressure air is lighter and less dense than high-
pressure air. This means that low-pressure air tends to
rise, and high-pressure air tends to sink. This happens
naturally, but if two different pressures of air collide with
each other, it speeds up the process. An area of low
pressure on a weather map is, therefore, an area where
the air is generally rising, and an area of high pressure on
a weather map is where the air is generally sinking.

High and Low Pressure

If you are a regular viewer of weather broadcasts, chances are you’ve heard the following from your local TV
meteorologist: “plenty of sunshine is in store today as high pressure is in control over the area.” Or: “expect rain to
spread into the area as a low pressure system approaches.” It is well established that high pressure is generally
associated with nice weather, while low pressure is generally associated with cloudy, rainy, or snowy weather. But
have you ever wondered why?

In order to understand the types of weather conditions generally associated with high and low pressure systems, we
must think “vertically.” The motion of air in the atmosphere above our heads plays a large part in the weather we
experience here at earth’s surface. Basically, air cools as it rises, which can cause water vapor in the air to condense
into liquid water droplets, sometimes forming clouds and precipitation. On the other hand, sinking air is associated
with warming and drying conditions. So the first important point to keep in mind is rising air = moistening, sinking air
= drying.

58
So what does this have to do with high and low pressure? Well, high pressure is associated with sinking air, and low
pressure is associated with rising air. But why? The answer has to do with the typical air flow around high and low
pressure. Physically, it seems to make sense to have air flow from high pressure to low pressure. For reasons I won’t
get into in this post, the airflow (due to the Earth’s rotation and friction) is directed slightly inward toward the low
pressure center, and slightly outward away from the high pressure center:

The slightly inward moving air in low pressure causes air to converge and since it can’t move downward due to
the surface, the air is forced upward, leading to condensation and precipitation as discussed earlier. The
opposite occurs with high pressure. Air is moving away from the high pressure center at the surface (or
“diverging”) so as a result, air from above must sink to take its place. The surface flow is accompanied by the
opposite behavior at upper levels of the atmosphere, as depicted in this schematic diagram:

59
High-pressure systems are frequently associated with light winds at the surface and subsidence through the lower
portion of the troposphere. In general, subsidence will dry out an air mass by adiabatic or compressional
heating. Thus, high pressure typically brings clear skies. During the day, since no clouds are present to reflect
sunlight, there is more incoming shortwave solar radiation and temperatures rise. At night, the absence of clouds
means that outgoing long wave radiation (i.e. heat energy from the surface) is not absorbed, giving cooler diurnal low
temperatures in all seasons. When surface winds become light, the subsidence produced directly under a high-
pressure system can lead to a build-up of particulates in urban areas under the ridge, leading to widespread haze ]If
the low-level relative humidity rises towards 100 percent overnight, fog can form.
Strong but vertically shallow high-pressure systems moving from higher latitudes to lower latitudes in the northern
hemisphere are associated with continental arctic air masses. The low, sharp temperature inversion can lead to areas
of persistent stratocumulus or stratus cloud, known in colloquial terms as anticyclonic gloom. The type of weather
brought about by an anticyclone depends on its origin. For example, extensions of the Azores high bubble pressure
may bring about anticyclonic gloom during the winter, as they are warmed at the base and will trap moisture as they
move over the warmer oceans. High pressures that build to the north and extend southwards will often bring clear
weather. This is due to being cooled at the base (as opposed to warmed), which helps prevent clouds from forming.
The highest barometric pressure ever recorded on Earth was 1,085.7 hectopascals (32.06 inHg) measured
in Tonsontsengel, Mongolia on 19 December 2001.
Low Pressure System
A low-pressure area, or "low", is a region where the atmospheric pressure at sea level is below that of surrounding
locations. Low-pressure systems form under areas of wind divergence that occur in upper levels of the troposphere.
The formation process of a low-pressure area is known as cyclogenesis. Within the field of atmospheric dynamics,
areas of wind divergence aloft occur in two areas:

 On the east side of upper troughs, which form half of a Rossby wave within the Westerlies (a trough with
large wavelength, which extends through the troposphere).
 Ahead of embedded shortwave troughs, which have smaller wavelengths

Diverging winds aloft ahead of these troughs cause atmospheric lift within the troposphere below, which lowers
surface pressures as upward motion partially counteracts the force of gravity.

Thermal lows form due to localized heating caused by greater sunshine over deserts and other land masses. Since
localized areas of warm air are less dense than their surroundings, this warmer air rises, which lowers atmospheric
pressure near that portion of the Earth's surface. Large-scale thermal lows over continents help create pressure
gradients that drive monsoon circulations. Low-pressure areas can also form due to organized thunderstorm activity
over warm water. When this occurs over the tropics in concert with the Intertropical Convergence Zone, it is known as
a monsoon trough. Monsoon troughs reach their northerly extent in August and their southerly extent in
February. When a convective low acquires a well-defined circulation in the tropics it is termed a tropical
cyclone. Tropical cyclones can form during any month of the year globally, but can occur in either the northern
hemisphere or the southern hemisphere during November

Atmospheric lift caused by low-level wind convergence into the surface low brings clouds and
potentially precipitation. The low-pressure area's cloudy skies act to minimize diurnal temperature variation. Since
clouds reflect sunlight, incoming shortwave solar radiation is less, which causes lower temperatures during the day. At
night, the absorptive effect of clouds on outgoing longwave radiation, such as heat energy from the surface, allows for
warmer diurnal low temperatures in all seasons. The stronger the area of low pressure, the stronger
the winds experienced in its vicinity. Around the world, low-pressure systems are most frequently located over
the Tibetan Plateau and in the lee of the Rocky mountains. In Europe—in particular, the United Kingdom and
the Netherlands—recurring low-pressure weather systems are typically known as depressions. The lowest recorded
non-tornadic barometric pressure was 870 hectopascals (26 inHg), occurring in the Western Pacific during Typhoon
Tip on 12 October 1979.

The Direction of the Wind Around Low Pressure and High Pressure Systems

The explanation of wind flows around low pressure and high pressure systems is most easily achieved by considering
a spinning disk rather than a spinning sphere.The disk above is shown as spinning counterclockwise just as the Earth
is when viewed from above the North Pole. The points on the disk farther from the center are moving with a greater
velocity than the one closer to the center.If a parcel which is moving with the disk moves away from the center its
speed is then slower than the points on the disk at that greater distance and it lags behind. From the viewpoint of
points moving with the disk the parcel appears to move toward the west. On the other hand if a parcel were to move
toward the center its speed would be greater than the points there and it would move ahead. From the viewpoint of
points on the disk the parcel would appear to move toward the east.

60
A Low Pressure System in the Northern Hemisphere

Now consider a low pressure area on a disk as shown below.

A parcel of air at point A would move toward the center of the low pressure area. That movement would take it farther
away from the center of the disk and therefore it would move to the west. A parcel of air at B would move toward the
center of the low pressure area which would also take it closer to the center of the spinning disk where its speed is
greater than the surrounding points. It would appear to move to the east. With A moving to the west and B moving to
the east the line from A to B is rotating counterclockwise.

A High Pressure System in the Northern Hemisphere

For a high pressure system on a spinning disk such as the one shown below the only difference from the case of the
low pressure system is that air parcels at A and B would move away from the center of high pressure. A would move
to a point closer to the center of the disk where it is moving faster than the surrounding points and so appears to
move east. Likewise a parcel at B would move away from the center of high pressure and also away from the center
of the disk and would appear to move west. The line from A to B would be rotating clockwise.

Low Pressure and High Systems in the Southern Hemisphere

The rotation of the Earth viewed from above the South Pole is clockwise as is the case for the spinning disk. A low
pressure area would have a clockwise turning and a high pressure

In Summary, Winds around Low pressure Systems Turn in the Direction of the Earth's Rotation and Winds Around
High Pressure Systems Turn in the Opposite Direction of the Earth's Rotation.

61
Sub-topic 4: The Movement and Characteristics of
Depressions
Part A – Anticyclones and Depressions

Depression (also referred to as a 'low'), air is rising. As it rises and cools, water vapour condenses to form clouds
and perhaps precipitation. Consequently, the weather in a depression is often cloudy, wet and windy (with winds
blowing in an anticlockwise direction around the depression). There are usually frontal systems associated with
depressions. Before we have considered the formation of a wave-like disturbance, along a small section of a front. But
sometimes with each outbreak of an air mass develops a series of waves along the front and each wave forms its own
wavelike disturbance. So from two or three to five depressions can form along a particular front. The initial
depression is called primary and others are called secondary depression. These secondary depressions sometimes
grow very quickly into intense low with almost same characteristics as primary low. Primary along with another or a
series of secondary depressions is termed as Family of depression.

High Pressure Systems

A high pressure system, also known as an anticyclone occurs when the weather is dominated by stable conditions.
Under an anticyclone air is descending, forming an area of higher pressure at the surface. Because of these stable
conditions, cloud formation is inhibited, so the weather is usually settled with only small amounts of cloud cover. In
the Northern Hemisphere winds blow in a clockwise direction around an anticyclone. As isobars are normally widely
spaced around an anticyclone, winds are often quite light.

Anticyclones can be identified on weather charts as an often large area of widely spaced isobars, where pressure is
higher than surrounding areas.

Winter Anticyclones

In winter the clear, settled conditions and light winds associated with anticyclones can lead to frost and fog. The clear
skies allow heat to be lost from the surface of the earth by radiation, allowing temperatures to fall steadily overnight,
leading to air or ground frosts. Light winds along with falling temperatures can encourage fog to form; this can linger
well into the following morning and be slow to clear. If high pressure becomes established over Northern Europe
during winter this can bring a spell of cold easterly winds to the UK.

Summer Anticyclones

In summer the clear settled conditions associated with anticyclones can bring long sunny days and warm
temperatures. The weather is normally dry, although occasionally, very hot temperatures can trigger thunderstorms.
An anticyclone situated over the UK or near continent usually brings warm, fine weather.

Low Pressure Systems

A low pressure system, also known as a depression occurs when the weather is dominated by unstable conditions.
Under a depression air is rising, forming an area of low pressure at the surface. This rising air cools and condenses
and helps encourage cloud formation, so the weather is often cloudy and wet. In the Northern Hemisphere winds blow
in anticlockwise direction around a depression. Isobars are normally closely spaced around a depressions leading to
strong winds.

Depressions can be identified on weather charts as an area of closely spaced isobars, often in a roughly circular
shape, where pressure is lower than surrounding areas. They are often accompanied by fronts.

Part B
Anticyclones, Depressions and Fronts

Fronts

A front is a boundary between two different types of air masses, these are
normally warm moist air masses from the tropics and cooler drier air masses
from polar regions. Fronts move with the wind so over the UK they normally
move from west to east. The notes below provide information about the most
common types of fronts. The descriptions given apply to active well developed
62
fronts, weaker fronts may not display all the characteristics or they may be less well defined.

1. Warm fronts

A warm front indicates that warm air is advancing and rising up over
the colder air. This is because the warm air is ‘lighter’ or less dense,
than the cold air. Therefore warm fronts occur where warmer air is
replacing cooler air at the surface. As the warm front approaches
there is a gradual deterioration in the weather. Clouds gradually
lower from higher cirrus, through altostratus, to stratus and
nimbostratus at the front. There is often a prolonged spell of rainfall
which is often heavy. Behind the warm front the rain becomes
lighter, turns to drizzle or ceases, but it remains cloudy.
Temperatures rise behind the warm front and winds turn clockwise,
also known as a wind ‘veer’. Pressure falls steadily ahead of and
during the passage of the warm front, but then rises slowly after its
passage.

In warm Front:
Pressure reaches minimum and then remains steady
Temperature warms steadily
Wind Direction varies Speed may increase as front passes
Usually overcast conditions with predominantly stratus and nimbostratus type clouds
Visibility poor but slowly improving as front passes

The diagram below shows the formation of a warm front in diagrammatic form.

The diagram below shows a cross section through a warm front, with associated cloud, temperature and
weather changes.

63
2. Cold fronts

A cold front indicates that cold air is advancing and pushing underneath
warmer air at the surface. This occurs because the cold air is ‘heavier’ or
denser than the warm air. Therefore cold fronts occur where cooler air is
replacing warmer air at the surface. The passage of weather associated
with a cold front is much shorter lived than that with a warm front. As
there is often a lot of cloud in the warmer air ahead of the cold front,
there is often little indication of the approaching cold front. As the front
passes temperatures fall and there is often a short spell of very heavy
rain, sometimes with inbedded thunderstorms and cumulonimbus
clouds. Behind the front the weather is much brighter with broken
clouds but occasional showers. Winds veer with the passage of the cold
front and are often strong and gusty, especially near showers. Pressure
rises throughout the approach and passage of the cold front.

During old Front:

 Pressure reaches minimum and then begins rising;

 Temperature drops quickly;
 Wind increase in speed often gusty Direction begins shifting;
 Overcast; and
 Visibility drops quickly to very poor in showers

3. Occlusions (Occluded Front)

In a mature depression the warm front normally precedes the cold

front. Cold fronts generally travel much quicker than warm fronts, and
eventually it will catch up with the warm front. Where the two fronts
meet, warm air is lifted from the surface and an occlusion is formed. An occlusion can be thought of as having similar
characteristics to both warm and cold fronts. The weather ahead of an occlusion is similar to that ahead of a warm
front, whilst the weather behind is similar to that behind a cold front.

The diagram below shows the occlusion in

The diagrams below depict the formation
cross section.
of an occlusion.

Part C – Life cycle of a Depression

A Norwegian scientist called Vilhelm Bjerknes devised a simple model which described how depressions developed
from the meeting of warm and cold air. The model had four stages which are detailed below.

Origin and Infancy

Initially a warm air mass such as one from the tropics, meets a cooler air mass, such as one from the polar regions.
Depressions which affect the UK normally originate over the Atlantic Ocean.

64
1. Maturity

The warm air rises up over the colder air which is sinking.
A warm sector develops between the warm and cold
fronts. The mature stage of a depression often occurs
over the UK.

2. Occlusion

The cold front travels at around 40 to 50 miles per hour,

compared to the warm front which travels at only 20 to
30 miles per hour. Therefore the cold front eventually
catches up with the warm front. When this occurs an
occlusion is formed.

3. Death

Eventually the frontal system dies as all the warm air has
been pushed up from the surface and all that remains is
cold air. The occlusion dies out as temperatures are similar
on both sides. This stage normally occurs over Europe or
Scandinavia.

65
Part D – Depression Cross-Section and Weather Sequence

Cross-section through a Classic Depression

Most depressions have a warm and cold front, more mature depressions may also have an occluded front. The
diagram below shows a cross-section through a depression, showing the warm and cold fronts and an indication of the
associated weather.

Structure of Depression

An air mass is a large volume of air in the atmosphere that is

mostly uniform in temperature and moisture. Air masses can extend thousands
of kilometers across the surface of the Earth, and can reach from ground level
to the stratosphere 16 kilometers (10 miles) into the atmosphere.Air masses
form over large surfaces with uniform temperatures and humidity, called source
regions. Low wind speeds let air remain stationary long enough to take on the
features of the source region, such as heat or cold. When winds move air
masses, they carry their weather conditions (heat or cold, dry or moist) from
the source region to a new region.

Air masses are classified according to their temperature and moisture

characteristics. They are grouped into four categories based on their source
region:

 Continental Arctic (cA): This air mass is characterized by extremely cold temperatures and contains very
little moisture. These air masses form north of (or very near) the Arctic Circle and poleward.
 Maritime Tropical (mT): Being from a source region in the Tropics and over water, this air mass is
characterized by hot, humid conditions.
 Continental Tropical (Ct): These are the hot, dry air massesThe leading edge of this air mass is often called
the dry line where it encounters the maritime tropical air mass, (to the east),
 Continental Arctic (cA): This air mass is characterized by extremely cold temperatures and contains very
little moisture. These air masses form north of (or very near) the Arctic Circle and poleward.
 Maritime Tropical (mT): Being from a source region in the Tropics and over water, this air mass is
characterized by hot, humid conditions.
 Continental Tropical (Ct): These are the hot, dry air massesThe leading edge of this air mass is often called
the dry line where it encounters the maritime tropical air mass, (to the east),
 Continental Polar (cP): These air masses bring cold air during the winter and cool, relatively clear, rather
pleasant weather in the summer. The air mass is stable and usually prevents cloud formation. It also can

66
 develop inversions which inhibits vertical motion and may cause high pollution events, especially near and
downwind of large industrial areas.

Depression characteristics
Where isobars are close together the wind is greatest. This is because of a rapid change in air pressure.
 Wind - winds blow anticlockwise in a depression and wind blows along the isobars. You can work out the wind
direction by following the isobars in an anticlockwise direction.
 Wet - where warm air meets cold air, the warm air is pushed upwards where it cools, condenses and
precipitates (usually as rain). A front is a band of cloud and clouds bring rain.
 Temperature - in general, the warm sector behind the warm front brings warmer temperatures and the cold
sector behind the cold front brings cooler temperatures.

Life Cycle of a Polar Front Depression

In meteorology, the polar front is the boundary between the polar

cell and the Ferrell cell around the 60° latitude in each hemisphere.
At this boundary a sharp gradient in temperature occurs between
these two air masses, each at very different temperatures. The polar
front arises as a result of cold polar air meeting warm tropical air. It
is a stationary front as the air masses are not moving against each
other. Off the coast of eastern North America, especially in winter,
there is a sharp temperature gradient between the snow-covered
land and the warm offshore currents. The polar front theory says
that mid-latitude cyclones form on boundaries between warm and
cold air. In winter, the polar front shifts towards the Equator,
whereas high pressure systems dominate more in the summer.

67
 LEARNING LOG NO. 5

Short Answer on Clouds and Precipitation

Direction: Work on the given questions below based on what you have learned from your readings. Before you finalize
your answer ensure that you have read and understand the topics specified. A Short Answer Rubric is provided in the
succeeding page for you to know and understand what the instructor‘s expectation from your answer and how you will
be graded.

1. What is cloud and precipitation?

2. How are clouds form during precipitation?

3. What type of clouds brings precipitation?

4. How are clouds and fog related to precipitation?

5. When do fogs become clouds?

68
 Short Answer Rubric

Reminder: This rubric will be rated by your instructor only!

Note: Each of the items in Learning Log No. 5 requires a 15-point answer guided with the criteria and levels of assessment.

Levels of Assessment

Criteria
Exemplary Above Average Adequate Inadequate

1
5 3 2
Writing shows high Writing is coherent and Writing is coherent and Writing lacks logical
Organization of degree of attention to logically organized with logically organized. organization. It shows
Thoughts logic and reasoning of transitions used between Some points remain some coherence but
(5) points. Unity clearly leads ideas and paragraphs to misplaced and stray ideas lack unity.
the reader to the create coherence. Overall from the topic. Serious errors.
conclusion and stirs unity of ideas is present. Transitions evident but
thought regarding the not used throughout
topic. essay.
1
5 3 2
Content indicates Content indicates original Content indicates Shows some thinking
Level of Content synthesis of ideas, thinking and develops ideas thinking and reasoning and reasoning but
(5) indepth analysis and with sufficient and firm applied with original most ideas are
evidences original evidence. thought on a few ideas. underdeveloped and
thought and support for unoriginal.
the topic.

1
5 3 2
Main points well Main points well developed Main points are present Main points lack
Development developed with high with quality supporting with limited detail and detailed development.
(choice of words and quality and quantity details and quantity. Critical development. Some Ideas are vague with
grammar) support. Reveals high thinking is weaved into critical thinking is little evidence of
(5) degree of critical points. present. critical thinking.
thinking.

Organization of Level of Content Development

Item No. Points
Thoughts (5) (5)
(5)

1
/15

2
/15

4
/15

5
/15

Total Points /75

*Adapted from: Teaching Commons, Center for Innovation and Excellence in Learning, by Dr. Rhonda Dubec,2018

69
 LEARNING LOG NO. 6

Short Answer Assessment on the Principles that Affects Visibility

Direction: Challenge yourself by answering the questions below based on what you have learned from your readings.
Make consistent responses with a minimum of 50 words in each by using relevant terminologies from the specified
topic. A Short Answer Rubric is provided in the succeeding page for you to know and understand what the instructor‘s
expectation from your answer and how you will be graded.

1. What is the principle of Visibility? Elaborate.

2. Discuss the visibility procedures for making Visibility Observations during day and night.

3. Explain the relationship between the various phenomena and visibility.

4. How visibility affects ship navigation?

70
 Short Answer Rubric

Reminder: This rubric will be rated by your instructor only!

Note: Each of the items in Learning Log No. 6 requires a 15-point answer guided with the criteria and levels of assessment.

Levels of Assessment

Criteria
Exemplary Above Average Adequate Inadequate

1
5 3 2
Writing shows high Writing is coherent and Writing is coherent and Writing lacks logical
Organization of degree of attention to logically organized with logically organized. organization. It shows
Thoughts logic and reasoning of transitions used between Some points remain some coherence but
(5) points. Unity clearly leads ideas and paragraphs to misplaced and stray ideas lack unity.
the reader to the create coherence. Overall from the topic. Serious errors.
conclusion and stirs unity of ideas is present. Transitions evident but
thought regarding the not used throughout
topic. essay.
1
5 3 2
Content indicates Content indicates original Content indicates Shows some thinking
Level of Content synthesis of ideas, thinking and develops ideas thinking and reasoning and reasoning but
(5) indepth analysis and with sufficient and firm applied with original most ideas are
evidences original evidence. thought on a few ideas. underdeveloped and
thought and support for unoriginal.
the topic.

1
5 3 2
Development Main points well Main points well developed Main points are present Main points lack
(choice of words and developed with high with quality supporting with limited detail and detailed development.
grammar) quality and quantity details and quantity. Critical development. Some Ideas are vague with
(5) support. Reveals high thinking is weaved into critical thinking is little evidence of
degree of critical points. present. critical thinking.
thinking.

Organization of Level of Content Development

Item No. Points
Thoughts

1
/15

2
/15

3
/15

4 /15

Total Points /60

*Adapted from: Teaching Commons, Center for Innovation and Excellence in Learning, by Dr. Rhonda Dubec,2018

71
 LEARNING LOG NO. 7
Essay on the Information from Wind and Pressure System

Direction: Make use of your saved knowledge from the pockets of ideas that you’ve earned from your readings. Make
a minimum of 50 words in each item. Enjoy yourself while answering those questions with the given Short Answer
Rubric provided in the succeeding page for you to know and understand what the instructor‘s expectation from your
answer and how you will be graded. You may use another sheet of paper for the answer.

1. What is pressure and wind system?

2. How does pressure and wind system affect climate?

3. What are the 4 types of wind?

4. What is a high pressure system in weather?

5. Does high pressure mean good weather?

72
 Short Answer Rubric

Reminder: This rubric will be rated by your instructor only!

Note: Each of the items in Learning Log No. 7 requires a 15-point answer guided with the criteria and levels of assessment.

Levels of Assessment

Criteria
Exemplary Above Average Adequate Inadequate

1
5 3 2
Writing shows high Writing is coherent and Writing is coherent and Writing lacks logical
Organization of degree of attention to logically organized with logically organized. organization. It shows
Thoughts logic and reasoning of transitions used between Some points remain some coherence but
(5) points. Unity clearly leads ideas and paragraphs to misplaced and stray ideas lack unity.
the reader to the create coherence. Overall from the topic. Serious errors.
conclusion and stirs unity of ideas is present. Transitions evident but
thought regarding the not used throughout
topic. essay.
1
5 3 2
Content indicates Content indicates original Content indicates Shows some thinking
Level of Content synthesis of ideas, thinking and develops ideas thinking and reasoning and reasoning but
(5) indepth analysis and with sufficient and firm applied with original most ideas are
evidences original evidence. thought on a few ideas. underdeveloped and
thought and support for unoriginal.
the topic.

1
5 3 2
Development Main points well Main points well developed Main points are present Main points lack
developed with high with quality supporting with limited detail and detailed development.
(choice of words and quality and quantity details and quantity. Critical development. Some Ideas are vague with
grammar) support. Reveals high thinking is weaved into critical thinking is little evidence of
(5) degree of critical points. present. critical thinking.
thinking.

Organization of Level of Content Development

Item No. Points
Thoughts

1
/15

2
/15

3
/15

4
/15

5
/15

Total Points /75

*Adapted from: Teaching Commons, Center for Innovation and Excellence in Learning, by Dr. Rhonda Dubec,2018

73
 LEARNING LOG NO. 8
Essay on the Movement and Characteristics of Depression
Direction: Make use of your saved knowledge from the pockets of ideas that you’ve earned from your readings. Make a
minimum of 50 words in each box of information. A Short Answer Rubric is provided in the succeeding page for you to know
and understand what the instructor‘s expectation from your answer and how you will be graded.

Part A – Anticyclones and Depressions Part B Anticyclones, Depressions and Fronts

The Movement and

Characteristics of
Depressions

Part C – Life cycle of a Depression Part D – Depression Cross-Section and

Weather Sequence

74
 Short Answer Rubric

Reminder: This rubric will be rated by your instructor only!

Note: Each of the items in Learning Log No. 8 requires a 15-point answer guided with the criteria and levels of assessment.

Levels of Assessment

Criteria
Exemplary Above Average Adequate Inadequate

1
5 3 2
Writing shows high Writing is coherent and Writing is coherent and Writing lacks logical
Organization of degree of attention to logically organized with logically organized. organization. It shows
Thoughts logic and reasoning of transitions used between Some points remain some coherence but
(5) points. Unity clearly leads ideas and paragraphs to misplaced and stray ideas lack unity.
the reader to the create coherence. Overall from the topic. Serious errors.
conclusion and stirs unity of ideas is present. Transitions evident but
thought regarding the not used throughout
topic. essay.
1
5 3 2
Content indicates Content indicates original Content indicates Shows some thinking
Level of Content synthesis of ideas, thinking and develops ideas thinking and reasoning and reasoning but
(5) indepth analysis and with sufficient and firm applied with original most ideas are
evidences original evidence. thought on a few ideas. underdeveloped and
thought and support for unoriginal.
the topic.

1
5 3 2
Development Main points well Main points well developed Main points are present Main points lack
developed with high with quality supporting with limited detail and detailed development.
(choice of words and quality and quantity details and quantity. Critical development. Some Ideas are vague with
grammar) support. Reveals high thinking is weaved into critical thinking is little evidence of
(5) degree of critical points. present. critical thinking.
thinking.

Organization of Level of Content Development

Item No. Points
Thoughts

Part A
/15

Part B
/15

Part C
/15

Part D
/15

Total Points /60

*Adapted from: Teaching Commons, Center for Innovation and Excellence in Learning, by Dr. Rhonda Dubec,2018

75
 Weekly Student Journal Entry No. 2

Direction: Based on your readings about the topics on the Weather System Reporting Procedures and Recording log
your learning on the space provided below. Write a maximum of 250 words on the salient points you have gained.
Please refer to the Student Journal Rubric in the next page of what is expected from you and how you will be graded.
Start your Journal Entry with the given introductory statement.

Weather System Reporting Procedures and Recording

I have learned from the topics that _____________________________________________________

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 Weekly Student Journal Rubric

Reminder: This rubric will be rated by your instructor only!

Levels of Assessment

Exceeds Meets
Acceptable Unacceptable Points
Criteria Expectations Expectations

20 15 10 1

Selected items that Selected items that Selected items and Selected items and
are important and are important in details that discuss details that are not
help make content discussing the the activities for important or
interesting; the activities for the the week, but they relevant
details focus on the week; the details are not very
Content most important help the reader see important.
information. things about the
Choices help the items in interesting
reader see things in ways.
a new way. /20

20 15 10 1

Organization of
thought units Journal entry is Journal entry is Journal entry is Journal entry lacks
logical and generally logical somewhat illogical logical order and
effective. and effective with a and confusing in organization. /20
few minor places.
problems.

10 7 4 1

Mechanics and Correct spelling and Few or no spelling Several spelling Fulfills few of the
Grammar appropriate errors; some minor errors. Many requirements of the
grammar. punctuation instances of assignment.
mistakes incorrect spelling
and grammar.
/10

Total Points
/50
*Adapted from: Teaching Commons, Center for Innovation and Excellence in Learning, by Dr. Rhonda Dubec, 2018

77
 Lesson 3
Application of the
Meteorological Information

At the end of the lesson, the student should be able to:

1. determine the organization functions and objectives of the world meteorological

organization;
2. differentiate ridges and cols or voids between the convergence of pressure systems on
surface synoptic or prognostic chart; and
3. interpret the types of information received by facsimile machine including the service
provided for storm warning.

78
 College College of Maritime Education
Program Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation
Course Code Met 01
Course Title Meteorology Oceanography 1
Credit Unit 3 units (Lecture)
Lesson 3 Week 3
Module Topic Application of the Meteorological information
At the end of the lesson the students are able to:
1. determine the organization, functions and objectives of the world meteorological organization
Intended Learning 2. differentiate ridges and cols voids between the convergence of pressure systems on surface
Outcomes synoptic or prognostic chart
3. interpret the types of information received by facsimile machine including the service
provided for storm warning.

Number of Hours 13.5 Hours (12 Hours Self-Directed Learning and 1.5 Hours Assessment Tasks)
1. What role does observation play in weather forecasting ?
2. What is weather observation play in weather forecasting?
Study Questions 3. What are the steps in weather forecasting?
4. How is math used in weather forecasting?
Required Suggested
 Lesson 3 Course Module on Meteorology and  Martins, Renato P. and Matheson Guisela
Oceanography 1, College of Maritime Education, University
Learning Resources of the Visayas; Santiago G.: Meteorology and
 Table A-II/1 of the 1978 STCW Code as amended Oceanography, Elsevier, Brazzil: 2017
Function: Navigation at the operational level;
 IMO Model Course 7.03; and
 CMO No.67 series of 2017: Revised PSG for BS Marine
Transportation and BS Marine Engineering Programs
1. To condition the mind of the student about the lesson he shall watch a video about: Cyclones
and Anti-Cyclones, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWk4uTZ5-ME&t=81s
2. To observe continuity of the lesson the student shall watch another video about:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eAB32HITWI
3. While watching the two videos, the student’s mind set is already being conditioned to prepare
Learning Activity about Lesson 3.
4. After watching the videos, the student shall read the attached notes about Application of the
Meteorological Information.
5. To measure the students understanding about the topics, he shall achieve the Learning Logs
made for this Lesson.
6. To further evaluate student’s learning, he shall make Student Weekly Journal No.3
Required Output Learning Log 8 to 9
Weekly Student Journal Entry 3
Learning Log No. 8 - Short Answer on Anticyclones and other pressure systems
Learning Log No. 9- Essay on the Weather Services and Information Provided for Shipping by
Assessment Tasks Meteorological Office
Weekly Student Journal Entry 3
1. Short Answer Rubric
Assessment Tool
2. Student Journal Rubric
Target Competency Ability to apply the meteorological information available
Prepared by: Reviewed by: Approved for use:

2M RENE T. GODINEZ CM JUDELITO D. BALOS DR. ANNA LOU C. CABUENAS

Instructor Program Coordinator Chief Academic Officer

79
Sub-topic no. 1: Anticyclones and Other Pressure
Systems
Synoptic pattern for both Northern and Southern hemisphere Anticyclone and Isobars and Wind
Circulation

The Need for Synoptic Charts

With an understanding of how the air moves and how clouds and rain form, much prediction can be made by simply
observing the sky overhead, observing wind direction and noting the temperature and humidity of the air. But to be
able to predict and forecast weather it is necessary to understand the isobaric patterns associated with fronts and
depressions, anticyclones and high pressure ridges. Meteorologists plot isobaric patterns on synoptic charts.

Plotting Weather Observations

The first stage in preparing a synoptic chart is to chart the position of each
meteorological station. These are marked by a small circle. The weather report
for each station is then plotted in and around the circle. Elements like
temperature and pressure are entered as plain figures. Others, like the
occurrence of rain, snow, cloud and fog are plotted as internationally agreed
symbols (see Figure 8.1). For example cloud cover at a particular time is
indicated by filling in certain portions of the circle. The greater the fill, the more
the cloud cover, measured in eighths or oktas. Wind direction is represented by
an arrow pointing in the direction from where the wind is coming. In the figure
Meteorological Symbols
below, the wind is from the northeast. The wind speed is denoted by “feathers”
on the wind arrow, a short feather indicating 5 knots, a larger one 10 knots, a long and short one 15 knots and so on.

Temperature is measured in degrees Celsius to the nearest whole degree.

Pressure at a station is standardized to sea-level pressure measured in millibars.
The hundreds figure for the pressure is omitted as being understood since the
pressure is almost always between 950 and 1050 millibars. For example, a
pressure of 987.8 millibars would be written as 878; 1014.3 millibars as 143.
Here the pressure is 1010.5 millibars. Isobars -When plotting of the
meteorological observations is completed, the forecaster then proceeds with the
synopsis and analysis of the chart. The first step is to draw on the isobars – lines
along which the pressure is the same. They are of the same nature as height
contours on a geographical map. Usually, they are drawn at intervals
of 2 or 4 millibars. By definition, isobars can never cross each other.

The meteorologist in drawing isobars has an additional aid in the plotted wind
directions of each station. Isobaric Patterns

It is the rotation of the Earth which deflects moving air on course from high to
low pressure. Thus, in the northern hemisphere, the lower pressure is to the left of the wind, the higher pressure is to
the right.This is reversed in the southern hemisphere. The stronger the winds, the closer the isobars.

Isobaric patterns -The completed isobars usually reveal a few standard patterns. A set of curved isobars surrounding
an area of low pressure reveals a depression, with the wind in the northern hemisphere blowing anticlockwise around
its centre. A set of curved isobars surrounding a high pressure reveals an anticyclone, with the winds in the northern
hemisphere blowing clockwise around its centre. Open V-shaped isobars with low pressure inside delineates a trough
80
of low pressure; high pressure inside the formation is called a ridge of high pressure. A col is the indefinite isobar
configuration between two highs and two lows arranged alternately, and has no particular type of weather associated
with it other than light winds. Some of these patterns can be seen in the figure below.

Isobaric structure of Frontal Depressions

A depression, as its name implies, is a region of low barometric pressure and appears on the synoptic chart as a set of
closed curved isobars with winds circulating anticlockwise in the northern hemisphere, clockwise in the southern
hemisphere. The warm and cold fronts associated with depressions bring with them characteristically unsettled
weather. Depressions vary from between 200 and 2,000 miles in diameter; they may be deep when pressure at their
centre is very low and the isobars are tightly packed, or shallow when less well developed.

A depression develops like the propagation of a wave in water. Initially, a uniform boundary or front exists between
cold air pushing southwards and warm air pushing northwards. A wave-shaped distortion may appear on the front,
and a small low pressure centre develops at the crest of the wave. In the immediately surrounding area the pressure
begins to fall. A disturbance of this kind is called a wave depression. As the “wave” develops, a warm sector of air
forms, bounded by the warm and cold fronts, which begins to tie over the engulfing cold air. Both the warm and cold
fronts originate from the centre of the depression. On the ground, sudden changes in the wind direction may be
experienced when fronts pass by.Wave depressions can grow off the tail ends of primary cold fronts. The depression
so formed is then called a secondary depression. New centres may also develop at the point of occlusion within the
primary depression. The secondary system can then become the main system, and the primary occluded front
becomes caught up in the developing circulation, effectively becoming a third front.

Anticyclones

An anticyclone is a weather phenomenon in which there is a

descending movement of the air and a relative increase in
barometric pressure over the part of the earth's surface affected
by it.

HIGH PRESSURE CENTRES

High-pressure centers are associated with the letter H in English,

within the isobar with the highest pressure value. High Pressure Centers

On constant-pressure upper-level charts, anticyclones are located

within the highest height line contour.

ANTICYCLONE AT NORTHERN
ANTICYCLONE AT SOUTHERN
HEMISPHERE HEMISPHERE

In the northern hemisphere an anticyclone rotates in the clockwise direction, while it rotates counterclockwise in
the southern hemisphere.

Cyclones
 Characterized by rapid inward circulation of air masses about a low pressure center
 Accompanied by storm, destructive weather
 Counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere
 Clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and Anticlockwise in the Southern
 Also know as a high
 Varies from place to place
81
 Weather in cold Anticyclones
 Also knows as continental highs
 Siberia and North-west Canada in winter
 Cool air
 Weather in subtropical anticyclones
 Stable atmospheric conditions, and thus
 Fine
 Hot
 Dry
 Strongest a 32 degs. N and S

Sub-topic 2: World
Meteorological Organization
(WMO)
Framework

The WMO Information system (WIS) is the single coordinated global

infrastructure responsible for the telecommunications and data
management functions. It is the pillar of the WMO strategy for
managing and moving weather, climate and water information in
the 21st century. WIS provides an integrated approach suitable for
all WMO Programmes to meet the requirements for routine
collection and automated dissemination of observed data and
products, as well as data discovery, access and retrieval services
for all weather, climate, water and related data produced by
centres and Member countries in the framework of any WMO
Programme.

Architecture

WIS was designed to dramatically extend WMO Members' ability to collect and disseminate data and products. Owned
and operated by Members, it will be the core information system utilized by the WM O community, providing linkages
for all WMO and supported programmes associated with weather, climate, water, and related natural disasters. It is
being built upon the Global Telecommunication System of WMO's World Weather Watch, using standard elements and
at a pace feasible for all Members.

WIS is an enhanced information system capable of exchanging large data volumes, such as new ground- and satellite
based systems, finer resolutions in numerical weather prediction and hydrological models and their applications.
These data and products must be available to National Hydrological and Meteorological Services, but also national
disaster authorities for more timely alerts where and when needed. WIS will be the vital data communications
backbone integrating the diverse real-timel and non-real-time high priority data sets, regardless of location.

Evolving to WIS Centres

Existing centres within WMO Member States that comply with the required WIS functions and technical specifications
will be designated as one of the three types of centres forming the core infrastructure of WIS: Global Information
System Centres (GISCs), Data Collection or Production Centres (DCPCs), and National Centres (NCs).

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WIS encompasses three types of centres and a communications network. For regional and global connectivity, Global
Information System Centres (GISCs) are connected by high speed dedicated networks allowing the rapid
dissemination of information between GISCS so they can collect and distribute the information available for global
dissemination. The network connecting GISCs is known as the "Core Network" of WIS and is based on the GTS Main
Telecommunication Network (MTN) which has evolved under development initiative such as the Improved Main
Telecommunication Network (IMTN) project that was completed in 2010. GISCs connect by dedicated and public
networks to centres within their area of responsibility. This connectivity network is referred to as the GISC's "Area
Meteorological Data Communication Network" (AMDCN) and includes using Regional Meteorological
Telecommunication Networks (RMTNs) of the GTS and the Internet. This allows GISCs distribute information to
centres in their AMDCN from the global community as well as to collect and distributed information between centres in
their AMDCN. GISCs also provide entry points, through unified portals and comprehensive metadata catalogues, for
any request for data held within the WIS. Requests can be ad hoc or via subscription services. GISCs are a new type
of WMO centre providing these specialist functions and mostly are being offered by centres that functioned as World
Meteorological Centres or major global analysis centres or Regional Telecommunication Hubs on the MTN as depicted
in the above table.

At the heart of WIS are the data centres of the WMO community and its partners. These data centres are mostly
existing functions in the World Weather Watch (as shown in the above table) and other WMO programmes. Centres
are categorised as either National Centres (NCs) or as Data Collection or Production Centres (DCPCs). The primary
difference between an NC or DCPC is the principal focus of a centre. If a centre has a national focus it is an NC, if it
has a regional or global primary focus, then it is a DCPC. In general NCs and DCPCs will be responsible for the
collection or generation of sets of data, forecast products, processed or value-added information, and/or for providing
archiving services. National Centres (NCs) will collect and distribute data on a national basis and will coordinate or
authorize the use of the WIS by national users, normally under a policy established by the respective Permanent
Representative with WMO.

The WMO data representation formats, i.e. table-driven code forms, will be used for real-time exchange of operational
critical data, but the user will be able to select from a wide variety of optional data representation formats.

WIS will provide three fundamental types of services (as agreed by Congress):
1. Routine collection and dissemination service for time-critical and operation-critical data and products: This service
is based on real-time “push” mechanism including multicast and broadcast; it would be implemented essentially
through dedicated telecommunication means providing a guaranteed quality of service.

2. "Data Discovery, Access and Retrieval service: This service is based on request/reply “pull” mechanism with
relevant data management functions; it would be implemented essentially through the internet.

3. Timely delivery service for data and products: This service is based on delayed mode “push” mechanism; it would
be implemented through a combination of dedicated telecommunication means and of public data-communication
networks, especially the internet.

Congress recognized the importance of all three service components to the WIS. Congress recognized the routine
collection and dissemination service and the timely delivery service not only supported the basic operations of NMHSs
but was also critical to the WIS architecture and their improvement should have the highest priority.

Implementation Plan
Congress agreed that the WIS implementation plan has two parts developed in parallel:

Part A: The continued consolidation and further improvements of the GTS for time-critical and operation-critical data,
including its extension to meet operational requirements of WMO Programmes in addition to the World Weather Watch
(including improved management of services);

Part B: An extension of the information services through flexible data discovery, access and retrieval services to
authorized users, as well as flexible timely delivery services.

WIS has moved from its development stage and is now being implemented, with the first GISCs and DCPCs
operational from January 2012.

Beyond the WMO Community

Through the interoperability principles of WIS, it will allow WIS users to connect to other interoperable systems. For
example WIS is an exemplar contributing component of the GEOSS (The Global Earth Observation System of
83
Systems) for weather, water, climate and disaster, but it also has the potential to support other societal benefit areas.
WMO users can discover information in GEOSS via their GISC. Similarly, GEOSS can discover information in WIS via
the GISC catalogues through the GEOSS common infrastructure.

Functions and Structure of Organization

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It originated from the
International Meteorological Organization (IMO), which was founded in 1873. It became the specialized agency of the
United Nations in 1951and named as World Meteorological Organization (WMO) for meteorology (weather and
climate), operational hydrology and related geophysical sciences.

The function of World Meteorological Organization

As a specialized agency of the United Nations, WMO is dedicated to international cooperation and coordination
on the state and behaviour of the Earth's atmosphere, its interaction with the land and oceans, the weather and
climate it produces, and the resulting distribution of water resources.
Synoptic Forecasting

Forecast methods based upon analysis of a set and/or series of synoptic charts; the most common means of
arriving at a weather forecast. These techniques usually contain elements of a physical, kinematic, and climatological
nature and are, to an appreciable degree, subjective.

Maritime meteorology deals with air and wave forecasts for ships operating at sea. Organizations such as the Ocean
Prediction Center, Honolulu National Weather Service forecast office, United Kingdom Met Office, and JMA prepare
high seas forecasts for the world's oceans.

Weather information -Local National Weather Service offices will furnish weather forecasts and outlooks via radio
and television. Spot weather forecasts are also available, but their value depends upon the forecaster's knowledge of
local conditions.

Synoptic circulation patterns, defined as anomalies in sea level pressure (SLP), 500 hPageopotential height
(Z500), and 250 hPa wind speed (V250) and referred to as large-scale meteorological patterns (LSMPs), are
characterized using the self-organizing maps approach over southern South America.

Meteorologists Use Synoptic Weather Maps Synoptic means "view together" or "view at a common point".
A synoptic weather map shows weather patterns over a large area by putting together many weather reports from
different locations all taken at the same moment in time.The headquarters of the World Meteorological Organization
(WMO) are located in which country? The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is an intergovernmental
organization with its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a member of the United Nations Development
Group.187 Member States. WMO has 187 Member States and 6 Member Territories. Members are divided into six
regions: Region I: Africa. Region II: Asia.

The World Weather Watch (WWW) Programme facilitates the development, operation and enhancement of
worldwide systems for observing and exchanging meteorological and related observations, and for the generation and
dissemination of analyses and forecast products, as well as severe weather advisories and warnings, and on an
everyday basis, many use weather forecasts to determine what to wear on a given day. Since outdoor activities are
severely curtailed by heavy rain, snow and wind chill, forecasts can be used to plan activities around these events,
and to plan ahead and survive them.

What does the Meteorological Office do?

The Met Office was the first climate and weather forecast provider to be recognised as a Global Producing Centre of
long range forecasts by the World Meteorological Organisation and continues to provide forecasts to the WMO for
dissemination to other national meteorological services worldwide.

Who runs Met Office?

The Met Office has had a contract to provide the BBC weather forecast since 1922. Now this contract has been given
to the business MeteoGroup which is owned by the private equity group General Atlantic. Public money will be wasted
on private shareholders.

European nations founded the International Meteorological Organization to collect and study worldwide
weather data. A conference on agricultural and forest meteorology took place in 1880, a set of International
84
Meteorological Tables was published in 1889, and meteorological stations were established in many countries and
regions where observations had hitherto been lacking.

The sources of weather information available to shipping:

 Selected Worldwide Marine weather Broadcasts”. Our latest and modern source of weather information
available to shipping is to link the Global Telecommunications system such as WMO, NMC, WWW,
GTS,GMDSS, etc.World Meteorological Organization (WMO) –To establish a number of commissions, each
concerned site created a specific field. One aim of WMO is that each nation should have an NMC. A main
telecommunication network interconnects three primary centers: Washington, Moscow, and Melbourne with
regional hubs.
 The Meteorological Center(NMC)- Each center collecting and processing observations from its land
observing network and voluntary ships on the adjacent seas. In this way, an NMC cannot only received any
data required but also use the GTS to disseminate data to other center. World wetch (WWW) –establish rapid
and efficient exchange of data. GLOBAL Telecommunication System (GTS)- Observation are processed;
information are transmitted.
 Global Maritime Distress Safety Signal (GMDSS) –Undergo the four areas of jurisdiction, such as: Area
A1; Area A2; Area A3; and Area A4.

Information Needed from Ships to Meteorological Office - The information generally need from ships to
meteorological offices is to get the exact analysis and data in the movements of the earth’s surface on inlands, sea or
oceans, and the whole atmosphere. In gathering such data from the meteorological offices, it will serve as one
accurate safety factor in ship navigation. Meteorological offices for ships- The basic service of meteorological offices
for ships is to have good, clear global expeditions of all the seafarers, aboard in a particular ship. The meteorological
officer not only transmits the movements of all the atmospheric pressure in all degrees latitude/ longitude of the globe
but also introduces the while at ocean routes and to offer a worldwide service. Most organizations emphasize the
individual nature of the service provided either to the master, owner, or charterer. In determining the advised route,
the expertise of both meteorologists and marines is used. Atmospheric conditions are integral and an important part
in selecting the route while other factor noted are equally important. The present tending is to emphasize the ship
routing aspect by using the less appropriate term of weather routing. The effectiveness of the routing service depends
upon the availability of ship cargo and relevant operational data. Generally, a representative of the organization visits
the ship to collect this information and discusses the routing service with those on board ship data including the ship
type, draught, trim, stability, and speed made good relative to sea conditions(e.g. wind waves and current).This
information is normally extracted from the deck log or if not available, those obtained from a similar type of ship. The
organization then constructs for each state of loading a set of performance curves related to the important
characteristics of wave height and relative direction.

Information Received by Facsimile Machine -The information received by the facsimile machine is the provision
of meteorological data or weather bulletin. Facsimile schedules provide information on the types of charts available
from meteorological centers. Although the chart, essentially synoptic in nature, presents
prognostic data for direction and speed of movement, central pressure values of
pressure centers may also be included. Retrospective data for wind scale may also be
shown. The chart projection is usually even for clarity and quick reference and latitude
and longitude intersections are plotted at frequent intervals, if the chart intersections are
plotted at frequent intervals. If the chart is preliminary analysis, the data shown is that
of isobars which illustrate the major pressure system. The area covered by a facsimile
surface analysis varies from one transmitting source to another and the seafarer can
check its limits from the schedule. Surface analysis from any one source may cover
different areas, and while a few meteorological offices may issue one chart daily, most issue at least two one for 0000
GMT and one for 1200 GMT. Generally the number of charts issued is greater for the immediate area interest to the
meteorological office compared with the nearer carrying a large horizontal area. For example, the UK Meteorological
Office issues surface analysis covering their intermediates are interested for 0000,06000, 1200, and 1800 GMT While
the circumpolar chart is only issued for 0000 GMT.

Services Provided for Storm Warnings –Forecasters in an NMC, having established from prognostic possibility of
high winds over sea areas, will compile “storm warnings”. The anticipated wind force and direction for the sea areas
85
likely to be affected are stated, and if the warning is due to a tropical cyclone, the position of its center and its past
and future movement are included. Radio stations listed in ALRS VOl. 3 with the sub-heading ‘Storm Warning’
transmit these massages on their working frequencies, the moods of transmission being either R/T or W/T or both.
The transmission is normally made at the end of the next silence period after receipt of the message. In certain cases,
the message is repeated at the interval between broadcasts and the overall period in which transmissions are made
varying from one station to another. The sub-heading ‘Storm Warning’ is general rather than specific since the
forecast wind speed may vary from force 6(strong breeze) to Force 12(hurricane). The message is usually issued in
the language of the country of origin and WMO recommends that it be also issued in English. In certain parts of the
world, the national broadcasting service of a country is used as a channel for transmitting storm
warnings(ALRS VOL. 3).The transmissions are made as soon as possible after the receipt of the
warning from the NMC (normally at the first available program break) and are repeated at
convenient breaks so long as the Warning remains in force. If the seafarer is to gain the
maximum benefits of the storm warning service, then a policy of regular radio watch is essential.
The information in a warning is intended to establish concisely the forecast conditions for the sea
area concerned, but it must be interpreted intelligently using on board observations and other data as it may only
applicable to part of the area.

Marine VHF and/or MFhere is considerable overlap in that the same service can be obtained by more than one route
with the Internet providing the widest range. Under the Global Marine Distress and Safety System, Marine Rescue Co-
ordination Centres (MRCC) of most European countries broadcast inshore or coastal forecasts at scheduled times on
VHF and/or MF. In all cases the forecasts are produced by the relevant National Weather Service (NWS). Forecasts are
always, at least, for the next 24 hours and usually have an outlook. The period of outlook varies from country to
country.Being produced by forecasters who know the area and have the best data available, these should always be
used. Some countries broadcast in English as well as their national language. When this is not the case, it is always
worthwhile making the effort to learn enough of the terminology. Ease of use varies with the country; the French are
particularly good, others the Spanish are less so.

NAVTEX is the principal method for dissemination of Marine Safety Information; it is a system for broadcasting text
over radio. This requires a dedicated, fairly low cost, receiver
eg NASA. Furuno, McMurdo .

On NAVTEX 518 kHz, MRCCs broadcast texts of forecasts for "Sea Areas" as used in
such as the BBC Shipping forecast ("Bulletins au large" in French.) These forecasts are
always in English and, again, produced by the NWS. They should cover 24 hours with a
brief 24 hour outlook although not all countries conform. The UK, alone, produces
extended range forecasts for 3 to 5 days ahead on this frequency. There are usually
two forecasts a day.
NAVTEX 490 kHz is used for national purposes. Mostly, this is for national language
versions of the 518 kHz broadcasts. An exception is the UK which broadcasts inshore
forecasts and some coastal actual reports.

Inmarsat-C is, in some senses, an open ocean version of NAVTEX. The areas used in the forecast may be
considerably larger than on NAVTEX ("Bulletins au grand large" in French.).

HF/Single Side-Band Radio

SSB radio is used in three ways:
 First there are voice broadcasts of forecasts. These will usually be
the same texts as on NAVTEX or Inmarsat-C.
 Secondly, there are charts broadcast on Radiofacsimile by the
German Weather service (DWD) or by the Royal Navy. These need
a computer interfaced with the radio.
 Thirdly, there are forecasts in text on Radioteletype from the DWD.
Some of these are inshore forecasts around Germany, some are sea
area forecasts. The most useful service is of wind, sea state and
sometimes weather at a few grid points from the German weather
prediction model. These are for up to five days ahead.

To receive charts, the usual way is to connect the radio to a computer and
use decoding software. For RTTY, again a computer and decoding software is required or the NASA Weatherman.

86
The Internet
This is an Aladdin's cave of weather information available in Internet cafés, via WiFi, 3 & 4G networks, satellite phone
and, in a limited sense, over marine HF and amateur radio. For several reasons, it is well worth making the effort to
be able to use the service whether in harbour, on a buoy or at anchor and, even when at sea if at all possible.
Services available fall into four main categories.

 As a back-up to forecasts broadcast on VHF, NAVTEX, Inmarsat-C, HF/SSB radio.

 As a source of GRIB* forecasts, these are usually free and are the output direct from the US Global Forecast
System.
 Email for those with bandwidth restrictions. This is an effective way of getting GRIB forecasts and can be used
for texts of forecasts on web pages.
 As a source of weather charts

Telephone

There are two types of telephone service, recorded messages in voice or by facsimile and individual briefings. The first
is unlikely to offer more than is freely available from other sources eg radio broadcast or Internet but may be more
convenient if rather costly. The second can be useful but relatively expensive.

Marina Notice Boards

The value depends upon who has produced the forecast and the diligence of the marina staff in updating. Sometimes,
forecasts are transcripts of VHF or NAVTEX broadcasts. Sometimes they are forecasts when there has been some
human input eg the Met Office Inshore Waters forecast. In both cases these will have the virtues of those broadcasts.
In some cases, they will be taken from forecasts produced entirely automatically. These should not be relied upon for
warning purposes. Whatever the source, most important is to check the date/time of issue. It is not unknown for
forecasts to be days old or even weeks old.

The Media

This is generally a last resort. Remember that morning newspapers go to bed the previous day, sometimes quite
early. Forecasts, inevitably, will be old. TV and radio forecasts are more likely to be up to date but are often aimed at
the general land based public.

87
 LEARNING LOG NO. 9
Short Answer on Anticyclones and other Pressure Systems
Direction: Express your learning by answering the questions below based on what you have learned from your
readings. Make consistent responses with a minimum of 50 words in each by using relevant terminologies from the
specified topic. A Short Answer Rubric is provided in the succeeding page for you to know and understand what the
instructor‘s expectation from your answer and how you will be graded.

1. What is cyclones and other pressure system ?

2. What type of weather is associated with anticyclones ?

3. What is anticyclonic circulation?

4. How does air make in an anticyclone

88
 Short Answer Rubric

Reminder: This rubric will be rated by your instructor only!

Note: Each of the items in Learning Log No. 9 requires a 15-point answer guided with the criteria and levels of assessment.

Levels of Assessment

Criteria
Exemplary Above Average Adequate Inadequate

5 3 2 1
Writing shows high degree Writing is coherent and Writing is coherent and Writing lacks logical
of attention to logic and logically organized with logically organized. Some organization. It shows
Organization of reasoning of points. Unity transitions used between points remain misplaced some coherence but
Thoughts clearly leads the reader to ideas and paragraphs to and stray from the topic. ideas lack unity. Serious
(5) the conclusion and stirs create coherence. Overall Transitions evident but errors.
thought regarding the unity of ideas is present. not used throughout
topic. essay.
5 3 2 1
Content indicates synthesis Content indicates original Content indicates Shows some thinking
of ideas, indepth analysis thinking and develops ideas thinking and reasoning and reasoning but most
Level of Content and evidences original with sufficient and firm applied with original ideas are
(5) thought and support for evidence. thought on a few ideas. underdeveloped and
the topic. unoriginal.
5 3 2 1
Main points well developed Main points well developed Main points are present Main points lack detailed
Development with high quality and with quality supporting details with limited detail and development. Ideas are
(choice of words and quantity support. Reveals and quantity. Critical thinking development. Some vague with little
grammar) high degree of critical is weaved into points. critical thinking is evidence of critical
(5) thinking. present. thinking.

Organization of Level of Content Development

Item No. Points
Thoughts (5) (5)
(5)

1 /15

2
/15

/15

/15

Total Points /60

*Adapted from: Teaching Commons, Center for Innovation and Excellence in Learning, by Dr. Rhonda Dubec,2018

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 LEARNING LOG NO. 10
Essay on the Weather Services and Information Provided for
Shipping by Meteorological Office
Direction: Your understanding means a lot. Make consistent responses of each of the questions below with a minimum
of 50 words in each by using relevant terminologies from the specified topic. A Short Answer Rubric is provided in the
succeeding page for you to know and understand what the instructor‘s expectation from your answer and how you will
be graded.

1. How weather forecasting is beneficial for the captain of a ship?

2. What are the different types of information received by marine facsimile machine including the services provided
for storm warning?

3. What does the Meteorological office do? Discuss the World Meteorological Organization Framework.

4. Explain the information needed from Ships to Meteorological Office.

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 Short Answer Rubric

Reminder: This rubric will be rated by your instructor only!

Note: Each of the items in Learning Log No. 9 requires a 15-point answer guided with the criteria and levels of assessment.

Levels of Assessment

Criteria
Exemplary Above Average Adequate Inadequate

5 3 2 1
Writing shows high degree Writing is coherent and Writing is coherent and Writing lacks logical
of attention to logic and logically organized with logically organized. Some organization. It shows
Organization of reasoning of points. Unity transitions used between points remain misplaced some coherence but
Thoughts clearly leads the reader to ideas and paragraphs to and stray from the topic. ideas lack unity. Serious
(5) the conclusion and stirs create coherence. Overall Transitions evident but errors.
thought regarding the unity of ideas is present. not used throughout
topic. essay.
5 3 2 1
Content indicates synthesis Content indicates original Content indicates Shows some thinking
of ideas, indepth analysis thinking and develops ideas thinking and reasoning and reasoning but most
Level of Content and evidences original with sufficient and firm applied with original ideas are
(5) thought and support for evidence. thought on a few ideas. underdeveloped and
the topic. unoriginal.
5 3 2 1
Development Main points well developed Main points well developed Main points are present Main points lack detailed
(choice of words and with high quality and with quality supporting details with limited detail and development. Ideas are
grammar) quantity support. Reveals and quantity. Critical thinking development. Some vague with little
(5) high degree of critical is weaved into points. critical thinking is evidence of critical
thinking. present. thinking.

Organization of Level of Content Development

Item No. Points
Thoughts (5) (5)
(5)

1 /15

2
/15

/15

/15

Total Points /60

*Adapted from: Teaching Commons, Center for Innovation and Excellence in Learning, by Dr. Rhonda Dubec,2018

91
 Weekly Student Journal Entry No. 3

Direction: Based on your readings about the Application of the Meteorological Information, log your learning on the
space provided below. Write a maximum of 250 words on the salient points you have gained from the Proper Please
refer to the Student Journal Rubric in the next page of what is expected from you and how you will be graded. Start
your Journal Entry with the given introductory statement.

Application of the Meteorological Information

I have learned from the topics that _______________________________________________

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 Weekly Student Journal Rubric

Reminder: This rubric will be rated by your instructor only!

Levels of Assessment

Exceeds Meets
Acceptable Unacceptable Points
Criteria Expectations Expectations

20 15 10 1

Selected items that Selected items that Selected items and Selected items and
are important and are important in details that discuss details that are not
help make content discussing the the activities for important or
interesting; the activities for the the week, but they relevant
details focus on the week; the details are not very
Content most important help the reader see important.
information. things about the
Choices help the items in interesting
reader see things in ways.
a new way. /20

20 15 10 1

Organization of
thought units Journal entry is Journal entry is Journal entry is Journal entry lacks
logical and generally logical somewhat illogical logical order and
effective. and effective with a and confusing in organization. /20
few minor places.
problems.

10 7 4 1

Mechanics and Correct spelling and Few or no spelling Several spelling Fulfills few of the
Grammar appropriate errors; some minor errors. Many requirements of the
grammar. punctuation instances of assignment.
mistakes incorrect spelling
and grammar.
/10

Total Points
/50
*Adapted from: Teaching Commons, Center for Innovation and Excellence in Learning, by Dr. Rhonda Dubec, 2018

93
 Lesson 4
Weather Forecasting

At the end of the lesson the students are able to:

1. comprehend the essence of weather forecasting;
2. discuss on how to record report weather observations; and
3. understand weather information and ideas of forecasting.

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 College College of Maritime Education
Program Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation
Course Code Met 01
Course Title Meteorology Oceanography 1
Credit Unit 3 units (Lecture)
Lesson 4 Week 4
Module Topic Weather Forecasting
At the end of the lesson the students are able to:
1. comprehend the essence of weather forecasting;
Intended Learning 2. discuss on how to record report weather observations; and
Outcomes 3. understand weather information and ideas of forecasting.
4.
Number of Hours 13.5 Hours (12 Hours Self-Directed Learning and 1.5 Hours Assessment Tasks)
5. What role does observation play in weather forecasting?
Study Questions 6. Why are meteorological codes important?
7. What are the steps in weather forecasting?
Required Suggested
 Lesson 4 Course Module on Meteorology and  Venkatesan, R; Tendon, Amit; D’Asaro, Eric;
Learning Resources Oceanography 1, College of Maritime Education, Atmanand, M.A.: Observing the Oceans in
University of the Visayas;
Real Time; World Meteorological
 Table A-II/1 of the 1978 STCW Code as amended
Function: Navigation at the operational level;
Organization, Cham, Switzerland: Springer;
 IMO Model Course 7.03; and Geneva, Switzerland: 2018
 CMO No.67 series of 2017: Revised PSG for BS
Marine Transportation and BS Marine Engineering
Programs
1.
To condition the mind of the student about the lesson he shall watch a video about: Weather
forecasting - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7SCMHmns
2. To observe continuity of the lesson the student shall watch another video about: How to track
the weather forecast- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qa80y3V56-8
Learning Activity 3. The student shall read the attached notes about Weather forecasting. He may also make the
suggested reading materials as reference for his learning.
4. To measure the students understanding about the topics, he shall achieve Learning Logs
crafted for this Lesson.
5. To further evaluate student’s learning about the lesson, he shall make Student Weekly Journal
No.4.
Required Output Learning Log 11
Weekly Student Journal Entry 4
Learning Log No. 11 - Weather Recording, Reporting and Forecasting
Assessment Tasks Weekly Student Journal Entry 3
1. Short Answer Rubric
Assessment Tool
2. Student Journal Rubric
Critical and Analytical Thinking, Creativity and Innovation, Effective Communication, Collaboration and
Target Competency
Confidence & Self - directed Lifelong Learners
Prepared by: Reviewed by: Approved for use:

2M RENE T. GODINEZ CM JUDELITO D. BALOS DR. ANNA LOU C. CABUENAS

Instructor Program Coordinator Chief Academic Officer

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Sub-topic 1: Recording and Reporting Weather
Observations
What are Meteorological Codes?

Meteorological codes are defined by the world meteorological organization in WMO manual no. 306. The codes are
composed of a set of values defined in tables with reference to specific position within strings of information. These
defined values make up a code form and binary codes are made up of groups of letters representing meteorological or
other geophysical elements. Different code forms are used to represent different types of observations or products. In
messages, these groups of letters are transcribed into figures indicating the value of state of the elements described

Previous Concepts and Interpretation of Symbols and Isobaric Patterns on Weather and Facsimile Charts

Interpreting symbols and isobaric patterns on weather charts and facsimile charts are quite difficult if the observers do
not understand the oscillations, movement, and direction of winds and the specific symbols assigned to the particular
phenomenon, and direction of wind and the specific symbols assigned to the particular phenomenon, and the synoptic
charts and prognostic charts received by the facsimile equipment transmitted by television and inflated observation
satellites(TIOS). In weather forecasting, be sure to understand the symbols and assigned color of fronts such as cold
front- color blue line; warm front-color red line; occluded front-color purple line; stationary front color-alternate red
and blue; and the upper cold front-color dashed blue line. The legend symbols of front are shown in. The motion of
the front always obey the circulation of the wind and the oscillation of the atmospheric pressure can pinpoint the
location of the low pressure area and high pressure area thru the compression of isobars. In order to have a fully
understanding way of analyzing the surface synoptic chart and surface prognostic charts, there shall be observation
and analysis of the previous synoptic charts every 24 hours to confirm the feasibility of the features established as
shown below.

The Legends symbols of front

Previous Concepts and Interpretations of Synoptic and Prognostic Charts

To a certain wind direction , area of strong winds, clouds, and precipitation area is to have a comparison of both
charts. The wind direction are easily targeted because of the isobaric wave motion and with help of the oscillations of
the fronts and the spiral movement of the low pressure area that counter clockwise in behalf of the weather
hemisphere and clockwise spiral motion in the weather hemisphere. The strong area of the strong winds is in the
vicinity of about 25 kilometers from the ‘eye or vertex, and the same distance of heavy rains precipitated by cumulus
and cumulonimbus clouds. The eye is generally free from clouds since within it the air subsides and warms
adiabatically, but outside ascending air contributes to the development of cumuliform.

Synoptic and Prognostic Charts

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How weather observation can be used to improve forecast?

Weather observations from a ship can be used to improve the forecast desired from synoptic and prognostic charts.
Weather forecasts are generally based upon information acquired by observations made at a large number of stations.
A shore, these station are located so as to provide adequate coverage of the area of interest. Most observations at sea
area made by mariners wherever they happen to be. Since the number of observations at sea is small compared to
the number ashore, marine observations are of great importance. Data recorder by designed vessels are sent by radio
to weather centers ashore where they are plotted along with other observations to provide data for drawing synoptic
charts which are used to make forecast.

How weather observations at a ship can be used to improve from synoptic prognostic charts?

Weather forecasting is very helpful for the captain of ship because if he knows about the condition of the weather he
may take the right decision to save the life of the crew members and protect the ship from fatal damage.

1. Weather forecasting is the application of current technology and science to predict the state of the atmosphere
for a future time and a given location.

2. Synoptic forecasting is a forecast methods based upon analysis of a set and/or series of synoptic charts; the
most common means of arriving at a weather forecast. These techniques usually contain elements of a physical,
kinematic, and climatological nature and are, to an appreciable degree, subjective.

3. When plotting of the meteorological observations is completed, the forecaster then proceeds with the
synopsis and analysis of the chart, The first step is to draw on the isobars - lines along which the pressure is the
same. They are of the same nature as height contours on a geographical map.

4. Anticyclones. An anticyclone, also known as a 'high' can be identified on a weather chart as an often large area
of widely spaced isobars, where pressure is higher than surrounding areas. In the Northern Hemisphere winds blow in
a clockwise direction around high pressure.

5. Marine Weather Facsimile. Facsimile (fax) is a means of providing weather information to ships at sea. The
information is presented as a chart (map), showing barometric high pressures, low pressures, pressure gradients,
wind speed and direction, and temperature.

The Forecasting Process

Making a weather forecast involves three steps: (1) observation and analysis; (2) extrapolation to find the future
state of the atmosphere; and (3) prediction of particular variables. One qualitative extrapolation technique is to
assume that weather features will continue to move as they have been moving.

Observation Methods

Basic weather observation instruments include thermometers, rain gauges, barometers, and anemometers (wind
speed meters). Examples of more sophisticated equipment are wind profilers, weather balloons (radiosondes),
Doppler radar, and

Meteorologists use weather maps to forecast the weather.

(1) A HYGROMETER measures the water vapour content of air or the humidity.

(2) A WEATHER BALLOON measures weather conditions higher up in the atmosphere.

Then meteorologists compile and analyse the data with the help of computers.

Weather data includes any facts or numbers about the state of the atmosphere, including temperature, wind speed,
rain or snow, humidity, and pressure.

Meteorologists use a variety of tools to help them gather information about weather and climate. Some more
familiar ones are thermometers which measure air temperature, anemometers which gauge wind speeds, and
barometers which provide information on air pressure.

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Types of weather include sunny, cloudy, rainy, windy, and snowy. One of the most significant factors that
affects weather is air masses. Air masses cause warm, cold, stationary, and occluded fronts.

A meteorologist is a scientist who studies weather; and may, like a weather presenter (who sometimes are
not scientists) engage in weather forecasting, or may solely conduct research.

The measurements taken include temperature, atmospheric pressure, humidity, wind speed, wind direction, and
precipitation amounts. Wind measurements are taken with as few other obstructions as possible,
while temperature and humidity measurements are kept free from direct solar radiation, or insolation.

Recording and Reporting Weather Observations

 Meteorological codes are defined by the world meteorological organization in WMO Manual No. 306.
 These are composed of a set of values defined in tables with reference to specific position within strings of
information.
 These defined values make up a code form and binary codes are made up of groups of letters representing
meteorological or other geophysical elements.
 Different code forms are used to present different types of observations or products.
 In messages, these groups of letters are transcribed into figures indicating the value of state of the elements
described.

What is the importance of Meteorological Codes?

 Meteorological codes are used for the international exchange of meteorological information.
 Also used for the international exchange of observed and processed data required in specific applications of
meteorology to various human activities and for exchanges of information related to meteorology.

Recording and Reporting Event

 An important thing to get right is the time of your observation, and even more important time standard. In
the UK, during summer, we add 1 hour to GMT (or UTC, Z time…)
 They are all interchangeable for our purposes), an all it British summer time. However, international
meteorology runs effectively to GMT.
 So, when you report phenomenon, use GLT. When BST in force (in the UK), this means taking one hour off
your watch time, so a waterspout seen at 7 pm on the south coast in mid-July should be reported as occurring
at 1800 GMT.
 If you suspect your watch/ clock might be in error, check against a time-signal (or similar e.G Teletext clock),
and adjust accordingly.
 Double-check the date as well! This might not seem an obvious point, but particularly when you are reporting
something a day or so later than the event, it’s easy to get the days mixed up.
 Watch particularly the time around midnight when we are on BST.
 Something happening at 15 minutes past midnight by your watch on the 15 th, should actually be reported as
happening at 2315 GMT on the 14th.
 Location is most important.
 It’s easy to report exciting event as having happened, and forget to tell us where you are! Have a “sig file”
made up to that includes your location, height amsl and other important facts, and use it as appropriate.
 Obviously if you are out and about, then include as much information about the observing point as possible, or
if on a car/ train journey, the area where the observation is made.
 These latter points of information might help diagnose phenomena in difficult situation and allow other to
relate their observations to yours.
 Get into the habit of having a scrap of a pencil and some paper with to note down important details for later
transcription of the newsgroup.
 Even better of course would be a dictating machine, or a sample palmtop to records the events. Also keep a
copy of what you post, if your newsreader doesn’t already allow this.
 Someone may want to follow up your report weeks, or even months in the future. Don’t rely on your memory.
It plays tricks! Always note down the important feature ASAP after the event, preferable as it is occurring.
 When photographing events, as well as the usual location, time data, etc. Note down the readings from the
camera…F-stop, film speed/ type, shutter speed, etc.
 What state the sun ( or other illumination) was in? Cloudy/ part cloudy/clear; behind/in front of observer, etc.
 The information may not be needed, but then again, it might! Camcorders are becoming more popular for
recording weather events. However, even if you think you have the world’s finest footage, make a brief note
of the event in longhand just in case what you saw doesn’t quite live up to expectations when the tape is re-
played.

98
  Try to get objects also known dimensions and distance in your shot so tha same comparative assessment of
the tornado/ waterspout etc., Can be made. In the specific case of photographs of hailstones, include fome
form of measure, such as centimeter rule.
 As well as your own report, try to gather other wye-witness accounts, particularly in the case of sever weather
events.
 Newspaper cuttings are invaluable, even if they turn out to be rather sensationalist. If you do actually cut out
the report make sure you annotate with the date of publication, publsiher’s address etc., In case anyone
wants to follow the date of publication, publisher’s address etc., in case anyone wants to follow up the news
item.
 Make a note of any local radio and TV report, and in the latter case try to record the news report when any
action shots are broadcast.

Example of Weather Record

Countries exchange information to enhance their forecasts and to produce global forecast models. The facility to move
information quickly between centers, without regard to language, and in a format that may be processed by
automated means is embodied in meteorological codes.

Meteorological codes are composed of a set of values defined in tables with reference to specific position within
strings of information. These defined values make up a code form and binary codes are made up of groups of letters
representing meteorological or other geophysical elements.

99
Beaufort Letters is a system which uses letters and numbers to denote various weather types. It is accepted
practice to record phenomena at a particular time in the following order:

1. State of the Sky

 There are often occasions when large amounts of cirrus cloud cover the sky, but the day is bright or even
quite strongly sunny.
 The system does not distinguish between c = cloudy/ grey and c = cloudy/ bright + fine, so it is often useful
to note in plain language what the character of the sky is, e.g. C (bright, fine with the diffuse sunshine).
 As an optional extra, plus/minus signs can be used to indicate whether the cloud cover has been generally
increasing/ developing over the past hour (=), or decreasing/ dissolving (-), thus: bc+, b-, etc.
 State of sky letter is always recorded, unless there is deep frog or thick falling snow, such that the sky state is
not possible to determine. In this case, the states of sky letters are left off.
 Note: “OKTA” is a unit of measurement used to describe the amount of cloud over ay any given location such
as weather stations. Sky conditions are estimated in terms if how many eights of the sky are covered in cloud,
ranging from oktas (complete clear sky) through to 8 oktas (completely overcast).

2. Thunderstorm/ Allied Phenomena

 L, lightning seen (thunder not heard), is obviously more likely to be observed at night. During the day, if
lightning is so bright as to be visible, then the thunder will also be heard, and “tl” should be recorded.
 A thunderstorm is regarded as being at a particular point from the first hearing of thunder, to 10 minutes after
the last hearing of thunder, in cases where there is doubt whether as storm has passed by or not.
 However, when it is obvious that a storm has passed, then a note can be made to that effect, even if distant
the under can still be heard.
 Lightning and/ or precipitation may or may not be observed - the important thing for reporting thunder is the
sound of same. See note below regarding the coding of the intensity of thunderstorm.
 The intensity of a thunderstorm is a matter of great subjectivity.
 It is based upon the lightning/ thunder frequency only, the precipitation is assessed separately.
 However, some situations the vividness of the lightning display and loudness of the accompanying thunder
(notwithstanding the actual frequency of same), may be relevant to assessment, thogh some plain language
comment should be made.
 In particular, it is useful, if possible (and safe), to note things like whether the lightning is cloud-to-cloud
(CC), cloud-to-ground (CG), etc.
 And also the actual number of discharges detected per minute.

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3. Precipitation

 Type. The type of precipitation is indicated by the appropriate letter, r combination of letters if there is a
mixture of precipitation.

 Intensity

 RAIN: (i.e. From layer clouds)

 Slight rain: rate of accumulation is slow, not more than about 0.5 mmper hour
 Moderate rain: enough rain to form puddles in a short time, andgiving a rainfall rate of between 0.5
and 4 mm per hour.
 \Heavy rain: makes a noise of roofs, a splashing off hard surfaces (roads etc.) and gives an
accumulation of more than 4 mm per hour.
 Showers:
o Slight shower: less than about 2 mm per hour.
o Moderate shower: from about 2 mm/hrto 10 mm/hr.
o Heavy shower: about 10 to 50 mm/hr.
o Violent shower: above about 50 mm per hour

 Snow: (applicable to both layer and cumuliform type clouds -assumes no drifting.)
o Slight snow: flakes are sparse. Rate of accumulation not exceeding 0.5 cm per hour
o Moderate snow: visibility impaired. Rate of accumulation 0.5 to4 cm/hr.
o Heavy snow: visibility much reduced -often to or below fog limits -with accumulations more
than 4 cm per hour.

 Continuity
 When considering the past hour, if the precipitation (i.E. Rain, snow etc.) Has been of a 'start-stop'
variety, when the letter for type ( e.G.R ) is prefixed by the lower case ' i'. thus for intermittent slight
rain, this would be noted as..... Iro, and for intermittent mode rate rain and snow mixed as..... Irs,
etc.
 When, over the past hour, the precipitation has continued at that intensity, without a break, then the
letter denoting the precipitation type is repeated, thus for slight rain that has continued for an hour
without a break this is noted as..... Roro, and continuous heavy snow by..... Ssetc.
 If noting precipitation not specified as continuous or intermittent, the beaufort letter is used alone.
•For example R=heavy rain; doro=slight rain and drizzle mixed.
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4. Atmospheric Obscurity (Factors Reducing Visibility except Precipitation)

 The distinction between the two is that blowing snow is raised well above the normal (adult) 'eyeline', and
thus reduces the overall visibility markedly, and drifting snow remains below the 'eyeline', and does not
materially affect the prevailing visibility.

 ICE FOG: fog consisting of minute ice crystals (as opposed to water droplets for water fog).

 When the visibility varies with direction around an observer, such that in onearea the visibility is below 1000
m and elsewhere it is at or above, then fog patches exist, and the letter for the type of fog is prefixed by 'i',
thus ' if '

 The distinction between the two is that blowing snow is raised well above the normal (adult) 'eyeline', and
thus reduces the overall visibility markedly, and drifting snow remains below the 'eyeline', and does not
materially affect the prevailing visibility.

 ICE FOG: fog consisting of minute ice crystals (as opposed to water droplets for water fog).

 When the visibility varies with direction around an observer, such that in one area the visibility is below 1000
m and elsewhere it is at or above, then fog patches exist, and the letter for the type of fog is prefixed by 'i',
thus ' if '.

 As with precipitation, changes in occurrence, thickness etc., Of fog is noted by successive use of appropriate
letters: thus bcif, cf, ff, F ..... indicates that fog patches extend to the whole area, which last for at least an
hour without appreciable change, then thickens further to reduce the visibility below 200m.

 On the subject of the relative humidity with mist, this can become a bone of contention where several
observers are noting the same/similar events. The figure quoted is meant to be a guide, not a mandatory limit
and although not strictly belonging to this group:

5. Other Phenomena

102
 The letter ' x ' (hoar frost) is used when a white, crystalline deposit of ice is observed on solid objects, after a
cold, clear night. Hoar frost occurs when water vapour condenses (sublimates) directly to the ice phase
without an intermediate liquid phase (though the process is usually initiated by a vapour-to-liquid phase).
Hoar frost should not be used for the freezing of water already present, or for the glaze produced by freezing
rain/drizzle, or for the rime produced during freezing fog episodes -all these phenomena should be noted in
plain language separately.
 ** The letter ' j ' is used in combination with various other letters to record phenomena occurring within sight
of, but not at the station; thus jp indicates a shower within site but not at the observing point;

 *** A squall is differentiated from a gust by its greater duration: generally lasting for several minutes before
decaying again.
 Squalls are often associated with the passage of fronts, particularly cold fronts, or well defined troughs, or with
the 'gust front' from a well-defined/mature super cell cb.
 To qualify as a line squall, other marked changes are often observed, e.G. Change of wind direction, fall of
temperature etc.
 The following definition is used when estimating wind speeds using the beaufort scale of wind speed:
" .... a sudden increase of wind speed by at least three levels of the beaufort scale, the speed rising to F 6 or
more and lasting for at least one minute."

Precipitation Diagram

103
Beaufort Scale

Assessing Intensity

We need to differentiate between, light/weak, moderate, heavy and violent/Severe events, such as rainfall,
thunderstorms, lightning, (and to a lesser extent with fog), fog, etc.
 Weak/Light: a subscripted suffixed 'o' is used, e.g. ro, so, do mean light rain, snow and drizzle
respectively. For very light precipitation a double 'o' may be used, e.g. soo This, however, is non-
standard.
 Moderate: simple lower case letters, e.g. r, s, d, f, tl
 Heavy: capital letters, e.g. R, S, D, H, F,TL
 Violent/Severe: a subscripted suffixed '2' is used, following a capital letter e.g. R2 i ndicates
torrential rain.

Assessing Continuity

If a phenomenon is continuous, the code is simply repeated, e.g. rr represents continuous rain, soso represents
continuous light snow. If a phenomena is intermittent (i.e. broken by intervals less than an hour long) the prefix 'i' is
used, e.g. iro means intermittent light rain.

104
Shower Length
The difference between a lengthy shower and a period is rather subtle. By definition showers can only fall from
convective cloud (cumulus and cumulonimbus), and are usually broken by sunny spells or clear interludes. There
is no standard way of differentiating between short, medium and lengthy showers. However, an easily applied non-
standard solution is to use the same suffixes as for intensity, to refer to length, e.g.
 poR = short shower of heavy rain
 pooroo = fleeting shower of very light rain, e.g. just a few drops, not enough to completely wet the ground.
 Pro = lengthy short of light rain.

Sub-topic 2: Weather Information and Forecasting

Weather Forecasting is the prediction of the weather through application of the principles of physics, supplemented by
a variety of statistical and empirical techniques. In addition to predictions of atmospheric phenomena themselves,
weather forecasting includes predictions of changes on Earth’s surface caused by atmospheric conditions - e.g. snow
and ice cover, storm tides and floods.

Measurements and Ideas as the Basis for Weather Prediction

The observations of few other scientific enterprises are vital or affect as many people as those related to weather
forecasting. From the days when early humans ventured from caves and other natural shelters, perceptive individuals
in all likelihood became leaders by being able to detect nature’s signs of impending snow, rain, or wind, indeed of any
change in weather. With such information they must have enjoyed greater success in the search for food and safety,
the major objectives of that time.

In a sense, weather forecasting is still carried out in basically the same way as it was by the earliest humans -
namely, by making observations and predicting changes. The modern tolls used to measure temperature, pressure,
wind and humidity in the 21st century would certainly amaze them, and the results obviously are better. Yet, even the
most sophisticated numerically calculated forecast made on a supercomputer requires as set of measurements of he
condition of he atmosphere - an initial picture of temperature, wind, and other basic elements, somewhat comparable
to that formed by our forebears when they looked out their cave dwellings. The primeval approach entailed insights
based on the accumulated experience of the perceptive observer, while the modern technique consists of
solving equations. Although seemingly quite different, there are underlying similarities between both practices. In
each case the forecaster asks “What is?” in the sense of “What kind of weather prevails today?” and then seeks to
determine how it will change in order to extrapolate what it will be.

Because observations are so critical to weather prediction, an account of meteorological measurements and weather
forecasting is a story in which ideas and technology are closely intertwined, with creative thinkers drawing new
insights from available observations and pointing to the need for new or better measurements, and technology
providing the means for making new observations and for processing the data derived from measurements. The basis
for weather prediction started with the theories of the ancient Greek philosophers and continued
with Renaissance scientists, the scientific revolution of the 17th and 18th centuries, and the theoretical models of
20th- and 21st-century atmospheric scientists and meteorologists. Likewise, it tells of the development of the
“synoptic” idea—that of characterizing the weather over a large region at exactly the same time in order to organize
information about prevailing conditions. In synoptic meteorology, simultaneous observations for a specific time are
plotted on a map for a broad area whereby a general view of the weather in that region is gained. (The term synoptic
is derived from the Greek word meaning “general or comprehensive view.”) The so-called synoptic weather map came
to be the principal tool of 19th-century meteorologists and continues to be used today in weather stations and
on television weather reports around the world.

Since the mid-20th century, digital computers have made it possible to calculate changes in atmospheric conditions
mathematically and objectively—i.e., in such a way that anyone can obtain the same result from the same initial
conditions. The widespread adoption of numerical weather prediction models brought a whole new group of players—
computer specialists and experts in numerical processing and statistics—to the scene to work with atmospheric
scientists and meteorologists. Moreover, the enhanced capability to process and analyze weather data stimulated the
long-standing interest of meteorologists in securing more observations of greater accuracy. Technological advances
since the 1960s led to a growing reliance on remote sensing, particularly the gathering of data with specially
instrumented Earth-orbiting satellites. By the late 1980s, forecasts of the weather were largely based on the
determinations of numerical models integrated by high-speed supercomputers—except for some shorter-range
predictions, particularly those related to local thunderstorm activity, which were made by specialists directly
105
interpreting radar and satellite measurements. By the early 1990s a network of next-generation Doppler weather
radar (NEXRAD) was largely in place in the United States, which allowed meteorologists to predict severe weather
events with additional lead time before their occurrence. During the late 1990s and early 21st century, computer
processing power increased, which allowed weather bureaus to produce more-sophisticated ensemble forecasts—that
is, sets of multiple model runs whose results limit the range of uncertainty with respect to a forecast.

Practical Applications

Systematic weather records were kept after instruments for measuring atmospheric conditions became available
during the 17th century. Undoubtedly these early records were employed mainly by those engaged in agriculture.
Planting and harvesting obviously can be planned better and carried out more efficiently if long-term weather patterns
can be estimated. In the United States, the foundations of the national weather services were laid down by American
physicist Joseph Henry, the first head of the Smithsonian Institution. In 1849 Henry created a network of volunteer
weather observers to help improve storm prediction in the U.S. The first national weather services were provided by
the U.S. Army Signal Corps beginning on February 9, 1870, which also incorporated Henry’s volunteer weather
observers by 1874. These operations were taken over by the Department of Agriculture in 1891. By the early 1900s
free mail service and telephone were providing forecasts daily to millions of American farmers. The U.S. Weather
Bureau established a Fruit-Frost (forecasting) Service during World War I, and by the 1920s radio broadcasts to
agricultural interests were being made in most states.

Weather forecasting became an important tool for aviation during the 1920s and ’30s. Its application in this area
gained in importance after Francis W. Reichelderfer was appointed chief of the U.S. Weather Bureau (USWB) in 1939.
Reichelderfer had previously modernized the U.S. Navy’s meteorological service and made it a model of support for
naval aviation. During World War II the discovery of very strong wind currents at high altitudes (the jet streams,
which can affect aircraft speed) and the general susceptibility of military operations in Europe to weather led to a
special interest in weather forecasting.

One of the most famous wartime forecasting problems was for Operation Overlord, the invasion of the European
mainland at Normandy by Allied forces. An unusually intense June storm brought high seas and gales to the French
coast, but a moderation of the weather that was successfully predicted by Col. J.M. Stagg of the British forces (after
consultation with both British and American forecasters) enabled Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, supreme commander of
the Allied Expeditionary Forces, to make his critical decision to invade on June 6, 1944.

The second half of the 20th century saw a reorganization of the country’s weather bureau. The USWB was part of
the Department of Agriculture until 1940, when it was added to the Department of Commerce. On October 9, 1970,
the USWB became the National Weather Service.

In addition, the later part of the 20th century was a time of unprecedented growth of commercial weather-forecasting
firms in the United States and elsewhere. Marketing organizations and stores hire weather-forecasting consultants to
help with the timing of sales and promotions of products ranging from snow tires and roofing materials to summer
clothes and resort vacations. Many oceangoing shipping vessels as well as military ships use optimum ship routing
forecasts to plan their routes in order to minimize lost time, potential damage, and fuel consumption in heavy seas.
Similarly, airlines carefully consider atmospheric conditions when planning long-distance flights so as to avoid the
strongest head winds and to ride with the strongest tail winds.

International trading of foodstuffs such as wheat, corn (maize), beans, sugar, cocoa, and coffee can be severely
affected by weather news. For example, in 1975 a severe freeze in Brazil caused the price of coffee to increase
substantially within just a few weeks, and in 2017 Georgia peach growers blamed the combination of
warm winter temperatures and a spring freeze on the loss of nearly 80 percent of the state’s peach crop. In addition,
extreme heat and drought can affect production; one study estimated that 9–10 percent of cereal crops between 1964
and 2007 were lost to these phenomena. Weather-forecasting organizations are thus frequently called upon
by banks, commodity traders, and food companies to give them advance knowledge of the possibility of such sudden
changes. The cost of all sorts of commodities and services, whether they are tents for outdoor events or plastic covers
for the daily newspapers, can be reduced or eliminated if reliable information about possible precipitation can be
obtained in advance.

Forecasts must be quite precise for applications that are tailored to specific industries. Gas and electric utilities, for
example, may require forecasts of temperature within one or two degrees a day ahead of time, or ski-resort operators
may need predictions of nighttime relative humidity on the slopes within 5 to 10 percent in order to schedule snow
making.

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Analysis of synoptic weather reports

An observant person who has learned nature’s signs can interpret the appearance of the sky, the wind, and other local
effects and “foretell the weather.” A scientist can use instruments at one location to do so even more effectively. The
modern approach to weather forecasting, however, can only be realized when many such observations are exchanged
quickly by experts at various weather stations and entered on a synoptic weather map to depict the patterns of
pressure, wind, temperature, clouds, and precipitation at a specific time. Such a rapid exchange of weather data
became feasible with the development of the electric telegraph in 1837 by Samuel F.B. Morse of the United States. By
1849 Joseph Henry of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., was plotting daily weather maps based on
telegraphic reports, and in 1869 Cleveland Abbe at the Cincinnati Observatory began to provide regular weather
forecasts using data received telegraphically.

Synoptic weather maps resolved one of the great controversies of meteorology—namely, the rotary storm dispute. By
the early decades of the 19th century, it was known that storms were associated with low barometric readings, but
the relation of the winds to low-pressure systems, called cyclones, remained unrecognized. William Redfield, a self-
taught meteorologist from Middletown, Conn., noticed the pattern of fallen trees after a New England hurricane and
suggested in 1831 that the wind flow was a rotary counterclockwise circulation around the centre of lowest pressure.
The American meteorologist James P. Espy subsequently proposed in his Philosophy of Storms (1841) that air
would flow toward the regions of lowest pressure and then would be forced upward, causing clouds and precipitation.
Both Redfield and Espy proved to be right. The air does spin around the cyclone, as Redfield believed, while the layers
close to the ground flow inward and upward as well. The net result is a rotational wind circulation that is slightly
modified at Earth’s surface to produce inflow toward the storm centre, just as Espy had proposed. Further, the inflow
is associated with clouds and precipitation in regions of low pressure, though that is not the only cause of clouds
there.

In Europe the writings of Heinrich Dove, a Polish scientist who directed the Prussian Meteorological Institute, greatly
influenced views concerning wind behaviour in storms. Unlike the Americans, Dove did not focus on the pattern of the
winds around the storm but rather on how the wind should change at one place as a storm passed. It was many years
before his followers understood the complexity of the possible changes.
Establishment of weather-station networks and services

Routine production of synoptic weather maps became possible after networks of stations were organized to take
measurements and report them to some type of central observatory. As early as 1814, U.S. Army Medical Corps
personnel were ordered to record weather data at their posts; this activity was subsequently expanded and made
more systematic. Actual weather-station networks were established in the United States by New York University,
the Franklin Institute, and the Smithsonian Institution during the early decades of the 19th century.

In Britain, James Glaisher organized a similar network, as did Christophorus H.D. Buys Ballot in the Netherlands.
Other such networks of weather stations were developed near Vienna, Paris, and St. Petersburg.

It was not long before national meteorological services were established on the Continent and in the United Kingdom.
The first national weather service in the United States commenced operations in 1871, with responsibility assigned to
the U.S. Army Signal Corps. The original purpose of the service was to provide storm warnings for the Atlantic and
Gulf coasts and for the Great Lakes. Within the next few decades, national meteorological services were established in
such countries as Japan, India, and Brazil. The importance of international cooperation in weather prognostication was
recognized by the directors of such national services. By 1880 they had formed the International Meteorological
Organization (IMO).

The proliferation of weather-station networks linked by telegraphy made synoptic forecasting a reality by the close of
the 19th century. Yet, the daily weather forecasts generated left much to be desired. Many errors occurred as
predictions were largely based on the experience that each individual forecaster had accumulated over several years
of practice, vaguely formulated rules of thumb (e.g., of how pressure systems move from one region to another), and
associations that were poorly understood, if at all.

Progress during the early 20th century

An important aspect of weather prediction is to calculate the atmospheric pressure pattern—the positions of the highs
and lows and their changes. Modern research has shown that sea-level pressure patterns respond to the motions of
the upper-atmospheric winds, with their narrow, fast-moving jet streams and waves that propagate through the air
and pass air through themselves

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 LEARNING LOG NO. 11
Essay on Weather Information, Observations and Forecasting
Direction: Make consistent responses with a minimum of 50 words in each of the below by using relevant
terminologies from the specified topic. A Short Answer Rubric is provided in the succeeding page for you to know and
understand what the instructor‘s expectation from your answer and how you will be graded.

1. What is weather observation and forecasting?

2. What role does observation play in weather forecasting?

3. What are the steps in weather forecasting?

4. How is math used in weather forecasting?

5. What are numerical weather prediction models?

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 Short Answer Rubric

Reminder: This rubric will be rated by your instructor only!

Note: Each of the items in Learning Log No. 11 requires a 15-point answer guided with the criteria and levels of assessment.

Levels of Assessment

Criteria
Exemplary Above Average Adequate Inadequate

1
5 3 2
Writing shows high Writing is coherent and Writing is coherent and Writing lacks logical
Organization of degree of attention to logically organized with logically organized. organization. It shows
Thoughts logic and reasoning of transitions used between Some points remain some coherence but
(5) points. Unity clearly leads ideas and paragraphs to misplaced and stray ideas lack unity.
the reader to the create coherence. Overall from the topic. Serious errors.
conclusion and stirs unity of ideas is present. Transitions evident but
thought regarding the not used throughout
topic. essay.
1
5 3 2
Content indicates Content indicates original Content indicates Shows some thinking
Level of Content synthesis of ideas, thinking and develops ideas thinking and reasoning and reasoning but
(5) indepth analysis and with sufficient and firm applied with original most ideas are
evidences original evidence. thought on a few ideas. underdeveloped and
thought and support for unoriginal.
the topic.

1
5 3 2
Development Main points well Main points well developed Main points are present Main points lack
(choice of words and developed with high with quality supporting with limited detail and detailed development.
grammar) quality and quantity details and quantity. Critical development. Some Ideas are vague with
(5) support. Reveals high thinking is weaved into critical thinking is little evidence of
degree of critical points. present. critical thinking.
thinking.

Organization of Level of Content Development

Item No. Points
Thoughts

1 /15

2 /15

3 /15

4 /15

5 /15

Total Points /75

*Adapted from: Teaching Commons, Center for Innovation and Excellence in Learning, by Dr. Rhonda Dubec,2018

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 Weekly Student Journal Entry No. 4

Direction: Based on your readings about Weather Forecasting, log your learning on the space provided below. Write a
maximum of 250 words on the salient points you have gained from the topics. Please refer to the Student Journal
Rubric in the next page of what is expected from you and how you will be graded. Start your Journal Entry with the
given introductory statement.

Recording and Reporting Weather Observations and Weather Forecasting

Title

I have learned from the topics that _____________________________________________________

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 Weekly Student Journal Rubric

Reminder: This rubric will be rated by your instructor only!

Levels of Assessment

Exceeds Meets
Acceptable Unacceptable Points
Criteria Expectations Expectations

20 15 10 1

Selected items that Selected items that Selected items and Selected items and
are important and are important in details that discuss details that are not
help make content discussing the the activities for important or
interesting; the activities for the the week, but they relevant
details focus on the week; the details are not very
Content most important help the reader see important.
information. things about the
Choices help the items in interesting
reader see things in ways.
a new way. /20

20 15 10 1

Organization of
thought units Journal entry is Journal entry is Journal entry is Journal entry lacks
logical and generally logical somewhat illogical logical order and
effective. and effective with a and confusing in organization. /20
few minor places.
problems.

10 7 4 1

Mechanics and Correct spelling and Few or no spelling Several spelling Fulfills few of the
Grammar appropriate errors; some minor errors. Many requirements of the
grammar. punctuation instances of assignment.
mistakes incorrect spelling
and grammar.
/10

Total Points
/50
*Adapted from: Teaching Commons, Center for Innovation and Excellence in Learning, by Dr. Rhonda Dubec, 2018

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 SUMMATIVE TEST

Name ___________________________ _________Time:______________ Score: __________________

Multiple Choice: Write letter the letter that corresponds to the correct answer. Strictly NO ERASURE, any form of erasure or
alteration of answer will be considered WRONG.
_____1. What action ship must take for tropical revolving storm ?
A. Avoiding movement may be as follows, at least 50 miles off from the center of the storm.
B. Avoiding activities may be as follows, at least 50 miles off from the center of the storm.
C. Avoiding schedules may be as follows, at least 50 miles off from the center of the storm.
D. Avoiding actions may be as follows, at least 50 miles off from the center of the storm.
____2. Manoeuvring to avoid the storm center ?
A. The marine weather broadcast and radio facsimile weather maps are the most important tools avoiding tropical,
from the center.
B. The marine weather broadcast and radio facsimile weather maps are the greatest important tools avoiding
Tropical from the center.
C. The marine weather broadcast and radio facsimile weather maps are the maximum important tools avoiding
Tropical from the center.
D. The marine weather broadcast and radio facsimile weather maps are the record important tools avoiding
tropical,
from the center.
____3. What is the methods to avoid tropical cyclone ?
A. In order to avoid a storm field of tropical cyclone navigators can apply numerous procedures to determine
dangerous areas or alter ship’s course to move to safer.
B. In order to avoid a storm field of tropical cyclone navigators can apply many procedures to determine
dangerous areas or alter ship’s course to move to safer.
C. In order to avoid a storm field of tropical cyclone navigators can apply various procedures to determine
dangerous areas or alter ship’s course to move to safer.
D. In order to avoid a storm field of tropical cyclone navigators can apply several procedures to determine
dangerous areas or alter ship’s course to move to safer.
____4. What forces are responsible for the movement of ocean water in current?
A . There are three major factors that usual ocean currents: Wind, changes in sea level, &cariationsinfter water
density.
B. There are three major factors that set ocean currents: Wind, changes in sea level, &cariations in water
Density.

C. There are three major factors that agreed ocean currents: Wind, changes in sea level, &cariations in
Water density.
D. There are three major factors that fixed ocean currents: Wind, changes in sea level, &cariations in water
Density.
___5. How does density cause ocean currents ?
A. Dense water sinks below less dense water. This the code that drives the deep ocean currents that irculate
Around the world.
B. Dense water sinks below less dense water. This the principle that drives the deep ocean currents that circulate
Around the world.
C. Dense water sinks below less dense water. This the belief that drives the deep ocean currents that circulate
Around the world.
D. Dense water sinks below less dense water. This the value that drives the deep ocean currents that circulate
Around the world.
____6. How does wind affect ocean current ?
A. The winds pull surface water with them, making currents, as these currents flow westward the thecoriolis effect.
B. The winds pull surface water with them, forming currents, as these currents flow westward the thecoriolis
effect.
C. The winds pull surface water with them, creating currents, as these currents flow westward the thecoriolis
effect.
D. The winds pull surface water with them, generating currents, as these currents flow westward the thecoriolis
effect.
____7. What is the most famous ocean current ?
A. They can, flow for thousands of miles and are create in all the major oceans of the world.

112
 B. They can, flow for thousands of miles and are start in all the major oceans of the world.
C. They can, flow for thousands of miles and are initiate in all the major oceans of the world.
D. They can, flow for thousands of miles and are found in all the major oceans of the world.
____8. What is the biggest ocean current ?
A. ANTARTIC circumpolar current is the first ocean current to circle the planet & the largest wind-driven current
On earth.
B. ANTARTIC circumpolar current is the one ocean current to circle the planet & the largest wind-driven current
On earth.
C. ANTARTIC circumpolar current is the single ocean current to circle the planet & the largest wind-driven current
On earth.
D. ANTARTIC circumpolar current is the only ocean current to circle the planet & the largest wind-driven current
On earth.
____9. How do deep currents affect climate ?
A. Ocean currents act much like a conveyor belt, transporting warm water and precipitation from the equator
Towards the pole.
B. Ocean currents act much like a conveyor belt, transporting warm water and rain from the equator
Towards the pole.
C. Ocean currents act much like a conveyor belt, transporting warm water and rainfall from the equator
Towards the pole.
D. Ocean currents act much like a conveyor belt, transporting warm water and snow from the equator
Towards the pole.
____10. What is the ocean current called ?
A. Ocean current thermohaline circulation, also known as the ocean’s conveyor belt, refers to the deep ocean
Density driven ocean basin currents.
B. Ocean current thermohaline circulation, also known as the ocean’s conveyor belt, raise to the deep ocean
Density driven ocean basin currents.
C. Ocean current thermohaline circulation, also known as the ocean’s conveyor belt, state to the deep ocean
Density driven ocean basin currents.
D. Ocean current thermohaline circulation, also known as the ocean’s conveyor belt, denotes to the deep ocean
Density driven ocean basin currents.
____11. The general rule for major ocean currents is that circulate :
A. In one direction in winter
B. Clockwise in the N. Hemisphere and counter clockwise in the S. Hemisphere
C. Clockwise in summer
D. Counter clockwise in winter
____12. You are on voyage from New Orleans to Boston. When navigating off Florida coast, you will get thegreatest
benefit Form the gulf stream if you navigate :
A. About 45 miles east of cape Canaveral
B. About 25 miles east of Daytona
C. Along the 50-athom curve
D. Close inshore between Fowey rocks and Jupiter inlet
____13. The current that flows outside the surf zone is called:
A. Drift current B. Stream current C. Coastal current D. Long shore current
____14. When a current flows in the opposite direction to the waves, the wave:
A. Length is increased B. Height is increased C. Velocity increases D. Length is unchanged
____15. The largest waves (heaviest chop) will usually develop where the wind blows:
A. At right angles to the flow of the current
B. Against the flow of the current
C. In the same direction as the flow of the current
D. Over slack water
____16. The speed which an ocean wave system advances is called :
A. Wave length B. Ripple length C. Group velocity D. Wave velocity
____17. Waves caused by storms that continue on without relation to local winds are called :
A. Swell B. Gravity wave C. Sea D. Tide rips
____18. The breaking waves caused by the meeting of currents or by waves moving against the current is called :
A. Eddies B. Bore C. Swells D. Over falls
____19. The heights of waves depend upon:
A. Speed of the wind B. Duration of the wind C. The fetch of the wind D. All of these

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____20. The highest part of a wave is called:
A. Trough B. Crest C. Amplitude D. Fetch
____21. Swell is the rise and fall of the ocean’s surface due to?
A. Fetch B. Pull of the moon C. Distant winds D. Local storms
____22. The chart of a beach are shows a very flat slope to the under water beach bottom. What type of breakers
Can be expected when trying to land a boat on this beach ?
A. Surging B. Plunging C. Spilling D. Converging
____23. Which of the following should you expect when you encounter a Tsunami in the open ocean ?
A. Violent seas from mixed directions
B. No noticeable change from existing sea state
C. Winds increasing to gale from northwest in the N. Hemisphere.
D. A major wave of extreme height and length
____24. You are steaming in the open ocean of the N. Pacific between the Aleutian chain and Hawaii. A warning
Broadcast Indicates that an earthquake has occurred in the Aleutians and has generated a Tsunami that is
predicted to. Hit Hawaii. What action is necessary for the ships safety ?
A. Calculate the Tsunami’s ETA at your position and turn to a course that will head into the Tsunami.
B. Securely stow all loose gear, check deck lashings, and prepare for extreme rolls.
C. No special actions as tsunami are inconspicuous in the open ocean.
D. Prepare for sudden, high velocity wind guts from rapidly changing directions.
____ 25. You are anchored in the Aleutian Island chain and receive a word that a tsunami is expected to strike
the islandIn six hours. What is the safest action ?
A. Get underway and be in deep, open ocean water when the tsunami arrives.
B. Increase the scope of the anchor cable and drop the second anchor under foot at short stay.
C. Get underway and be close inshore on the side of the island away from the tsunami.
D. Plant both anchors with about 60* angle between then and a long scope to each anchor.
_ 26. The ocean bottom that extends from the shoreline out to an area where there is a marked change in slope
A greater depth is the:
A. Abyssal plane B. Continental shelf C. Borderland D. Offshore terrace
_____ 27. In shallow water, wave that are too steep to be stable, causing the crests to move forward faster than
the rest ofthe wave that are too steep to be stable, causing the crests to move forward faster than of the
wave are called:
A. Rollers B. Breakers C. White cups D. Surfers
28. The time interval between successive wave crests is called :
A. Wave period B. Wave length C. Frequency D. Significant wave height
29. What is the distance from the bottom of a wave trough to the top of wave crest?
A. Wave length B. Wave height C. Wave breadth D. Wave depth
30. The length of a wave is the length:
A. Of the wave’s crest B. Of the wave’s trough C. Measured from crest to trough
D. Measured from crest to crest

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 References
Bibliography
Chuey, timothy A and Ahrens, Donal C. Meteorology Today. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing, 1985.
Dijkstra, Henk A.: Nonlinear Climate Dynamics: Cambridge, New York; Cambridge University Press 2013
Martins, Renato P. and Matheson Guisela Santiago G.: Meteorology and Oceanography, Elsevier, Brazzil: 2017
Venkatesan, R; Tendon, Amit; D’Asaro, Eric; Atmanand, M.A.: Observing the Oceans in Real Time; World Meteorological
Organization, Cham, Switzerland: Springer; Geneva, Switzerland: 2018

Links

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteorological_instrumentation
 https://www.encyclopedia.>science>atmosphere
 https://betterlesson.com>6-weather-instrument
 https://www.scrib.com>presentation>shipborne
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anticyclone
 https://wolstanton.org.uk/code-weather-letters.php
 https://www.google.com/search?q=Moss+equipment+use+for+meteorological+weather+forecasting+image&rlz=1C1GCEA
_enPH890PH890&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=weaqsxmCC_t4LM%252ChW_WlFdBR49CNM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-
kSiZie7BQm27eeJP5_W5D2QF8nsUQ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjas4yq8NrqAhVayYsBHcKwAnsQ9QEwAHoECAoQBQ&biw=978&bi
h=367#imgrc=weaqsxmCC_t
 http://www.geog.ucsb.edu/ideas/Insolation.html
 https://content.meteoblue.com/en/meteoscool/weather/clouds/fog
 http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Atmosphere/
 http://fas.org/irp/imint/docs/rst/Sect14/Sect14_1c.html
 http://education.nationalgeographic.com/encyclopedia/air-mass/
 http://www.athensgaweather.com/meteorology-101-pressure-fronts/
 http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/media/pdf/a/t/No._11_-_Weather_Charts.pdf
 http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/media/pdf/a/t/No._11_-_Weather_Charts.pdf
 http://gspmarine.com/Publications/AIR%20MASS%20&%20DEPRESSION.pdf
 http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/media/pdf/a/t/No._11_-_Weather_Charts.pdf
 http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/cgi-bin/expertcharts?LANG=en&CONT=euro&MODELL=gfs&VAR=pslv

Photo Credits

 https://www.Jojoeland.weebly.com.meteorologyandoceanograpphy
 Hhttps://betterlesson.com>6-weather-instrument
 https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1GCEA_enPH890PH890&q=image+weather&tbm=isch&chips=q:image+weather,g
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pressure_system
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anticyclone

Video

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fxujomq7ANA
 https://en.wikipedia.orghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzPA-YKJmVk>wiki>atmosphere
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzPA-YKJmVk
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP4rgvu4xDE
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7SCMHmn40I
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qa80y3V56-8
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7SCMHmns

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