METEOROLOGY 101: Sky and Cloud Observation Project

This Sky and Cloud Observation Project may be begun at any time. The completed project has 3 parts, and all 3 parts must be complete to be considered for full credit. The QUALITY of your presentation COUNTS! Although use of a computer for the data chart and graphs is not mandatory, if they are done by hand, they must be made with a ruler and graph paper. Examples from past projects can be seen in the library as a Closed Reserve item. You may work together to observe and collect data, but projects must be submitted individually.

Part 1: Observations and Data are presented as a CHART (do not submit your daily notes. Transfer all notes into a chart form by computer or by hand on graph or ruled paper).

1. Observations:
   Choose an observation site at home, work, or school, where you can see plenty of sky. Make notes of features in the sky in the morning (6-10:00 am) and afternoon (2-6:00 pm) hours. Your observations must be made from the same place, at approximately the same time, twice each day for a minimum of 14 days. You will observe and make note of the following features:
   
   Visibility: clear, cloudy, hazy, foggy
   Cloud Cover: one of the following – clear, scattered (about ½ covered), broken (a few breaks), overcast
   Cloud Types: use the cloud charts in class and the pictures in the text for illustrations and symbols
   Directions from which the clouds are moving
   Precipitation: drizzle, rain, snow, sleet, freezing rain, hail. Indicate if light, moderate, or heavy
   
   
2. Data Collection:
   The data you will collect will not likely be found at the same location as your observations, though it should be found for the same times each day. I strongly recommend using a computer world wide web site as your source for data, as you can augment your data with satellite images and weather maps. You must indicate which principle resource you used for your data collection (computer, print, and radio resources are listed at the end of this handout). You will collect the following data for the minimum 14 day period (morning and afternoon readings):
   
   Temperatures: in degrees Celcius or Farenheit
   Relative Humidity: RH as a percent (if you collect Dew Point data, you MUST convert it to Relative Humidity before attempting to graph it)
   Pressure: in millibars or inches of mercury
   Wind Speed and Direction: in knots, mph or kph
   
   

Part 2: Graphs

1. Temperature (am and pm) and Relative Humidity (am and pm) data are to be graphed on the same graph paper. The vertical axes are both used – one for T, the other for RH, and the graphs drawn with different colors or symbols to distinguish them. The horizontal axis contains the am and pm times of each of the 14 days. A particular pattern SHOULD emerge from these 2 graphs.
   
   
2. Pressure (am and pm) and Cloud Cover (am and pm) data are to be graphed on the same graph paper. The vertical axes are both used – one for pressure, the other for cloud cover, and the graphs drawn with different colors or symbols to distinguish them. The horizontal axis contains the am and pm times of each of the 14 days. A particular pattern MAY emerge from these 2 graphs.
   
   

Part 3: Analyses
Having observed the patterns which appear from your graphs, analyse them and state your conclusions in 2 or 3 sentences. Look carefully at the rest of the data on the chart, and for every pattern which you see there, write a sentence about it. These Analyses are not recapitulated observations, but are descriptions of how various elements of the atmosphere interact, on the basis of the observations and data you have collected. See the samples of past projects in the library.

COMPUTER RESOURCES

www.seawfo.noaa.gov

From this Home Page, go to Current Conditions, then to Decoded Observations From the Station List, then to your choice of weather stations for data, ie. Seattle-Tacoma, Renton, etc. Once you choose a location, read off the data for the appropriate date and time. Note that times are UTC (Universal Time Coordinates), which is the time in Greenwich, England, and you must convert to your local time (and date if necessary) by subtracting 8 hours and changing from the 24 hour clock to a 12 hour am/pm clock. Browse this web site for satellite and weather maps in the Maps and Images section. If your observation period has a major storm moving through, satellite images and weather maps will be excellent items to include, but be sure to say something about it in the Analyses part of the project.

www.cnn.coom

This site is not as comprehensive as the one above, but contains an easily printable satellite image. The data available on the Home Page may not be as complete as you need either.

OTHER RESOURCES

There are other ways of obtaining the data you need, but if you have access to a computer on the internet (home, a friend, school) this is by far the best and easiest method! The Seattle Times/PI Info Line is OK, at 464-2000. Use Extensions 9905, or 9910. Daily newspapers and hourly TV, radio reports are also OK, but usually incomplete for your purposes. A VHF receiver tuned into the National Weather Service in Seattle, is excellent.