ES 115: Severe and Unusual Weather
Readings from Severe and Hazardous Weather, Rauber, Walsh, Charlevoix
Syllabus

List of notes in .pdf format

Paul Sirvatka's Glossary: Weather terms you should know! (PDF)

  1. Thunderstorm Morphology (If you don't know what that means, look it up!)

    2. (Chapters 1, 2, 3, 17)
    1. Thunderstorms: html, pdf
      1. Single Cell (Thunderstorm Categories part 1)
      2. Multicell (Thunderstorm Categores part 2)
        1. Cluster
        2. Line
        3. MCC's (Thundersotorm Categores part 3)
          • Students should also check out this page on squall lines, bow echo and other mesoscale convective systems. A little more advanced but good supplemental information.
      3. Supercell
    2. Thunderstorm Visualization and Spotter's Training
      • Spotter Glossary Comprehensive Glossary of Weather Terms for Storm Spotters, courtesy of NWSFO Norman (Optional Reading)
    3. Radar Interpretation and Usage (pdf)
      1. Basic Radar Principals
      2. VIP and RHI Scans of a Developing Supercell (Lemon Technique PDF)
      3. Doppler Radar and NEXRAD

        4. Radar Extras, Optional Material
    4. Lab 1 RADAR LAB
    5. Test 1
      6.  

  2. Thermodynamics

    3. (Chapter 5)
    1. Properties of Gases
      1. Temperature, Pressure, Density and the Ideal Gas Law
      2. Adiabatic Processes
    2. Moisture and Wet Adiabatic Ascent
      1. Moisture Parameters
      2. Latent Heat
    3. Defining Static Stability (pdf)
      1. Lifting a Parcel
      2. Understanding Environmental Lapse Rates
        1. Potential Temperature 
        2. Defining the Boundary Layer
      3. Conditional Instability
    4. The Thermodynamic Diagram (pdf)
    5. Measuring Instability
      1. Finding the LCL, LFC, EL, CCL, and CT
      2. Positive and Negative Areas
      3. Showalter, K, Lifted, Total Totals, and SWEAT Indices
      4. Convective Instability
        1. The Loaded Gun Profile
        2. Equivalent Potential Temperature,   e
    6. Lab II Thermodynamic Diagram/Stability Indices (pdf)
    7. Test II

  3. Synoptics and Thunderstorm Development

    4. (Chapters 6, 7, 8, 9, 18)
    1. Fronts, Air Masses, and the Jet Stream
      1. Wind Systems
        1. Geostrophic
        2. Gradient (Ridge) or (Trough)
        3. Surface Flow
      2. Fronts
        1. Convergent Boundaries
        2. Temperature Advection
      3. Weather Maps and Symbols
    2. Cyclogenesis and Baroclinicity
    3. Long Waves and Short Waves
      1. Vorticity and Vorticity Advection
    4. Vertical Wind Shear and Hodographs (pdf)
      1. Hodographs in Weak and Strong Shear Environments
      2. Wind Shear Vector
    5. Tornadogenesis
    6. Forecasting Severe Weather Events
      1. Weather Service Information Dissemination
      2. Nowcasting
    7. Lightning and Other Severe Events
    8. Severe Weather Safety
    9. Lab III Plainfield Tornado 1990
    10. Test III
      11.  

  4. Tropical Meteorology and Hurricanes (pdf)
    1. El Niño, The Southern Oscillation, and La Niña
      (Chapters 22, 23)
      1. A Canonical Event
      2. Global Response
      3. Historical ENSO Events
      4. For more info, see CDC's great ENSO site
    2. The Tropical Atmosphere
    3. Tropical Storm Development
    4. Toward a More General Theory of Hurricanes
      1. CISK
      2. The Hurricane as a Carnot Engine
    5. Hurricane Structure
    6. Test IV
      7.  

  5. Numerical Models and Weather Prediction
    1. Introduction to Numerical Weather Prediction
    2. Chaos in a Dynamic Environment
    3. Lorenz and the Unpredictability of the Weather
      1. The Butterfly Effect
    4. Strengths and Shortcomings of NWP
    5. Test V
Other Additional Readings
  • The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) Publications
  • What is a tornado?Chuck Doswell: NOAA/ERL/National Severe Storms Laboratory, Norman, OK
  • Storm Chasing Notes Page
  • Forecasting Class Notes Page

    • The Nexlab Home Page The Nexlab Home Page