Weather Balloon Lab Day Two:

Review, Comparison and Analysis

Introduction

Name: _________________

We will review the data from yesterday and compare it to today, then make some general observations about the sounding data.

1. Review Data from Yesterday: a. Observations b. Calculate Humidity c. Cloud Height: Low = LT 6,500 feet, Mid = 6,500 to 20,000 feet, High = 20,000+ d. Color the Lines on the Skew T Chart e. LCL 2. Preliminary Observations: Obtain NWS Data
BISHOP INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, FLINT MI (KFNT) 42-58N 83-45W http://weather.noaa.gov/weather/current/KFNT.html

Date:

Time:

Relative Humidity:

Wind direction:

Wind speed:

mph

Outside Temperature:

Outside Dew Point:

Pressure

mb

Trend:

3. Direct Observations for today

Cloud Types Percent Coverage Low Middle High

Current Weather:

Yesterdays Sounding
Skew-T Plot of Temperature, Pressure and Dewpoint from KDTX (Detroit Weather Station)

Pressure Level sea level 1000 mb 850 mb 700 mb 500 mb 300 mb 200 mb 100 mb

Approximate Height 0 ft 300 ft 5,000 ft 10,000 ft 18,000 ft 30,000 ft 40,000 ft 53,000 ft

http://www.arl.noaa.gov/READYcmet.php

The Green Line is the dew point The Red Line is the temperature Blue numbers on left are pressure Red numbers on top and down right side are air temperature
UTC/GMT Offset Eastern Daylight Time: UTC/GMT -5 hours Daylight saving time: UTC/GMT -4 hours Current time zone offset: UTC/GMT -4 hours 1200Z = 0800 Local = 8 AM

Todays Sounding
Skew-T Plot of Temperature, Pressure and Dewpoint from KDTX (Detroit Weather Station)

Pressure Level sea level 1000 mb 850 mb 700 mb 500 mb 300 mb 200 mb 100 mb

Approximate Height 0 ft 300 ft 5,000 ft 10,000 ft 18,000 ft 30,000 ft 40,000 ft 53,000 ft

http://www.arl.noaa.gov/READYcmet.php

The Green Line is the dew point The Red Line is the temperature Blue numbers on left are pressure Red numbers on top and down right side are air temperature

Calculate Lifting Condensation Level (for formation of clouds in rising air)

Temp Dew Point x 1,000 + weather station altitude = ________________ LCL in thousand feet 4.5
http://www.csgnetwork.com/estcloudbasecalc.html

4. Weather Summary: What are the main differences between yesterday and today?

5. Questions
1. What was the universal time and the corresponding local time these soundings were taken?

2.

Identify the data on the Skew T chart: a. b. c. Blue numbers on left side? Red numbers on the right side? The flags on the right side?

3. Look at the wind flags along the side of the sounding data a. What happens to the direction of wind as we rise from the surface up through the atmosphere? b. How did the change in the flag direction compare to the movement we observed for our balloons? c. What happens to the direction of wind as we rise from the surface up through the atmosphere? 4. What happens to water vapor in the air when the dew point and temperature lines are close together?

5. An elevation of about 35,000 feet (6-7 miles) corresponds to a pressure of about 250 millibars. a. What does the temperature line to do at this height? b. What is the name for the layer of the atmosphere above this point based on temperature? c. What causes this change in temperature? d. Draw a dark line to mark the approximate height of the Tropopause on the chart.

6.

I f we compared weather in the morning with the weather in the afternoon we would find the clouds would be forming higher in the sky a. What is the most likely explanation for the change in the cloud base from morning to afternoon?

b. At what pressure levels and elevations are temperature inversions found in the troposphere on todays sounding?

c. What reasonable explanation is there for these inversions?

Use the information below to help describe consequences of Inversions

Morning surface inversions occur when the ground cools off rapidly during a clear-sky night. Inversions aloft often happen when a warm air mass moves over a lower cold air mass. Inversions are usually lower in a valley and higher over ridges. In dusty areas, inversions are marked by a grey or brown haze at the inversion layer. In the picture below, you can see the smokestack spreading out horizontally at a surface inversion.

What kind of large scale weather systems are we experiencing today? What kind of large scale weather systems do we expect tomorrow? Air Masses? Fronts? Wind? Circulation?