Meteorology

Meteorology is a weather-based event designed to test students' basic understanding of the meteorological principles and ability to interpret and analyze meteorological data. It has a main focus topic each year, which rotates between Climate, Everyday Weather, and Severe Storms. A basic knowledge of fronts and air systems, among other common Meteorology topics, is suggested for every year. It is currently only an event in Division B, and no equivalent exists for Division C.

The event is designed for up to 2 people. In 2015, each team is allowed to bring two note sheets to the competition. Additionally, each competitor may also bring a non-graphing calculator.

Event Rotation
The topic of Meteorology changes from year to year.

Low-level Clouds
Low-level clouds are found at altitudes lower than 6,500 feet. There is no prefix for a low-level cloud. They are usually composed of water droplets (sometimes supercooled), but can be composed of ice crystals during the winter.


 * (Fair Weather) Cumulus: puffy, light clouds with plenty of space between each other; usually signifies good weather, usually brings little to no precipitation, but can turn into storm clouds like cumulonimbus clouds; name means "heaped" in Latin; low altitude cloud


 * Stratus: horizontally-layered grey kinds of clouds; may bring small amounts of precipitation; name means "layered" in Latin; low altitude cloud


 * Stratocumulus: dark, rounded masses of clouds that are usually in groups/layers, occasionally there will be a break in clouds; generally little to no precipitation; low altitude cloud

Middle-level Clouds
Middle-level clouds are found at altitudes between 6,500 and 20,000 feet. They are given the prefix alto-. They are composed of water droplets (sometimes supercooled) and/or ice crystals.


 * Altostratus: layer clouds thinner than stratus, but thicker than cirrostratus, sun and moon are somewhat visible; light precipitation, but little of it reaches ground; middle altitude cloud


 * Altocumulus: globular clouds in layers/patches, may signify a thunderstorm to happen later in the day; middle altitude cloud

High-level Clouds
High-level clouds are found at altitudes above 20,000 feet. They are given the prefix cirro-. They are composed mostly of ice crystals.


 * Cirrus: thin, feathery wisps of clouds; also known as "mares' tails," and while the precipitation it releases evaporates before it reaches the ground, it may signify the arrival of precipitation; high altitude cloud


 * Cirrostratus: thin, sheet-like, high-level clouds, quite transparent (sun/moon easily seen), halos very common around sun and moon; high altitude cloud


 * Cirrocumulus: light, puffy, short-lived clouds; high altitude cloud

Multi-level Clouds
Multi-level clouds exhibit large vertical extent, covering multiple altitudes (high, medium, low) at a time.


 * Cumulonimbus: huge, anvil-shaped vertical cloud, can produce thunderstorms, tornadoes, and other dangerous storms, may form along squall lines, often brings a lot of heavy precipitation; bottom of cloud is at low altitudes and extends upwards to high altitudes


 * Nimbostratus: dark layer clouds; produce light to moderate precipitation over a wide area; low to middle altitude cloud

Basic Meteorological Information
Although the topic for Meteorology changes from year to year, one should know certain information that serves as a basis for understanding the specifics of each topic.

The Atmosphere
For more information about the Atmosphere, such as its origins and its relation to local wind patterns, please see Meteorology/Everyday Weather and Meteorology/Climate.

The Layers of the Atmosphere
''The layers of the atmosphere from bottom to top are as follows: Troposphere Stratosphere Mesosphere Thermosphere Exosphere The troposphere is where most weather happens.''

Instruments and Diagrams
For more information about meteorological instruments and diagrams, see Meteorology/Everyday Weather.

Resources
The event does not allow any resources during competition, except for a single sheet of paper with notes (written/typed/double-sided etc.) and a non graphing calculator.

Personal resources for studying prior to the competition are not restricted. You should have some sort of Meteorology textbook that has information about all three topics, so you can use it even after the topic changes. Other, more specific and advanced textbooks can also be useful to experienced participants. A useful tactic for studying is looking up topics on Google to get familiar with some subjects before going more specific. Wikipedia is also useful for this purpose.

Making Your Note Sheet
For information about making a note sheet, please see here.

Test Format
A Meteorology test usually is in the form of a written test or a PowerPoint with slides on it. Occasionally, a test may come in the form of stations that each team rotates between. In the written test, it is generally a good idea to split it if possible, so each person has less work to do, and you can spend time reviewing later on. Also, if time is a tiebreaker, that can be used to your advantage. Unfortunately, in the other formats, this cannot be done, but all other teams have the same disadvantage. As long as you are able to answer all of the questions in an educated fashion, your prospects are pretty bright.

Links

 * University of Illinois Meteorology Guide
 * NOAA Weather Education
 * JetStream Online School for Meteorology