Meteorology

Meteorology
Type	Earth Science
Category	Study
Description	Participants will use scientific process skills involving qualitative and quantitative analyses to demonstrate an understanding of the factors that contribute, cause and influence Severe Weather and Storms.
Event Information
Participants	2
Approx. Time	50 minutes
Allowed Resources	One Binder Two Class III Calculators
Rotates	No, rotates topics only
First Appearance	2003
Latest Appearance	2024
Forum Threads
2024 2023 2022 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009
Question Marathon Threads
2024 2023 2022 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
Official Resources
Website	www.soinc.org/meteorology-b
Division B Results
1st Paul J. Gelinas Junior High School 2nd Longfellow Middle School 3rd Sierra Vista High School

Meteorology is a current weather and climate-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. Basic knowledge of fronts and air systems, among other common Meteorology topics, is suggested for every year, although the topic rotates every year between three topics. 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 2021, each team is allowed to bring two front-back note sheets and 2 calculators of any type to the competition.

Event Rotation

The focus of Meteorology rotates between three topics (everyday weather, severe storms, and climate), each of which spends one year as the focus before being replaced by the next topic in the rotation.

Season	Topic
2024	Severe Storms
2023	Everyday Weather
2022	Climate
2021	Severe Storms
2020	Severe Storms
2019	Everyday Weather
2018	Climate
2017	Severe Storms
2016	Everyday Weather
2015	Climate
2014	Severe Storms
2013	Everyday Weather
2012	Climate

Basic Types of Clouds

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-, which means "high". 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 the 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-, which means "curl". 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 a large vertical extent, covering multiple altitudes (high, medium, low) at a time.

• (Poor weather) 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 the 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#The Atmosphere and Meteorology/Climate#Earth's Atmosphere.

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 patterns occur.

Instruments and Diagrams

For more information about meteorological instruments and diagrams, see Meteorology/Everyday Weather#Weather Technology.

Event Information

Resources

The event allows two double-sided sheets of paper with notes (written/typed etc.) and two stand-alone calculators of any type.

Personal resources for studying prior to the competition are not restricted. Participants should have some sort of Meteorology textbook that has information about all three topics, so it can be used 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.

Participants can make their note sheets using OneNote (which can fit a lot of information on one page) or similar programs. They should have some diagrams on the Coriolis Effect, the layers of the atmosphere, the types of clouds, classification systems, and other things they find useful.

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 time can be spent reviewing later on. Also, if time is a tiebreaker, this can be used to the competitors' advantage. As long as students are able to answer all of the questions in an educated fashion, their prospects are pretty bright.

Links

Supplementary Pages

Everyday Weather: Everyday Weather Notes, EpicFailOlympian's Everyday Weather Notes

Severe Storms: Thunderstorms, Hurricanes, Winter Storms, Mid-Latitude Cyclones, Atmospheric Rivers

Climate: Climate Notes, EpicFailOlympian's Climate Notes

External Links

University of Illinois Meteorology Guide

NOAA Weather Education

JetStream Online School for Meteorology