Spring 2006 200-315pm 104 Peabody
Home page:  http://www.unc.edu/courses/2006spring/geog/011/001/www/

Professor: C. E. Konrad                       T.A. Lindsay Berk                           T.A.:  Fan Chen
Office: 305 Saunders Hall                       304 Saunders Hall                            304 Saunders Hall
Office Hours: 1-2pm  TTh                      1230-130pm MW                            Available via e-mail
e-mail: konrad@unc.edu                         berk@email.unc.edu                         fanc@email.unc.edu
Home page link                                      Home page link                                 Home page link

This course describes the nature and causes of weather and its climatology (i.e. when, where, how frequently).  During the first half of the semester, atmospheric concepts will be introduced and discussed in terms of the processes and patterns that are typically observed in the earth’s atmosphere, particularly over North Carolina and the United States.  These discussions will provide the background for the second half of the semester, in which we will study extreme weather events:

    1.  Ice storms
    2.  Snow storms
    3.  Cold air outbreaks
    4.  Tornadoes
    5.  Heat waves
    6.  Flooding
    7.  Droughts
    8.  Hurricanes 

Each of these weather events will be described in terms of the following:

    1. The processes and patterns that produce the event, in other words, the “recipes” for making the event.
    2.  The morphology or structure of the weather entity.
    3.  The temporal and spatial scale of the event i.e. its duration and size.
    4.  The climatology: (a) where it typically occurs (i.e. geographical distribution); (b) when it typically occurs (i.e. time of day and, season); and (c) how frequently it  occurs (i.e. recurrence interval).

We will also address environmental issues (e.g. greenhouse warming and air pollution) that involve the atmosphere.

• You are responsible for all lecture material and information from selected web resources
• Class lectures are being revised this semester; they will provide information (text and graphics) as well as numerous links to other resources. It is up to you to synthesize this information and gain the knowledge
• Portions of the lecture material are not covered in the text, so regular attendance is strongly recommended.

Forecasting Game                     10 %
Test 1 (2/9)                              30 %
Test 2 (3/23)                            30 %
Final Exam (5/9 @8am)           30 %
                                              _____
Total                                        100 %

• The tests will consist of objective style questions (e.g. multiple choice, matching, true-false).
• If an exam is missed (e.g. due to illness, family emergency), students will be allowed a make-up exam if a verifiable excuse is presented within five days.

In March and April, you will submit weather forecasts to our web site.  You will forecast the low and high temperature as well as the precipitation  (e.g. 1 = no precipitation or trace, 2 = .01 –0.25", 3 = .26-.50", 4 = >.50") for the next day (see below).  You will key in the forecast information onto a form provided on our forecast web page (see link below).  You can make your forecast anytime before 12 midnight at any place where you have web access.  You can even amend your forecast (i.e. if you submit a second forecast during the day, it will simply be written over the old forecast).

After the forecast day, each student's forecast will be scored.  These scores along with the class statistics can be found by going the weather forecasting game link

If you beat the professor, you will get 3 pts added to a test grade
If you beat the Lindsay. another 3 pts will be added  to a test grade
If you beat the Fan. another 3 pts will be added to a test grade

Link to the Weather Forecasting Game

National Weather Service Forecast

WRAL Forecast

Weather discussions from Raleigh National Weather Service

National Hurricane Center