GEOGRAPHY 111

Weather and Climate

North Carolina's Weather

Spring Semester: 2008

P. J. Robinson

News & Notes:

An On-line MetEd Course NC Atlas link State Climate Office link

CLASS SCHEDULE (Preliminary)

Class	Date	Topic	Text
1	Jan 09	Understanding Weather	1
2	11	Forecast Types	1
3	14	NC Weather Basics	App A.
4	16	Observations	2
5	18	Sunshine and Radiation	2
6	21	No class- MLK Day	2
7	23	The Greenhouse Effect	--
8	25	Quiz 1	3
9	28	Temperature	3
10	30	Applications of temperature information	3
11	Feb 01	Hydrology Video: Catchment Studies	3
12	04	Evaporation	4
13	06	Humidity in the atmosphere	4
14	08	Clouds (type)	--
15	11	Clouds formation	--
16	13	Precipitation (formation)	4
17	15	Precipitation (distribution)	--
18	18	Quiz 2	4
19	20	Winds & Pressure	4
20	22	General Circulation	5
21	25	Tropical Weather	5
22	27	Mid-latitude weather	--
23	29	Air Masses	5
24	Mar 03	Extratropical cyclones	5
25	05	Quiz 3	--
26	07	MLCs	6
--	10-14	No Classes - Spring Break	--
27	17	Hazardous Weather	7
28	19	Hurricanes	7
--	21	No class - Good Friday	--
29	24	Hurricane Video	7
30	26	Tornados
31	28	Winter Weather
32	31	Other weather hazards
33	April 02	Air Pollution
34	04	NC Weather Synthesis
35	07	Quiz 4
36	09	Floods (& Droughts)
37	11	(Floods &) Droughts
38	14	No class
39	16	Synoptic Forecasts
40	17	Climate Forecasts
41	21	Climate Change
42	23	Climate Change
43	25	Future Weather & Climate

	May 2	FINAL EXAMINATION (12 noon)

Text: Robinson "North Carolina Weather and Climate", (2005) UNC Press

Course Outline:

This course aims to introduce you to the major features of the weather and climate of the planet, with a particular emphasis on conditions in North Carolina. First we shall discuss the physical processes operating to create our temperatures, clouds, winds and rainfall conditions and how they are linked to the rest of the global weather. Next we shall combine all them together to understand the short-term day-to-day weather and its changes. We shall look at both the common, everyday weather and at the more spectacular extreme weather of hurricanes and tornadoes, floods and droughts. On the longer term, we will investigate why the climate changes, how it has changed in the past and how it may change in the future. We shall also discuss, mostly in class, ways in which the weather influences our lives, and how we are in turn altering the weather. We shall explore how we might make better decisions to ensure that we benefit from the opportunities the atmosphere provides.

Requirements

1. Quizzes

4 mid-term (50min each). The top THREE will count (20% each)

Final exam - at university-wide scheduled time (40%)

Exams and quizzes are objective:

You will need to provide a Scantron sheet and a (set of) sharpened pencils for them

You will need your University PID number for identification purposes on the Scantron

Help

Peter Robinson

e-mail: pjr@email.unc.edu

phone: 919-962-3875 (probably NOT a good way)

Office Hours: see me after class to sent up an appointment

Gretchen Tuppy

Stuart Pratt

Notes on using the home page

These are "Lecture notes" which emphasize the situation in North Carolina. They say less about the processes creating weather and climate than does the material in the text. They are generally a summary of material to be presented in class, where we shall discuss both the processes and the results.

My suggestion is that before class you read the home page notes and the related parts of the text. In class you can then concentrate on those parts you found unclear and ensuring that you understand the material. Note-taking is probably important here. Then after the class you can review your notes, the home page and the text to make sure you still remember the processes and the results.