Chapter 3: Weather Map

•Station Model and Weather Maps

• Pressure as a Vertical Coordinate
• Constant Pressure Maps
• Cross Sections ESS124
Prof. Jin-
Jin-Yi Yu
 Weather Maps
p
• Many variables are needed
to described
d ib d weather
h
conditions.

• Local weathers are affected

by weather pattern.
Î We need to see all the
numbers describing
weathers at many locations.
Î We need weather maps.

• “A picture is worth a
(from Understanding Weather & Climate) thousand words”.

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Prof. Jin-
Jin-Yi Yu
 The Station Model
‰ Meteorologists
g need a wayy to
condense all the numbers
describing the current weather
at a location into a compact
diagram that takes up as little
space as possible on a weather
map.

‰ This compressed
p geographical
g g p
(from Meteorology: Understanding the Atmosphere)
weather report is called a
station model.

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Prof. Jin-
Jin-Yi Yu
 Weather Map on 7/7/2005

(from Meteorology: Understanding the Atmosphere) ESS124

Prof. Jin-
Jin-Yi Yu
 Isobar

• It is useful to examine horizontal pressure differences across space.

• Pressure maps depict isobars, lines of equal pressure.
• Through analysis of isobaric charts, pressure gradients are
apparent.
• Steep (weak) pressure gradients are indicated by closely (widely)
spaced isobars. ESS124
Prof. Jin-
Jin-Yi Yu
The Station Model: Cloudiness

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(from Meteorology: Understanding the Atmosphere) Prof. Jin-
Jin-Yi Yu
 The Station Model: Wind
Wind speed is indicated to the right
(Northeasterly wind) (left) side of the coming wind vector
in the Northern (Southern)
Hemisphere
p

50
5
10
15
ƒ Wind speeds are indicated in units of “knot”
knot .
ƒ 1 international knot
= 1 nautical mile per hour (exactly),
= 1.852 kilometer pper hour ((exactly),
y),
= 0.514 meters per second,
= 1.15077945 miles per hour ESS124
Prof. Jin-
Jin-Yi Yu
(approximately)
 The Station Model: Pressure
‰ The pressure value shown is
the measured atmospheric
pressure adjusted to sea level.

‰ The units used are “mb”.

mb .

‰ To save space, the “thousand”

and the “hundred”
hundred values,
values and
the decimal point are dropped.
Î So “138” means 1013.8 mb

To decode the value of pressure on the station model, add a 9 if the

first number is 6,
6 7,
7 8,
8 or 9; otherwise add a 10.
10
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Prof. Jin-
Jin-Yi Yu
Pressure Correction for Elevation

• Pressure decreases with height.

• Recordingg actual pressures
p mayy be misleadingg as a result.
• All recording stations are reduced to sea level pressure
equivalents to facilitate horizontal comparisons.
• Near the surface, the pressure decreases about 100mb by
moving 1km higher in elevation. ESS124
Prof. Jin-
Jin-Yi Yu
The Station Model: Pressure Tendency

‰ The change in surface

pressure in the past three
hours is plotted numerically
and graphically on the lower
right of the station model.

The pressure rose and then fell over the past three hours, a total
change of 0.3 mb.
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Prof. Jin-
Jin-Yi Yu
The Station Model: Dew Point Temperature

‰ Dew point temperature (in

united of ºF if reported in the
US) indicates the moisture
content.
‰ A higher value indicates a
larger amount of moisture.

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Prof. Jin-
Jin-Yi Yu
The Station Model: Significant Weather

• There
Th are over a hundred
h d d
symbols for various weather
conditions.
• If no symbol is plotted, no
significant weather condition is
occurring
i att the
th station.
t ti

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Prof. Jin-
Jin-Yi Yu
 Contour Lines on Weather Maps

isotherm

isobar isodrosotherm

• Meteorologists draw lines connecting points on weather maps with the same values of
temperature (isotherm), pressure (isobar), dewpoint temperature (isodrosotherm),
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or
other quantities to simply interpretation of data on the maps. Prof. Jin-
Jin-Yi Yu
 Pressure As a Vertical Coordinate
• Each altitude above a point on the
Earth’s surface has a unique value of
pressure.
• Pressure can be easily substituted for
altitude as a coordinate to specify
locations in the vertical.
• Rawinsondes determine the height
of the instrument above Earth’s
surface by measuring pressure.
• Because aircraft fly on constant pressure surfaces, upper air weather maps,
fi usedd extensively
first i l during
d i World
W ld War
W II,II traditionally
di i ll have
h been
b plotted
l d on
constant pressure surface.
• Fluid dynamics
y theories and equations
q that explain
p atmospheric
p motions are
often in a more concise forms when they use pressure as a vertical coordinate.
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Prof. Jin-
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Pressure Surface
• A pressure surface is a surface
above the ground where the pressure
has a specific value, such as 700mb.
• Constant pressure surfaces slope
downward from the warm to the
cold side.
side
• Since the atmosphere in the polar
regions is cold and the tropical
atmosphere is cold, all pressure
surfaces in the troposphere slope
downward from the tropics to the
polar regions.

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Prof. Jin-
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 Height (Pressure) Map at a Constant Pressure (Height)
• Since the atmosphere in the polar
regions is cold and the tropical
atmosphere is warm, all pressure
surfaces in the troposphere slope
downward from the tropics to the
polar regions.
• The pressure information on a
At 500mb constant altitude allow us to visualize
where high- and low-pressure centers
are located.
• The height information on a constant
pressure surface convey the same
information.
• The intensity of the pressure (or
height) gradients allow us to infer the
At 5700m strength of the winds. ESS124
Prof. Jin-
Jin-Yi Yu
 Upper-Level Weather Maps

• Meteorologists use height maps at constant pressure levels to

describe weather conditions in the upper atmosphere
atmosphere.
• On constant pressure maps, we can infer a strong pressure gradient
exists where a strong height gradient exists.
• Height maximum Î high pressure.
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• Height minimum Î low pressure. Prof. Jin-
Jin-Yi Yu
Station Model in Upper-
Upper-Level Weather Maps

Upper-Level Station Model

Decameter = a metric unit of length

equall to
t 10 meters.
t

Surface Station Model

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Prof. Jin-
Jin-Yi Yu
 Other Upper-
Upper-Level Weather Maps

• 850mb: to identify fronts

• 700mb: intersects many clouds; moisture information is important

• 500mb: used to determine the location of short waves and long

waves associated with the ridges and troughs in the flow pattern.
Meteorologists examine “vorticity” (i.e. rotation of air) on this
pressure level.

• 300, 250, and 200mb: near the top of the troposphere or the lower
stratosphere; these maps are used to identify the location of
jetsreams that steer the movements of mid-latitude
mid latitude storms.
storms
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Prof. Jin-
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 Example: A 850mb Weather Map

Stations whose
pressure are less
l
than (i.e. above)
850mb

• The 850mb map is particularly useful to identify the location of fronts.

• In this example, a low-level jet is seen flowing parallel to the cold front
extending from New Mexico to Wisconsin. ESS124
Prof. Jin-
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 Example: A 300mb Weather Map

j
jetstreaks

i t h
isotachs

• The 850mb map is particularly useful to identify the location of jetsreams.

• In this example, a jetstream flows northeastward from the west cost of the
US, into the Great Lakes, and to the Atlantic Coast of Canada. ESS124
Prof. Jin-
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 Example: 500mb Weather Map

• The 500mb surface, which is in the center of the troposphere, is typically

the altitude meteorologists use to examine vorticity pattern.
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 Vorticity
y
• Vorticity is the tendency for elements of the fluid to
"spin
spin.“.
• Vorticity can be related to the amount of “circulation”
or "rotation"
" i " ((or more strictly,
i l theh local
l l angularl rate
of rotation) in a fluid.
• Definition:
Absolute Vorticity Î

Relative Vorticity Î

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Three Sources of Vorticity

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Prof. Jin-
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 Vorticity-Related Flow Patterns
Shear Vorticity Curvature Vorticity

Even straight-line motion may have vorticity if

the speed changes normal to the flow axis.

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(a) 300mb isotachs; (b) 300mb geopotential hights Prof. Jin-
Jin-Yi Yu