Illinois Coaching Seminar: Section B Meteorology

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Illinois Coaching Seminar Section B Meteorology

• Michael Spinar
• Event Supervisor

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Outline

• Meteorology Event Description
• Overview
• Changes from Last Year
• Summary of the Rules
• Test-making/Test Taking Philosophies
• Sample Questions from Previous Exams
• Study tips for Students and Coaches

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Meteorology Event Description

• The topic for the 2008 event is Severe Storms
• Subtopics may include
• A general knowledge of basic weather including
  air masses, fronts, cyclones, and anticyclones,
  weather maps, weather stations, isopleths,
  meteograms, and composition/structure of the
  atmosphere
• Weather radar, Doppler radar, infrared and
  visible satellite water vapor images
• Global circulation patterns
• Thunderstorms all types
• Mid-Latitude Cyclones
• Tornadoes
• Hurricanes
• Saffir-Simpson, Fujita E-Fujita Scales
• Lightning (sprites and jets etc.), hail and other
  associated storm hazards
• Storm tracks across North America

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Meteorology Rule Changes from 2007

• Teams are permitted the use of
• One 8.5 x 11 sheet of notes, both front and
  back.
• Notes may include
• Graphics
• Tables
• Text
• Formulas
• Notes may be single- or double-spaced, printed by
  machine or hand-drawn.

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Meteorology Rule Changes from 2007

• A minimum of 5 pre-identified questions will be
  used as tie-breakers.

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Making the Exam

• Work from Topics List on Rules Sheet
• Divide questions into Subject/Skill Areas

Subject Areas
Skill Areas

• Interpreting Radar Imagery
• Performing Hand Calculations
• Reading Weather Maps
• Reading Graphs

• Tornadoes
• Lightning
• Hurricanes

• Brainstorm questions for each category.

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Making the Exam

• After coming up with Sample Questions

• Rank order by Difficulty

Regional
State
Easy/Medium
Medium/Hard

• Select enough questions to fill time and choose 5
  tiebreaker questions.

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Before the Exam

• Students should write down whatever notes they
  think they will need for the exam.
• Hint Make it legible!
• Focus on the topics on the event rules sheet!
• Be prepared for different skills to be tested
  (e.g., reading graphs)
• Make sure students understand how to read weather
  maps, including what the symbols and contours
  mean.

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Exam Guidelines

• Coaches and parents will NOT be allowed in the
  room during the event.
• Supervisors will explain the rules and answer any
  questions that need clarification.
• Teams should remember to check all the pages of
  the test for the event. Questions will be found
  on BOTH the front and back side of a sheet.
• At least for the state exam, there should be
  plenty of time to complete the event.
• Any students showing up late will be allowed to
  participate until the event ends.
• If there is extra time after a team finishes, it
  is seriously recommended that they double-check
  their work!

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Resources - Textbooks

• Meteorology Today An Introduction to Weather,
  Climate, and the Environment by C. Donald Ahrens.
• Meteorology The Atmosphere and the Science of
  Weather by Joseph M. Moran and Michael D. Morgan.
• Any other textbooks suitable for a college
  INTRODUCTORY meteorology class.

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Resources Web Pages
DataSteme http//www.ametsoc.org/dstreme/
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Resources Web Pages

• Weather 2010
• http//ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/home.rxml

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Resources Web Pages

• COMET Program
• http//www.meted.ucar.edu/comm_k12.htm

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Sample Questions from Previous Exams
The graph below shows the number of tornadoes
that occur, on average, each month in Illinois,
along with the number that actually occurred.
Given that information, answer the following
questions

• Which month on average has the least number of
  tornadoes?
• How many more tornadoes occurred in May 2003 than
  average?

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Sample Questions from Previous Exams
Given the following station model plot of winds
at 5.5 kilometers (18,000 feet) above sea level,
read the station plots and circle the one with
the strongest wind.
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Sample Questions from Previous Exams
What part of the storm below would you expect to
have the largest hail? (Please circle the correct
arrow!)
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Sample Questions from Previous Exams

• At home, you tune into your local news channel.
  The weatherman tells you that the following
  places have warnings in effect
• International Falls, MN, has a BLIZZARD
  WARNING.
• Oklahoma City, OK, has a SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
  WARNING.
• Miami, FL, has a TROPICAL STORM WARNING.
• Below is a list of weather events that are
  currently happening. In the space to the left of
  each statement, match the event with the correct
  state based only on what you know from the
  warnings listed above. Write MN if the event
  is occurring in Minnesota, OK for Oklahoma,
  FL for Florida, or NONE if it applies to none
  of the states above. Choose the best answer.
• _____ Winds are 58 mph or higher OR there is hail
  ¾ of an inch in diameter (or larger)
• _____ 3 inches of rain are expected in the next 6
  hours.
• _____ Snow and/or blowing snow is reducing
  visibility to ¼ mile or less for 3
• hours or longer.

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Sample Questions from Previous Exams
You and your friends, Shawna and Tim, are at home
one Tuesday night during a thunderstorm, when
lightning strikes. You hear the thunder 5 seconds
after the lightning strike, Shawna hears it after
10 seconds, and Tim hears it after 7 seconds. If
all of you live in the locations below, circle
the letter of the location where the lightning
struck. For this problem, assume everyone saw the
light from the lightning strike instantaneously.
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Sample Questions from Previous Exams
If you were to cut open a large hailstone, you
would typically find a series of rings. Some of
these rings are an opaque, milky color, while
others are more transparent.
The milky layers form in colder areas of the
storm, where small water droplets freeze quickly
to the stone, trapping a lot of air inside
them. True False
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Questions?