Weather and Precipitation Discussion

The desired learning outcomes for chapter 6 on atmospheric moisture include the following: Define humidity and relative humidity, and explain dew point temperature and saturation. This assignment is intended to assist students in demonstrating these learning outcomes.

This week we build upon the weather concepts we have already studied. Most of our focus thus far has been on factors that influence weather, including latitude, insolation, and land/water contrasts. Our study of weather and climate becomes more complex, however, as we add on to what we have already learned by exploring wind and pressure patterns and atmospheric moisture.

In our discussion this week, let’s try to make some sense of what we have learned about the weather thus far by looking at our own local weather. Please visit Weather for You (链接到外部网站。) to obtain information for the city and state (or country) of your choice. In the “Get Weather” bar, type in your chosen city and state/country and click “Get Weather”. View the “Local Info” section for city-specific weather information and answer the following questions:

What is the current temperature in this location? What temperature is listed where it reads, “Feels like” (located just under the current temperature)? Does the website say the temperature feels warmer or cooler than the actual temperature, and if so, why (is there a heat index or a wind chill)?
Is precipitation expected over the next 2-3 days? If so, what type (e.g. rain, sleet, snow, etc.)? What is the likelihood of precipitation?
What is the relative humidity (appears as “humidity” and is shown as a percentage)? What does this relative humidity mean (here you will not want to provide a definition of relative humidity but rather what does the specific RH for your chosen city mean), and what does the RH in this specific place tell us about the current water vapor content and whether or not precipitation is likely?
What is the current dew point temperature? What does this dew point temperature mean (what does the DP temperature mean as it currently stands in your chosen city), and what does it tell us about the likelihood of precipitation in this location?
Is the barometer rising, falling, or steady? Recall that the barometer measures air pressure. What does the current pressure trend indicate about the likelihood of precipitation?
All information must be in your own words. If a student’s post contains word for word information from another source (including the instructor’s sample!), points will be deducted from the student’s assignment score.

In your response post, share what you learned about the weather in the city you chose. Share also what new information you learned from the information your classmate posted. Be sure to respond to a student who wrote about a city other than the one you wrote about!

Please see my sample posts for clarification. I look forward to learning from your posts about the weather in all different parts of the world!

Contingency Plan for DSPS Students: For students that encounter difficulty reading the external site, please reach out to DSPS  for assistance and/or contact me for an alternative assignment.