John Horel, Professor

jhorel@met.utah.edu

Registration Information: class number 12907

MWF 9:40-10:30AM. INSCC 490

This course investigates how mountains help to control the weather and climate throughout the western United States. What causes the snow in the Wasatch Mountains to be “the greatest snow on earth”? How can the best places for paragliding and wind surfing be determined? Can clouds be used to estimate winds and stability over nearby mountain peaks? What are some of the hazardous weather conditions that could have affected the Olympics? Lectures, short field trips, interactive computer assignments, and the excellent text Mountain Weather by C. David Whiteman will be used to answer these and many other questions.

There are no prerequisites for the course. This class satisfies the Quantitative Intensive requirement. Classes are held in the computer laboratory of the Department of Meteorology located in the INSCC building. The classroom limits enrollment to no more than 30 students. Students will participate in a 1-day field project in the nearby Wasatch Mountains.

Material covered in this course is applicable to many other disciplines. Applications of mountain meteorology are presented to related subjects such as air pollution, wind energy, road weather, avalanches, and fire weather. The human physiological response to high altitude and cold temperature are discussed.

For further information, contact John Horel (jhore@met.utah.edu) or visit the department and course web page at http://www.met.utah.edu.