Meteorology 3000- Mountain Weather and Climate

Instructor- John Horel

Office Hours: INSCC 483. MWF 10:45-11:35.
Phone: 581-7091
Email: John Horel

Class Hours: MWF 10:45-11:35AM . Substantial additional time outside of the class is expected to complete reading and other assignments. Small field projects/trips will be undertaken on 1-2 Saturdays.

Classroom: 490 INSCC

Prerequisites: None.

Grading: The course grade will be determined from class participation and assignments (35%), and 3 quizzes (40%), and final (25%).

Text: Mountain Meteorology by C. David Whiteman.

Course Outline: (Tentative schedule by week)

Week

1:Course Overview. Reading Assignment: Chapters 1 and 2
2:Mountain Climates. Climates of the Wasatch. Reading Assignment: Chapter 3 and 4.1-4.2. No class Wednesday August 27.
3: No class Monday, Sept 1. Scales of motion; composition; vertical structure. Reading Assignment: rest of Chapter 4.
4: Quiz 1. Sept. 12. Boundary layer and surface energy budget. The VTMX and Peter Sinks Experiments. Reading Assignment: Chapters 5 and 6.
5: Pressure, Winds, Fronts. Evolution of Intermountain Storms. Reading Assignment: Chapter 7.
6: Clouds. Understanding Weather Changes by Watching Clouds. Reading Assignment: Chapters 8 and 9.
7: No class Friday, Oct 2. Precipitation. Orographic storms and Great Salt Lake effect snowstorms. Reading Assignment: Chapter 10.
8: Quiz 2. Oct. 10. Terrain-forced flows. Winds in northern Utah. Utah canyon wind storms. Reading Assignment: Chapter 11.
9: Diurnal Mountain Winds. Local drainage circulations. Reading Assignment: Chapter 12.
10: Air Pollution. Air Quality in the Salt Lake Basin. Reading Assignment: Chapter 13.
11: Fire Weather. Reading Assignment: TBD. Fire Weather lecture Great Salt Lake lecture
12: Quiz 3. Nov. 17. Physiological Effects of High Altitude. Reading Assignment: TBD.
13: Snowpack. Physics of skiing. Reading Assignment: TBD
14: Avalanches. No class Friday Nov. 29. Reading Assignment: TBD
15: Mountain Road Weather. Reading Assignment: TBD
16: Review
17: Final Exam. Dec. 12 10:30AM. Friday.