Learn at JetStream Online School for Weather

The Southern Regional Headquarters of the National Weather Service offers online training for anyone interested in learning more about the weather. According to Stephen Cooper, the Regional Deputy Director, "This site is designed to help educators, emergency managers, or anyone interested in learning about weather and weather safety. The information contained in JetStream is arranged by subject; beginning with global and large scale weather patterns followed by lessons on air masses, wind patterns, cloud formations, thunderstorms, lightning, hail, damaging winds, tornadoes, tropical storms, cyclones and flooding. Interspersed in JetStream are "Learning Lessons" which can be used to enhance the educational experience. You are free to use the materials in any manner you wish."

If you click on Topic Matrix, you get the complete listing of subjects you can learn about. They are The Atmosphere, The Ocean, Global Circulations, Synoptic Meteorology, Thunderstorms, Lightning, Tropical Weather, Doppler Radar, Remote Sensing, National Weather Service, Weather on the Web, and an Appendix that includes a glossary, list of acronyms, and a feature that lets you download the files needed to see the web-based files on your local computer.

The Topic Matrix is a study guide providing a likely order for reading and learning about the details in each topic area. There are also Review Questions you can use to test your understanding. There is an online quiz that is "graded" when you submit it.

For example, Synoptic meteorology is looking at a larger portion of geography, say 620 miles out to 1,500 miles, at a point in time. This is the big picture map that displays the warm and cold fronts and outlines the areas of pressure systems, and pinpoints temperatures at various location. There is a lesson about the types of clouds: Cirrus, Nimbus, Cumulus, and Stratus. Cirrus clouds appear when weather conditions are fair. Nimbus clouds indicate precipitation. Cumulus clouds indicate air is being lifted higher in the atmosphere. Stratus clouds develop close to the ground, sometimes at the ground, and color the sky a solid gray color. Of course, the clouds types are interconnected and the layer of atmosphere they occupy has specific implications. If you understand the clouds you see, you can predict some of the changing weather in your area.

The acronyms will help you understand the abbreviations used by meteorologists and in the reports you read. If you read 1020.4 MB, that is the measure of air pressure in millibars. Sites like Weather Network have automated conversion utilities that you can use to find out that 1020.4 MB is 30.24 inches of mercury on the barometer. The measurements say the same thing, but you may be more accustomed to hearing one or the other.

The Glossary is a great tool to build your vocabulary of weather related terms. For example, a Lake-Effect Snow Squall indicates: "A local, intense, narrow band of moderate to heavy snow squall that can extend long distances inland. It may persist for many hours. It may also be accompanied by strong, gusty, surface winds and possibly lightning. Accumulations can be 6" or more in 12 hours."

JetStream explains how the prime meridian and the world clock are used in tracking weather patterns. The military calls it Zulu time (Z). Other people call it Universal Time Coordinate (UTC). When the longitude line running through Greenwich, England became 0º and the prime meridian, it also became the starting point of time on the world clock. The circumference of the earth was divided equally at 15º increments which equaled 1 hour of time, and 24 time zones were created. UTC is used for time offsets, hours different from the prime meridian. New York City is -5 UTC, that is 5 hours earlier than prime meridian. Los Angeles is -8 UTC. Berlin is +1 UTC, that is 1 hour later than prime meridian. Where +12 UTC and -12 UTC meet in the International Date Line. Overlaying a map of the world with the time zones allows meteorologists to talk about the weather patterns and forecasts in terms of number of hours and not time on a wall clock.

The National Weather Services has provided a great tool for educators, students, and amateur meteorologists to learn more about our weather.

Sources
JetStream - Online School for Weather, http://www.srh.weather.gov/srh/jetstream/index.htm
Weather Network, http://www.theweathernetwork.com/conversions/
World Time Zones Map, http://www.srh.weather.gov/srh/jetstream/synoptic/timezones.htm