The November 1998 storm was an intense extratropical cyclone that produced strong winds and blizzard conditions in the upper midwest, and severe weather in the southern plains and Mississippi valley. It was characterized by rapid development of the surface low with deepening rates on the order of 11 hPa/6 hr. In addition, the storm also had an intense jetstream and an upper level front, and the surface based fronts had strong temperature gradients and windshifts. Because of its intensity and its classical features, it is excellent case for illustrating many important concepts on storm structure and development. Below are a few sample lab exercises aimed at the student majoring in atmospheric sciences. For those who are interested in lab exercises aimed at the introductory level, the first three labs, general, frontal and cloud and precipitation structures, can be tailored for introductory students. The specific lab topics are:

• General Structure
• Frontal Structure
• Cloud and Precipitation Structure
• Upper level fronts
• Q-G forcing of upward motion

We will be using GARP to display the imagery, observations and gridded fields. The instructions are written assuming some familiarity with GARP. For those participants with no prior experience with GARP, there will be a tutorial and extra assistance will be given.

Links Back to:

• University of Washington Case Study Homepage
• COMET Case Study Homepage
• UNIDATA June 2000 Workshop

This work is sponsored by the National Science Foundation Department of Undergraduate Education through grant number 9554957.

For more information, contact Lynn McMurdie at Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, Box 351640, Seattle, WA 98195-1640; (phone)206-685-9405 mcmurdie@atmos.washington.edu (Updated: 25 July 2000)