Core Meteorology: Weather

30 minutes, Produced in 2008

An exciting exploration of the principles behind tornadoes, hurricanes, severe droughts, and other extreme weather phenomena.

Meteorology, once the simple study of atmospheric events ... Storms ... hurricanes ... tornadoes ... And temperature changes, has grown in the 21st century to include such disciplines as atmospheric chemistry and physics, climatology and global warming.
This program presents the principles of weather dynamics. It shows how weather conditions are measured ... How computer models are used to predict the weather ... The special role of moisture in producing weather phenomena ... And finally, the impact of hazardous weather.

CHAPTERS:

• Introduction: What is Weather - Six weather conditions define what is happening in the lower atmosphere at any particular time and place. They are 1) Temperature; 2) Wind; 3) Barometric Pressure; 4) Relative Humidity; 5) Cloud Cover; 6) Precipitation
• Measuring Weather Variables - Weather conditions are continuously measured by satellites, weather balloons and ground weather stations
• What Causes Weather - This chapter shows how differential heating of the Earth's surface and atmosphere and the spinning of the Earth on its axis produces weather
• Moisture - Moisture plays a special, role in all of Earth's weather phenomena the most important of which are precipitation and cloud cover
• Weather Forecasting - This chapter shows how meteorologists produce weather forecasts and the three principles of weather predictions are laid out
• Hazardous Weather - This chapter shows how weather extremes have a hazardous impact on ecosystems, human populations and societal infrastructures
• Global Warming and Weather - Global warming or climate change is producing more high impact, hazardous weather events