Help me please.

[David Draun]

I have to write a 10 page research paper for advanced synoptic meteorology due in December. I have no clue what topic I want since I love the mesoscale alpha and beta stuff so much. I'm doing good in the class otherwise. Maybe you guys can give me some direction on what to write about. It has to be in the realm of mid-latitude cyclones, synoptic features, and must have some quasi-geostrophic theory in it as well.

 

[cdcollura]

Good day,

I think a great topic for this will be how boundaries (or shear axes) affect storm development, such as in the warm sector. I am quite intrigued by the intersection of such meso-scale boundaries, such as a stationary / warm front and dryline.

Just an idea...

 

[Derek Weston]

Please figure out why some uni-directional(ish) shear days go nuts with tornadoes and why some seem to fizzle out. (in a situation where you have a tornado supporting environment)

Lots of variables to account for... but these sorts of situations still seem to stump quite a few chasers, at times. (or just me)

 

[Jared Farrer]

Please figure out why some uni-directional(ish) shear days go nuts with tornadoes and why some seem to fizzle out. (in a situation where you have a tornado supporting environment)

Lots of variables to account for... but these sorts of situations still seem to stump quite a few chasers, at times. (or just me)

Indeed, that would be a good topic to tackle. Its hard to really assess shear looking at model data and 925, 850, 700, 500, 300, ect. But easier to assess shear based on Skew-t and VWP data. Sometimes the subtle wind changes that you see on model data really jump out at you on skew-t's and the like. Which can help you realize the actual potential in the atmosphere for rotation. And even in true unidirectional situations shear boundrys and interactions can help up the enviromental SRH by a great deal and help things go nuts!

 

[David Draun]

Thanks, guys. Those are all great topics, but they all sound to mesoscale-ish, especially the stuff about boundary interactions. I can't talk about thunderstorms or tornadoes unless I talk about synoptic influences for them, and then will I be able to talk for 10 pages? If anything they give me some direction as to what I might write about. My paper must include or pertain to one or some of the following synoptic variables/concepts.

QG-theory.
Thermal Gradients.
Vorticity Advection
Omega/Pressure Tendency Equations
Jet streak circuations, both thermally direct/indirect.
Q-vectors
Trenberth
Thermal wind
Frontogenesis and Frontolysis

Hmm, I already know I'm gonna have some issues making this SOB 10 pages.

Good ideas, keep them coming.

 

[Aaron Kennedy]

Hmm, I already know I'm gonna have some issues making this SOB 10 pages.

Look for the relevant journal articles and you'll be good. Do you have the Bluestein synoptic books? They cover this stuff in detail.

One other word of advice... don't worry about the page limit. With figures, I'm sure you'll approach that length anyway.

One idea: formation of troughs in the lee of mountains. This will include a few of your items above and is relevant to chasing

 

[Robert Edmonds]

Although I've always worked in physics/astro, I am playing with making a weather model currently. From the messing around, I would be led to believe that synoptic forecasting models would have been the first to be produced, due to the limits created by grid resolution. So you could look into the development of synoptic computer models... Maybe something to give an idea, good luck

 

[mikegeukes]

Here is the link to the AMS Online and Archive Journals:
http://ams.allenpress.com/perlserv/?request=get-archive

NWA:
http://www.nwas.org/committees/publications/

Mike

 

[David Draun]

Yes, I'm supposed to use journal articles and informative webpages for the paper. My campus library has tons of them in the archives. Thank you all for the ideas. I'm writing my prospectus now.

 

[John Farley]

I've seen a lot of discussion here in the past about the relative advantages of warm fronts, cold fronts, and drylines for producing good chase days. So perhaps you could do something on the conditions under which each of these types of boundaries is likely or not likely to produce tornadoes or some other kind of severe weather. I'm not a meteorologist, so don't take me too seriously, but that seems like an approach that might fit the synoptic scale requirement while tying in with your interest in severe weather.

 

[Chris Nuttall]

If you haven't already been doing this in class, you could always do some kind of case study on the Blizzard of 1993. That's just about as textbook of a mid-latitude cyclone as you'll ever find...complete with bomb-cyclogenesis and just about everything else on your list.

 

[Darrin Rasberry]

My top dawg would be to analyze what's discussed already in the first few posts. I've heard of some toying with the idea that 0-0.5km is better than 0-1km and 0-3km in predicting tornadoes.

Another idea is to analyze problematic map estimations of parameters like CINH, which seem to me to be so locally variable that the uniform numerical methods mapping out CINH from the limited Skew-T data is typically quite wrong. My guess is that really local issues ("sub-sub-synoptic," if you will) effect the given or predicted values significantly, like a much hotter area through relatively clear skies in an otherwise cloudier atmosphere, specific lift mechanisms that aren't taken into effect from the numerical modeling, variances in lifting strength, etc. Would be interesting to see a full study on this, maybe on cases like June 5th or the northern half of the May 29th forecast area etc.

 

[Darrin Rasberry]

Another interesting thought: contrast weather patterns in the Australian storm season vs. the U.S./Canada storm season.

 

[David Draun]

Another interesting thought: contrast weather patterns in the Australian storm season vs. the U.S./Canada storm season.

That might be interesting there. A Southern Hemisphere storm pattern is a lot different from the N.H. with less continental surface area. Smaller equator to pole thermal gradients will result in a slower jet stream, wouldn't in the Southern Hemisphere, wouldn't it?

 

[David Wolfson]

The Plains' low-level jet feature has always intrigued me. The synoptic and quasi-geostrophic tie-in is in how a primarily east-west thermal gradient with diurnal influence can result in such a strong and persistent north-south feature with the right topography and GoM energy source.