WEATHER 101: Basic Weather Elements, Processes The dry season may be subdivided further into:

and Systems • cool dry season, from December to February; and

• hot dry season, from March to May
Meteorology
• Science that deals with the study of the atmosphere
and its phenomena especially with weather.
An Atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding the Earth
that is held in place by Earth's gravity.

Layers of the Atmosphere:

1. Troposphere (0-12 km) 1ST Set of Weather Elements
 The lowest layer where weather occurs. • Sunshine
 Contains most of the atmosphere’s mass (about • Air Pressure
75-80%). • Wind
 Temperature decreases with altitude. The sun causes all our weather because it heats the Earth
 Ends at the tropopause, which separates it from unevenly.
the stratosphere. The contrast between Earth’s hot parts and cold parts
2. Stratosphere (12-50 km) turns the atmosphere into a powerful engine.
 Contains the ozone layer, which absorbs harmful This engine keeps the cold and warm air moving, thus
UV radiation. makes changes in air pressure.
 Temperature increases with altitude due to Those air pressure changes cause wind.
ozone absorption.
 Jets and weather balloons fly here. Air Pressure
3. Mesosphere (50-85 km) • Weight of the atmosphere pressing down on the earth.
 The coldest layer of the atmosphere. • Measured by a barometer in units called millibars or
 Protects Earth from meteors, which burn up due hectopascals.
to friction. • Changes with altitude
 Temperature decreases with altitude.
4. Thermosphere (85-600 km) Diurnal Variation of Air Pressure
 The hottest layer, with temperatures reaching up • A variation of pressure during one 24-hour period
to 2,500°C due to solar radiation.
 The auroras (Northern & Southern Lights)
occur here.
 Contains the ionosphere, which helps in radio
communication.
5. Exosphere (600 km and beyond) Pressure Gradient Force
 The outermost layer, where the atmosphere • Force which results when there is a difference in
gradually fades into space. pressure across a surface.
 Contains very few molecules, mostly hydrogen • Constitutes one of the main forces acting on the air to
and helium. make it move as wind.
 Satellites orbit in this region. • Largely responsible for the wind circulation.

Weather – is the condition of the atmosphere at a Resulting path of Pressure Gradient Force with
particular place over a short period of time in terms of Coriolis Force acting on it:
temperature, humidity, wind speed, air pressure, cloud
cover, and precipitation (rain, snow, etc.).

Climate – refers to the weather pattern of a place over a

long period of time.
Coriolis Effect: • Higher humidity reduces the effectiveness of sweating
The spinning of the Earth exerts a force on these in cooling the body by reducing the rate of evaporation of
currents of air, making them deflect to the right moisture from the skin.
in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in
the Southern Hemisphere. Temperature
• degree of hotness or coldness of a body or
Pressure Gradient Force with Coriolis and Friction forces environment.
acting on it: • measure of the average kinetic energy or speedof the
WIND Wind - is the movement of air relative to the molecules of matter.
Earth's surface, caused by horizontal and vertical • expressed in degrees of (°C) or (°F)
differences in atmospheric pressure.
Precipitation
Wind speed - is the speed of the weather related air • Any product of condensation of atmospheric water
movement from one place to the next in an outside vapour that falls to the Earth’s surface.
environment.
Wind direction - is reported by the direction from which Common types of precipitation:
it originates. • Rain – Liquid water droplets that fall when
temperatures are above freezing.
Global Wind Patterns • Drizzle – Light rain with very small droplets.
• Also known as the "general circulation” • Snow – Ice crystals that form when temperatures
• The surface winds of each hemisphere are divided into are below freezing.
three wind belts: • Sleet – Frozen raindrops that form when rain
– Polar Easterlies: From passes through a freezing layer of air.
• Freezing Rain – Rain that freezes on contact with
60-90 degrees latitude.
cold surfaces, creating ice.
– Prevailing Westerlies:
• Hail – Balls or lumps of ice that form in strong
From 30-60 degrees latitude (Westerlies).
thunderstorms with updrafts.
– Tropical Easterlies: From
0-30 degrees latitude (Trade Winds).
Visibility
• Measure of the distance at which an object or light can
2nd Set of Weather Elements
be clearly discerned.
• Cloud Cover
• Humidity
Weather Disturbances Rain-Producing Weather Systems
• Temperature
(Philippines)
• Precipitation
• Visibility
Tropical Cyclone (Bagyo)
Rapidly-rotating storm system characterized by:
Cloud
• Low-pressure center
• Visible mass of liquid droplets or frozen crystals
• Strong winds
made of water or various chemicals suspended in
• Spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that
the atmosphere.
produce heavy rain
• Forms over large bodies of relatively warm water.
Cloud Cover
• Derives energy from the evaporation of water from
• Cloud cover significantly influence air and surface
the ocean surface, which ultimately recondenses into
temperatures.
clouds when moist air rises and cools to saturation.
• During the day, clouds reflect incoming sunlight,
preventing a portion of this heat energy from reaching
Tropical Cyclone Classifications:
the Earth’s surface, thereby reducing the day
• Tropical Depression (TD) – maximum sustained winds of
temperature.
45 to 61 kph
• Cloudy nights are generally warmer than clear nights
• Tropical Storm (TS) – maximum sustained winds of 62
because cloud cover reduces the loss of terrestrial
to 117 kph
radiation to space.
• Typhoon (TY) – maximum sustained winds of 118 kph to
219 kph
Humidity
• Super Typhoon (STY) – maximum sustained winds of
• Amount of water vapor in the air.
220 kph or more
• Indicates the likelihood of precipitation, dew, or fog.
The full life of Super Typhoon “Haiyan” (Yolanda): • Active over NCR during May-June & Sep-Oct.
November 3 - 11, 2013 • Mostly cloudy skies with strong thunderstorms &
Maximum Sustained Winds / Gusts: 315 kph / 380 kph lightning.
Average Speed: 34 kph (West to West-Northwest) • More frequent during the afternoon or early evening

Low Pressure Area (LPA) Easterly (Tropical) Wave

- is a region in the atmosphere where the pressure is • an elongated area of relatively low air pressure
lower than the surrounding areas. It is commonly • oriented north to south
associated with cloudy weather, rain, and • moves from east to west across the tropics
thunderstorms. LPAs can develop into tropical • causing areas of cloudiness and thunderstorms.
depressions, storms, or even typhoons if they intensify
over warm ocean waters. Tail-end of Cold Front
• The southern extent of a passing Cold Front
Around a Low Pressure System: over Taiwan or Japan.
• the air gets warm • Producing cool Northeasterly winds with
• becomes lighter precipitation across Eastern Philippines.
• rises • Occurs normally between November and April.
• cools to saturation point
• the water vapor within it condenses to form clouds Sea-breeze (onshore breeze)
• air diverges aloft • Wind from the sea that develops over land near
• winds converge as it blow towards the low pressure the coasts during daytime.
• flow counter-clockwise • Formed by increasing temperature differences
between land and water.
Around a High Pressure System: • Forces cooler air from a high pressure area over
• cold air from above sinks down because it’s heavier the sea to move to a low pressure area inland.
• wind blows away from high pressure
• swirling clockwise Land-breeze (offshore breeze)
• At night, the land cools off faster than the ocean
Buys Ballot's Law: due to differences in their heat capacity.
With one facing the wind, a low pressure center (L) will • The pressure over the water will become lower
be to one's right; and a high pressure center (H) to one's than that of the land, setting up a land-breeze.
left (in the Northern Hemisphere).
Thunderstorm
Monsoons • A type of weather condition derived from a matured
• Major wind systems that seasonally reverse its vertical cloud known as Cumulonimbus (Cb).
direction. • Also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm.
• Caused by difference between annual temperature • A storm that produces lightning and thunder and often
trends over land and sea. heavy rains and string winds.
• Blow from cold toward warm regions: from sea toward • Dangerous (can cause flash flooding, tornadoes and
land (southwest) during summer in Northern Hemisphere other severe weather).
and from land toward sea (northeast) during winter in
Northern Hemisphere. The Life-cycle of a Thunderstorm:
1. TOWERING CUMULUS STAGE (Developing Stage)
Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) • The building block of all thunderstorms is the
• Area encircling the earth near the equator where the thunderstorm cell,
Northeast (NE) and Southeast (SE) trade winds come which has a distinct life-cycle that lasts about 30
together. minutes.
• Appears as a band of clouds, usually thunderstorms, • The Cumulus cloud begins to grow vertically,
that circle globe near the equator. • Responsible for the perhaps to a height
wet and dry seasons in the tropics. of 20,000 feet (6 km).
• Follows the sun in that the position varies seasonally. • Air within the cloud is dominated by updraft
• Moves north in the northern summer and south in the with some turbulent
northern winter. eddies around the edges.

• Active during the month of May through October. 2) MATURE STAGE

 • The storm has considerable depth, often Thermal Lifting
reaching 40,000 to • A “thermal lifting process” in weather refers to
60,000 feet (12 to 18 km). the rising of warm air parcels, also called
• Strong updrafts and downdrafts coexist. “thermals,” due to the heating of the Earth’s
• This is the most dangerous stage when large surface by the sun, causing the air to become
hail, less dense and naturally rise upwards, often
damaging winds, and flash flooding may occur. leading to cloud formation, particularly cumulus
clouds; essentially, “heat rises” creating
3) DISSIPATING STAGE convective lifting.
• The final stage where the downdraft cuts off the
updraft. Orographic Lifting
• The storm no longer has a supply of warm moist • Occurs in mountainous terrain when a mass of
air to moving air is forced to rise because of the
maintain itself and therefore it dissipates. presence of slope.
• Light rain and weak outflow winds may remain • Air that is forced upward cools adiabatically
for a while (occurring without loss or gain of heat).
during this stage, before leaving behind just a • If this air reaches its saturation point, clouds
remnant anvil top. develop.
• Orographic lifting and thermal lifting often work
Effects of a Thunderstorm together to produce cumulus clouds in
• Squall mountainous areas.
• Thunder • Orographic lifting occurs when air is forced to rise
• Lightning over a mountain or elevated terrain. As the air
• Localized flooding moves up the slope, it cools and may condense
• Gustnado into clouds and precipitation. This process
• Water spouts significantly. Orographic Lifting affects local
• Small hail climate and rainfall patterns
• Moderate to severe rains (30 mins-2 hrs)
Frontal Lifting
How are Lightning and Thunder Produced • Frontal lifting occurs when two air masses of
• The turbulence in the cumulonimbus causes the water different temperatures and densities meet,
droplets and ice crystals to break. forcing the less dense, warmer air to rise over the
• It causes electrical charges denser, cooler air. This process often leads to
– Upper portion - positively charged cloud formation and precipitation.
– Middle and Lower portions - negatively charged
• Electric voltage in clouds causes discharges within
clouds or between clouds and Earth’s surface
(Lightning)
• Thunder results from rapid expansion in local air caused
by large amount of heat from lightning discharge.

Why Do We See Lightning Before Hearing Thunder?

• Speed of Light vs. Speed of Sound
Light travels at 300,000 km/s (186,000 miles per
second)—essentially instant.
Sound travels at only 343 m/s (1,125 feet per
second) in air

Process of Uplifting Air

• Lifted air is cooled and moisture is turned into a cloud.
• Further uplifting extends clouds, increases size of water
droplets, forms ice crystals.
• Cumulonimbus cloud is produced upon reaching 10-20
kilometers.
3 Common Types of Air Lifting Mechanism