Lab 5 - Hurricane Isabel (2003)

Hurricane Isabel formed at the African coast on September 1st, 2003. After reaching category 5 strength 10 days later, Isabel was said to be the strongest hurricane to hit the Atlantic for 5 years. 

On September 18th and 19th of 2003, Isabel hit the eastern cost of the United States. Though her wind field was weakening, Isabel managed to flood the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States, with 8 feet of water.

Meteorologists claimed that a storm like Isabel only comes around about once every century. ABC News later reported that Isabel would end up costing $1 billion on insurance claims.

National Hurricane Center 

The Examiner

ABC News

Lab 4 - Sun Path Diagram

Sun Path Diagram

AccuWeather

Lab 3 - Seasonality and Homemade Barometer

Seasonality

October 21, 2012

Stockholm, Sweden
   Sunrise:  7:41 am   Sunset: 5:23 pm   High: 47 F   Low: 39 F
Athens, Greece
   Sunrise:  7:40 am   Sunset: 6:39 pm   High: 71 F   Low: 62 F
Kigali, Rwanda
   Sunrise:  5:39 am   Sunset: 5:49 pm   High: 77 F   Low: 59 F
Gaborone, Botswana
   Sunrise:  5:37 am   Sunset: 6:25 pm   High: 91 F   Low: 62 F
Cape Town, South Africa
   Sunrise:  5:57 am   Sunset: 7:05 pm   High: 69 F   Low: 56 F

How to make a homemade barometer

1. Cut the end off of a 12" balloon, about an inch from the stem.
2. Stretch it over the top of a glass and pull it tight. Secure the balloon.
3. Cut the end off of a straw so that it has a point.
4. Tape the straw to the center of the balloon.

The straw will rise during a time of high pressure and fall during a time of low pressure.

Lab 2 - WRPLOT View and Google Earth

January 29th, 1984 - Blowing From (18 Wind Directions)

January 29th, 1984 - Blowing To (18 Wind Directions) 

 

1986 Yearly Average - Blowing To (18 Wind Directions) 

Weather Monitoring Station

Lakes Environmental (Provider of Windrose Software)

US Environmental Protection Agency (Source of Data) 

 

Lab 1 - Map Types and Video Link

A choropleth map contains sections that are colored, patterned, or shaded differently to symbolize statistical values.

A dot density map uses the dot symbol to represent the presence of a certain feature across an area. The greater the dot density, the more prevalent the feature.

A proportional symbol map contains a symbol whose size represents the presence of a feature. Usually, the larger the symbol, the more prevalent the feature.

An isopleth map can be identified by contour lines that represent certain values. An area between two contour lines of the values 70 and 80 contain between 70 and 80 of the specified feature.

An environmental sensitivity map utilizes symbols to identify areas of land that provide shelter to different species or that are prone to certain weather patterns.

Animation of Hurricane Isaac's Movement