This blog will be a record of the students and my attempts to explore Islay and Jura in as many ways as possible
Whether the Weather be good or Whether the Weather be bad..
You will need to know a number of different aspects of weather
· How to measure it
· How to intepret weather circles
· The difference between Depressions and Anticyclones
· The main weather masses and the type of weather they bring
How to measure it?
These are generaly questions found on the foundation paper and perhaps on the General , BBC bite size has a nice summary here http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/learning/bitesize/standard/geography/weather_climate/recording_data_rev1.shtml
The extension to the basic what measures what is where you should place the weather station:
“They are usually placed out in the open on grass so that rain gauges can be put in the ground. They are not usually situated on tarmac or concrete because these surfaces can radiate heat up and effect temperature readings.”
How to interpret weather circles?
The diagram below shows the different symbols used with the circles. You may be asked to draw your own for given conditions so try the task underneath the daigram
1. A day of heavy rain, 7/8th overcast, wind of 35knots from a south westerly direction, 10 degrees
2. A sunny day no cloud, calm, 21 degrees
3. A foggy day, completely overcast, wind of 5knots from the North West
4. A day of drizzle, 5/8th overcast, wind of 25knots from a southerly direction
5. A day of snow showers, 6/8th overcast, wind of 20knots from a northerly direction
You could also do these..
(download)
A popular question is to give you two or three circles and a synoptic chart and ask you to identify which is the correct one, you can answer this by identifying the correct one and giving reasons why and then saying why the incorrect ones do not match – what to watch for
Don’t get caught out by anti-cyclones check the date of the synoptic chart is it a summer or winter one
The difference between depressions and anticyclones
We have done a lot of work on this – the bit that always causes problems is the names of the depression fronts and what weather you expect to find at each point – remember they are usually moving from the south west towards the north east.
This requires practice and revision!!
This is a Warm Front – it brings ..........
This is a Cold Front it brings................
This is an Occluded front it brings....
You can review and do the wonderful exercise from the fantastic radical geography site..
(download)
Finally Isobars
These show all the points at a particular pressure..
Below is the Atlantic Pressure Chart and the weather forecast for the same day see how they correspond (although 45mph gusts is nothing on Islay!)
(download)
Task – as an extra revision task draw the weather circle for Wednesday and answer this question
Miss Fuery was planning to take her Higher Geography class on Wednesday to investigate the River Sorn and its catchment area, why might she be having second thoughts? (there are several answers to this only one of them has anything to do with the weather!)
Practice Practice Practice - there are plenty of past papers in my room come and claim them and email me the answers, or post them below with the date of the paper and I will check them and let you know how you did.
The main weather masses and the type of weather they bring
This is a simple one it is just a case of learning them and Knowing which type of weather they bring BBC bite size has a great summary table and diagram if you don’t want to look for it in your jotters.
This blog will be a record of the students and my attempts to explore Islay and Jura in as many ways as possible
This blog will be a record of the students and my attempts to explore Islay and Jura in as many ways as possible
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