Table of Contents

I. Introduction

II. Measuring the Fundamentals: The Where, the When, and the Warmth

• Space and Time: The Here and Now
• Spatial Scales: Going the Distance
• Time Scales: Synchronized Sands Through the Hourglass
• Temperature Scales: A Matter of Degrees

III. Mathematical Tools: How to Crunch Numbers and Like it

• Unit Conversion: Just for Good Measure
• Scientific Notation: Reform School for Numbers
• Statistics: From the Mean to the Extreme

IV. Spatial Tools: Getting the Most from your Space

• Isopleths: Equality under the Pen
• Focus on Optics: Sky Lights
• Caution: Gradient Ahead: Weather Conditions May Change Rapidly
• The Station Model: Templates of Local Observations
• Weather Folklore and Commentaries

CHAPTER 2: SOLAR AND TERRESTRIAL RADIATION

I. Introduction

II. Radiation: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

• The Electromagnetic Spectrum: More Than Meets the Eye
• Temperature and Radiation: The Movers and the Shakers
• Focus on Optics: Why is the Sky Blue?
• Balance of Radiation: The Ins and Outs of Energy

III. Heating the Atmosphere: From the Ground Up

• The Solar Energy Budget: Savings and Loans
• Conduction and Convection: Touch and Go
• The Greenhouse Effect: The Major Leagues of Atmospheric Heating

IV. Satellite Imagery: Look, Up in the Sky, It's a Rocket, It's a Jet, No It's...

• Visible Cloud Imagery: Say Cheese!
• Infrared Satellite Imagery: It Goes Out Through the Atmospheric Window
• Water Vapor Imagery: Near-sighted Vision

V. Radar: Echoes from a Storm (Not a Biography of MASH's Corporal O'Reilly)

• Conventional Radar: Boomerang Microwaves
• Doppler Radar: Conventional Radar Plus

VI. The Annual Cycle: Changing of the Guard

• The Seasons: Like a Pinball Game, They Depend on Tilt
• Seasonal Temperature Lag: Marching to the Beat of a Different Drummer
  
• Weather Folklore: The Dog Days of Summer

CHAPTER 3: TEMPERATURE

I. Introduction

II. Temperature Measurement: The Right Way and the Wrong Ways

• Weather Folklore: Animal Thermometers

III. Horizontal Variations of Temperature: Over Hill, Over Dale, the Thermometer can Tell

• The Effect of Elevation: There's COLD in Them Thar' Hills
• The Effect of Latitude: Big Numbers Leave You Out in the Cold
• The Effect of Water Bodies: The Great Moderator
• The Effect of Ocean Currents: Going With the Flow

IV. Daily Variations of Temperature: Always Lagging Behind

• Lag of the Maximum: Better Late than Never
• The Diurnal Range: A Year in the Life of a Day

V. A First Look at Fronts: Atmospheric Confrontations

• Focus on Optics: Subsuns and Sun Pillars

CHAPTER 4: AIR PRESSURE

I. Introduction

II. A Heavy Weight: The Nuts and Bolts of Air Pressure

• Definition: May the Force Be With You
• The Aneroid Barometer: Measuring the Invisible
• Gas Law: Rule for Governing Pressure

III. Vertical Variations in Air Pressure: The Gravity of it All

• Air Pressure as a Weight: Tipping the Scales
• Consequences of Pressure Decrease With Altitude: A Tale of Runny Eggs

IV. Horizontal Variations in Air Pressure: Driving the Weather

• Horizontal Variations: All the Earth is at Sea-Level
• Pressure on the Weather Map: Detective Work

V. Forces of Nature: Air in Motion

• Pressure Gradient Force: The Wind is in the Moving Business
• The Coriolis Effect: As the World Turns
• The Force of Friction: Against the Wind

VI. Circulation Around Highs and Lows: Some are Clockwise, Others Are Not

• The Geostrophic Wind: Stalemate of Forces
• Realistic Surface Flow: Two Against One
  
• Weather Folklore: Of Swallows and Bats

VII. Pressure Patterns Aloft: A Topographic Map of the Sky

• Upper-air Ridges and Troughs: Over and Under-inflated Tires
• Focus on Optics: The Inferior Mirage

CHAPTER 5: MOISTURE IN THE ATMOSPHERE

I. Introduction

II. The Many Roles of Water: The Atmosphere's Utility Player

• The Hydrologic Cycle: Nature's Contribution to Recycling
• The Molecular Structure of Water: Lessons in Social Studies
• Phase Changes Involving Ice: Climbing (and Descending) the Social Ladder

III. More on Evaporation and Condensation: Determining Humidity

• Vapor Pressure: At the Movies, in the Air
• Vapor Pressure Gradient: Experiments on a Porch
• Wind and Humidity: Setting the Dials on Vapor Pressure
• Evaporation and Condensation in Action: From the Small to the Big (Apple)

IV. Detecting Water Vapor: Looking for the Invisible

• Traits of Water Vapor: It's not Bashful
• The Dew Point: Let the Party Begin
• Relative Humidity: It Depends
• Weather Folklore: The Hair Hygrometer

V. Making Clouds: A Tried and True Recipe

VI. Making Precipitation: It Snows all Summer

• Water, Ice, and Vapor: Observations in a Meat Freezer
• Bergeron-Findeisen Process: Robin Hood and his Merry Men
• Precipitable Water: Wringing out a Column of Air
• Focus on Optics: Sun Dogs

CHAPTER 6: STABILITY

I. Introduction

II. Stability Defined: It all Stacks Up

• Stability and Instability: Lessons in a Moving Van
• Vertical Balance of Forces: The Gravity of it All

III. Temperature and Stability: What Goes Up ... May Come Down

• Adiabatic Processes: Heating without Heat
• A History of Stability: Taking a Bath for Science
• A Test for Stability: Poking Parcels for their Reaction
• A Test for Instability: Up, Up and Away (in my Beautiful Balloon)
• Conditional Instability: It Depends: The Sequel

IV. Stability and Instability in Action: Clues from the Sky

• Low-level Stability: When the Atmosphere has a Cold Bottom
• Inversions above the Ground: Put a Lid on it
• Signs of Instability: Looping and Castles
• Horizontal Winds and Stability: A Stirring Tale

V. Clouds: From Both Sides (of Stability) Now

• Fog: The Bottom of the Barrel
• Weather Folklore: Making Dew
• More Stable Clouds: Preferring the Layered Look
• Cumulus Clouds: Growing by Heaps and Bounds

IV. Postscript

• Focus on Optics: The Color of Clouds

CHAPTER 7: GENERAL CIRCULATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE

I. Introduction

II. General Circulation: Philosophy of the Wind

III. Low Latitudes: X=1 (Tropics + Subtropics)

• Hadley Cell: Hot Plate Meteorology
• Monsoon: It Doesn't Necessarily Mean a Lot of Rain
• The Subtropical Jet Stream: Roadblock to the Poles
• Subtropical Highs: Traffic Jams in the Sky
• Trade Winds: Reliable Breezes
• El Nino: When the Trade Winds Go on Vacation

IV. The Middle Latitudes: X=2 (In the Middle of a Big Fight)

• The Mid-Latitude Jet Stream: A River Runs Through It
• Jet Stream Answers: Inquiring Minds Want to Know
• Highs and Lows: Descartes Before the Horse

V. High Latitudes: X=3 (On Top and Bottom of the World)

• Focus on Optics: The Superior Mirage

VI. Postscript

• Weather Commentary: Abnormal is Actually Normal

CHAPTER 8: FRONTS AND AIR MASSES

I. Introduction

II. Air Masses: Megavolumes of Air

• Air Mass Source Regions: A History Lesson
• Classification of Air Masses: By the Letter

III. Characteristics of North American Air Masses: Air Mass Resumes

• Continental Polar and Continental Arctic: Santa Claus is Coming to Town
• Maritime Polar: Breaking the Ice
• Maritime Tropical: On the Steamy Side
• Continental Tropical: High and Dry

IV. Fronts: Close Encounters of the Atmospheric Kind

• Fronts on the Weather Map: The Telltale Signs
• Cold, warm, stationary and occluded: A Smorgasbord of Fronts
  
• Weather Folklore: Heavenly Circles

V. Cyclogenesis: The Upper and Lower Levels in Tandem

• Vorticity: Spinning Wheels Got To Go 'Round
• Vorticity, Convergence and Divergence: Ice Skaters in the Sky

CHAPTER 9: THUNDERSTORMS

I. Introduction

II. Lightning and Thunder: Birthright of the Thunderstorm

• Lightning Formation: The Shocking Truth
• Thunder: Atmospheric Rumbles
• Lightning Safety: Avoiding Hair-Raising Situations

III. Origins of Thunderstorms: To Be, or Not To Be

• Weather Folklore: Lightning Never Strikes the Same Place Twice
• Instability and Lifting: The Preludes to Thunderstorm Development
• Thunderstorm Climatology: Blooming Where You're Planted

IV. Air-Mass Thunderstorms: Convective Classics

• Structure: A Life in Three Acts

V. Synoptically Forced Thunderstorms: Heavies of the Troposphere

• Squall-Line Thunderstorms: Nature's Blitzkrieg
• The Supercell Thunderstorm: A Thunderstorm of Heroic Proportions
• The Mesoscale Convective Complex (MCC): Nocturnal Giant of the Plains

VI. Thunderstorm Accessories: A Potpourri of Weather Dangers

• Flash Flooding: The Number-One Thunderstorm Killer
• Hail: The White Plague
• Microbursts: Dangerous Breaths From the Skies

VII. Postscript: Look Skyward

• Focus on Optics: Rainbows

CHAPTER 10 : TORNADOES AND OTHER WHIRLWINDS

I. Introduction

II. Land of Tornadoes: The Road Goes Through Kansas

• The Making of Tornado Alley: A Lesson in Geography
• Tornadic Thunderstorms: Updrafts, Downdrafts and Wind Shear, Oh My!
• Stretching the Mesocyclone: Atmospheric Aerobics "Twist, One, Two, Three"
• Tornadoes on Radar: Probing a Few Notable Storms

III. The Chase: Close Encounters of the Tornadic Kind

• Chasing Tornadoes: Driving Into a Wall
• Weather Instruments Versus Tornadoes: Getting Blown Away
• Assessing Tornado Speeds: Giving Up the Chase
• Tornado Safety: What to do When a Twister Chases You
• Chasing Tornado Myths: Elusive Hearsay

IV. Waterspouts, Fire Funnels, and Dust Devils: Whirlwind Cousins

• Dust Devils: Tasmanian Devil
• Weather Commentary: Are There More Tornadoes Today?
• Waterspouts: Tasmanian Devils on the Sea
• Funnels of Fire: Whirls of Hot Embers

V. Postscript

CHAPTER 11: THE HURRICANE

I. Introduction

II. Hurricane Climatology: Engine Specs

• Gearing Up For Hurricane Season: Setting the Timing and Rolling to the Starting Line
• Hurricane Season: The Tropics in Overdrive

III. Hurricane Mechanics: Nuts and Bolts of Heat Engines

• Hurricane Engine: Basic Operating Manual
• Hurricane Development: Spark-Plug Disturbances
• Starting the Engine: Ignition to Full Throttle
• Hurricane Structure: A Look Under the Hood
• Hurricane Movement: Who's Driving?
• Hour of Danger: Landfall and Storm Surge
• Hurricane Breakdown: The Engine Stops Running

IV. Hurricane Andrew: A Case Study

• Andrew: Biography of a Tempest
• Andrew's Aftermath: Picking up the Pieces
• Lessons in Hurricane Awareness from Andrew: Being Prepared
  Focus on Weather Folklore: What a Difference a Day Makes

CHAPTER 12: WINTER WEATHER

I. Introduction

II. Winter Precipitation: Products of the Atmospheric Environment

• The Snow Crystal: The Crown Jewel of Winter Precipitation
• Freezing Rain and Ice Pellets: Children of Low-Level Chill

III. Winter Weather Patterns: Tapping the Gradients

• Jet Stream Patterns: Laying the Storm Track
• East Coast Winter Storms: Stars of the American Winter
• Cold-Air Damming: A Collision of Meteorology and Geography
• Lake-Effect Snow: Your Own Private Snowstorm

IV. Human Impacts of Winter Weather: The Season of Discontent

• Winter Weather and Comfort: Keeping "Cool" in the Cold
• Winter Weather Hazards: On the Road and in the Air
  
• Weather Folklore: Groundhog Day

V. The Blizzard of 1993: The Superstorm

• Origins of the Blizzard of 1993: A Tempest From Temperature Contrast
• Tracking the Blizzard of 1993: A Saga of Severe Weather

VI. Postscript: Winter in the Balance

CHAPTER 13 : RECENT GREAT FLOODS AND THE DROUGHT OF 1988

I. Introduction

II. Blocking Highs: Not a Football Euphoria

• El Nino and Mount Pinatubo: Presumed Guilty
• Blocking High Pressure Systems: Detours at Jet-Stream Level
• Planetary Waves: Surfing the Atmosphere

III. The Great Flood of 1993: Pattern for Disaster

• Synoptic Synopsis: Two Blocks and Their Accomplices
  
• El Nino: Seeding the Great Midwestern Flood
• Weather Folklore: It's Raining Cats and Dogs

IV. The California Floods of January 1995: Sparks in the Wind

• El Nino and California: Sometimes It's Dry
• El Nino and California: Sometimes It's Not Dry

V. Tropical Storm Alberto: A Boomerang Storm

IV. Drought: Oh How I Wish That It Would Rain

• The Summer Drought of 1988: Trouble in the Corn Belt
• The Making of a Drought: The Saga of the Omega Block
• The Northeast Drought of 1995: Shutting Off the Flow of Gulf Moisture

VI. Single Cause?: No Easy Answers

CHAPTER 14: HUMAN IMPACTS ON WEATHER AND CLIMATE

I. Introduction

II. The Enhanced Greenhouse Effect: Too Much of a Good Thing?

• Carbon Dioxide: Better Watch Where You Put Your Carbon
• Other Greenhouse Gases: Carbon-Copy Warming
• Temperature Trends Over the Last Century: More Ups Than Downs
• Global Warming: A Result of the Enhanced Greenhouse?
• Future Trends: Modeling into the Unknown
  
• Weather Commentary: Why the Greenhouse Effect is NOT Like a Blanket

III. Ozone Depletion: Not Enough of a Good Thing?

• Ozone: A Primer
• CFCs: Revisited
• The Antarctic Ozone Hole: Cold and Alone
• A Wider View of Ozone: Global Trends

IV. Land Use Change: Impact on Weather and Climate

• Deforestation: Cutting Across Natural Cycles
• The Climate of Cities: Islands Unto Themselves
• Focus on Optics: Red Skies and Volcanoes

V. Closing Thoughts: The Speed of Change

CHAPTER 15: THE CLIMATOLOGY OF PENNSYLVANIA

I. Introduction

II. General Climatic Features: Anchored in the Mid-Latitudes

• Temperatures: Ode to Altitude and Latitude
• Precipitation: With a Little Help From a Lake and Some Terrain

III. Climatic Regions of Pennsylvania: From Shoreline to Ridgeline

• Southeast Coastal Plain and Piedmont Plateau: Floor of the State
• Ridge and Valley Province: Rollercoaster Terrain
• Allegheny Plateau: Pennsylvania's High Rise
• Southwest Plateau: In the Corner Pocket
• Lake Erie Plain: A Climate of Its Own

IV: Hazardous Weather in Pennsylvania: Tornadoes and Flooding

• Tornadoes: Regular Touch Downs in Pennsylvania
• Flooding: A Log of Ill-Flowing Water
• Weather Commentary: When a Few Miles Can Make a World of Difference