Meteorology
| Meteorology | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Type | Earth Science | |||||||||||||||||
| Category | Study | |||||||||||||||||
| Description | Participants will use scientific process skills involving qualitative and quantitative analyses to demonstrate an understanding of the factors that influence Everyday Weather through the interpretation of meteorological data, graphs, charts, and images. | |||||||||||||||||
| Event Information | ||||||||||||||||||
| Participants | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| Allowed Resources |
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| Approx. Time | 50 minutes | |||||||||||||||||
| History | ||||||||||||||||||
| First Appearance | 2003 | |||||||||||||||||
| Latest Appearance | 2026 | |||||||||||||||||
| Rotates | No, rotates topics only | |||||||||||||||||
| Forum Threads | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Question Marathon Threads | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Official Resources | ||||||||||||||||||
| Website | www | |||||||||||||||||
| Division B Results | ||||||||||||||||||
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Meteorology is a current weather and climate-based event designed to test students' basic understanding of the meteorological principles and ability to interpret and analyze meteorological data. It has a main focus topic each year, which rotates between Climate, Everyday Weather, and Severe Storms, though some foundational knowledge of meteorology is needed for all three. It is currently only an event in Division B, and no equivalent exists for Division C.
Event Information
Topic Rotation
The focus of Meteorology rotates between three topics: Everyday Weather, Severe Storms, and Climate. Each of these three topics spends one year as the focus before being replaced by the next topic in the rotation.
| Topic | ||
|---|---|---|
| Everyday Weather | Severe Storms | Climate |
| 2026 | ||
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| 2019 | 2020/2021 | 2022 |
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
Test Format
A Meteorology test usually is in the form of a written test or a PowerPoint with slides on it. Occasionally, a test may come in the form of stations that each team rotates between. Questions may be asked in a variety of formats, such as multiple choice, true or false, matching, diagram labelling, short answer, and free response.
In the written test, it is generally a good idea to split it if possible, so each person has less work to do, and time can be spent reviewing later on. Also, if time is a tiebreaker, this can be used to the competitors' advantage. There typically are not penalties for answering questions incorrectly, so students are generally encouraged to try to answer all questions with at least an educated guess.
Resources
In the 2023-24 season, the event allows teams to bring one binder containing information in any form (written/typed etc.) and two stand-alone calculators of any type for use during competition.
Personal resources for studying prior to the competition are not restricted. Participants should have some sort of Meteorology textbook that has information about all three topics, so it can be used even after the topic changes. Other, more specific and advanced textbooks can also be useful to experienced participants. Many free web resources are also available, such as those found at the soinc Meteorology page and the NOAA Science Olympiad page.
Binder
For information about making a binder, please see here.
Participants may bring one binder of any size for reference during the competition. The binder may contain information from a variety of sources and in a variety of formats. Often students include concise note sheets prepared using OneNote, Google Docs, Microsoft Word or similar programs. It is also highly recommended to include diagrams such as ones depicting the Coriolis Effect, layers of the atmosphere, types of clouds, classification systems, and other related topics.
While there is no size limit to the binder, teams that are unable to quickly locate information within their binder may be at a disadvantage, particularly if a test is long or has stations with short time limits. For this reason, students may wish to use tabs, labels, or dividers to organize the binder into sections.
Basic Meteorological Information
Although the topic for Meteorology changes from year to year, one should know certain information that serves as a basis for understanding the specifics of each topic.
The Atmosphere
For more information about the Atmosphere, such as its origins and its relation to local wind patterns, please see Meteorology/Everyday Weather#The Atmosphere and Meteorology/Climate#Earth's Atmosphere.
Earth's atmosphere is the gases above Earth's surface and includes the solids and liquids (such as clouds) suspended within them. Almost all of the gas in the atmosphere is nitrogen and oxygen. Important variables in the atmosphere include temperature, pressure, and humidity or amount of water vapor.
The Layers of the Atmosphere
The layers of the atmosphere from bottom to top are as follows:
- Troposphere
- Stratosphere
- Mesosphere
- Thermosphere
- Exosphere
The troposphere is where most weather patterns occur.
Pressure
Pressure can be thought of as the weight of the atmosphere over an area. Pressure is greatest at the surface and decreases exponentially going up in the atmosphere. Horizontal differences in pressure also occur and are variable through time. Areas of low atmospheric pressure are known as cyclones; areas of high atmospheric pressure are called anticyclones.
Wind
Winds in Earth's atmosphere are driven by differences in atmospheric pressure between locations, which creates a force known as pressure gradient force. This force causes wind to flow from a location of high pressure to an area of low pressure. Winds in motion are deflected to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere due to the rotation of Earth on its axis. This is known as the Coriolis effect. The force of friction may also reduce wind speed, particularly near the surface.
Water Vapor and Clouds
Water vapor is the gaseous state of water. Water vapor typically enters the atmosphere by the evaporation of liquid water at the Earth's surface. In the atmosphere, water vapor may undergo condensation to form a liquid cloud droplet or deposition to form a solid ice crystal. These droplets or crystals may continue to grow, including by joining with other droplets or crystals, and once large enough may fall to the Earth as precipitation.
The percentage of air that is water vapor ranges from as low as almost 0% to as much as 4 to 5%. The amount of water vapor that can be present in air depends on temperature. There can be more water vapor at warmer temperatures. If there is the maximum amount of water vapor in the air as there can be at a certain temperature, the air is said to be saturated. Any additional water vapor will begin to form liquid droplets or ice crystals.
Rising air in the atmosphere expands in volume as it matches the decreasing pressure of the surrounding air. This process requires energy and as a result the temperature of the rising air cools. Eventually the rising air will reach a temperature at which the maximum amount of water vapor equals the actual amount of water vapor present in the air, known as the dew point temperature. Any additional rising and cooling will result in cloud droplet or ice crystal formation.
Instruments and Diagrams
For more information about meteorological instruments and diagrams, see Meteorology/Everyday Weather#Weather Technology.
Historically, common meteorological instruments have included thermometers, barometers (measure atmospheric pressure), and rain gauges. More modern methods for collecting data include satellites, radar, and weather balloons or radiosondes. Data from these sources are often plotted on maps or specialized charts.
Links
Supplementary Pages
- Everyday Weather: Everyday Weather Notes, EpicFailOlympian's Everyday Weather Notes
- Severe Storms: Thunderstorms, Hurricanes, Winter Storms, Mid-Latitude Cyclones, Atmospheric Rivers
- Climate: Climate Notes, EpicFailOlympian's Climate Notes