ATMO 203:  Weather Forecasting Lab

Sections 501-503

Fall 2008

 

Instructor:                  Larry Hopper

                                    Office:  O&M Bldg. Room 1011

                                    Email:  lhopper@ariel.met.tamu.edu  (This is the best way to reach me.)

                                    Phone:  862-3882  (I do not have my own personal voice mail.)

 

Office Hours:             Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 12:30-2:00 p.m.; also by scheduled appointment

 

Class Meets:               Section 501:  MW 10:20-11:10 a.m., O&M Bldg. Room 1201  

                                    Section 502:  MW 11:30-12:20 a.m., O&M Bldg. Room 1107

                                    Section 503:  TR 9:50-10:40 a.m., O&M Bldg. Room 1201

 

Prerequisites:             Prior or concurrent enrollment in ATMO 201 is assumed. This lab course is required for all students majoring in Meteorology.

 

Course Website:        http://atmo.tamu.edu/class/atmo203

 

Textbook:                   The online tutorials and in-class handouts are the “textbooks” for this lab course (there is no required text). The ATMO 201 textbook, Understanding Weather and Climate (4th ed.) by Aguado and Burt, is a useful reference.

 

PURPOSE OF ATMO 203:

The purpose of this course is to give students a hands-on introduction to short range weather forecasting and weather analysis, and to reinforce selected concepts from ATMO 201 as they pertain to weather forecasting. You will be challenged to explain and apply basic weather principles to forecasting. Therefore, developing critical thinking and effective written and oral communication skills will be stressed. Successful students will develop good professional habits and have a solid base of forecasting skills to build upon in future courses and endeavors. 

 

GRADING POLICY:

Grades will be earned based on the items listed below using a standard grading scale out of 1000 points where A = 895 points and above, B = 795-894, C = 695-794, D = 595-694, and F = 594 points and below.   

 

            Lab Assignments:                   340      (~8 labs worth 30-50 points each)

Forecasting:                             340      (160 pts. for the contest, 80 pts. for the journals; 50 pts. for the forecast discussion; 50 pts. for the career paper)

Quizzes:                                  250      (5 quizzes worth 50 points each)                               

            Attendance & Participation:     70     

 

The possibility for extra credit exists within the framework of the participation grade and scoring the forecasting contest. Extra credit will also be offered on some quizzes and lab assignments.  Additional extra credit opportunities will not be offered upon request.

 

Lab Assignments:

Eight labs will be assigned based on the contents of the online tutorials, class handouts, and in-class lectures. Although a few labs will be completed individually, you will be allowed to do most labs in groups of 2-3 students. Students choosing to work in groups must submit one lab for the group with each person’s name on it (each group member receives the same grade). I encourage you to work in different groups throughout the semester to meet more of your peers. Students who are absent on a day we use class time to work on a lab will be required to complete that lab individually.

 

Forecasting (after all, this is what this class is all about!):

Forecasting Contest:  We will be participating in the “Weather Challenge” national forecasting contest (http://wxchallenge.com/). In this contest, you will make 24-hour (0600 UTC to 0600 UTC) forecasts of maximum and minimum temperature, precipitation amount, and maximum wind speed for a city that will change every two weeks. You will forecast every Monday-Thursday by 2359 UTC for the following day. Late forecast submissions are not accepted; I have no control over this! If you miss more than two forecasts during a city’s two-week (eight-forecast) period, points will be deducted from your forecasting contest grade. Each of the four forecasting periods will be worth 40 points. We will discuss the forecasting contest procedures and grading in detail soon. 

 

Forecasting Journals and Career Paper:  Once per forecasting period (every two weeks), you will write a 1-2 page typed journal (worth 20 points) of a forecast you made and your thoughts supporting those forecasts, including pertinent forecasting techniques covered in lab. You should discuss your forecasts’ strengths and weaknesses, including why any errors occurred. You will also write a 1-3 page typed paper (worth 50 points) on the forecasting career that interests you the most in mid-November. Misuse of grammar and punctuation will be penalized in these assignments.

 

Forecast Discussion:  You will give a ten-minute weather briefing in groups of 2-3 students during the second half of the course. You should provide an overview of significant weather impacting the continental U.S. and the forecasting contest city. I will give a few weather briefings before student-led presentations begin. Members of each group will receive the same grade out of 50 points.       

 

Quizzes:

Five short 50-point quizzes will be given during the semester on the dates indicated in the schedule.  Quizzes missed for reasons other than a university excused absence will be given a grade of zero.  Makeup quizzes will only be given for university excused absences and will be oral or essay format.  All material presented in the lectures, in-class handouts, labs, and online tutorials are fair game. The final quiz given on the last day of class (Quiz 5) will be comprehensive. The grade you receive on Quiz 5 will also replace your lowest quiz grade (unless Quiz 5 is your lowest grade).    

 

Attendance and Participation:

Since this is a small laboratory section, I expect students will actively participate in small-group discussions, group work, and class lectures. Students who give exemplary responses during lectures may receive extra credit while students who are excessively late or disruptive in lab will lose points.  Attendance in this class is mandatory because you must be present to participate. Therefore, after your third unexcused absence you will lose 10 points for every absence after that. Likewise, you will receive 10 points extra credit for each “free” absence you do not use. Any student who acquires more than 10 unexcused absences will automatically receive an “F” for the course.

 

Online Tutorials:

Although I will spend class time lecturing on most course topics, we do not have time for extensive lectures on every topic since this is a lab course. Therefore, you are expected to work through the lab tutorials noted on the course schedule before coming to class that day. I assume that you are an adult and can figure out how to motivate yourself to spend the 20-30 minutes necessary to finish most of these tutorials. Completing the tutorials before class will allow you and your lab partners to maximize class time by working on labs and asking your fellow classmates and me specific questions about concepts you are confused about. Some questions on the quizzes will come from these online tutorials and I will begin many classes by asking questions about them.

 

Late Policy:

All written assignments are due by 3 pm on the stated due date (late forecasting contest entries are not accepted). Assignments may be placed in the envelope outside my office door (O&M 1011) if you are unable to find me. The penalty for late submissions without a university approved excuse or prior instructor approval is 10% per day, Monday through Thursday (Friday through Sunday are free). University approved excuses do not apply to group labs unless every member of the group has a university approved excuse. The late penalty will be capped at 50% so that there is always some value for finishing and learning from an excessively late assignment. However, no assignments will be accepted for any credit after 3 p.m. on Tuesday, December 2nd.

 

REQUIRED STATEMENTS:

Accommodations Statement:  The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute that provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you believe you have a disability requiring an accommodation, please contact the Department of Student Life, Services for Students with Disabilities in Room B-118 of the Cain Building. The phone number is 845-1637.

 

Plagiarism Statement:  As commonly defined, plagiarism consists of passing off as one's own the ideas, words, writings, etc., which belong to another.  In accordance with this definition, you are committing plagiarism if you copy the work of another person and turn it in as your own, even if you should have the permission of that person.  Plagiarism is one of the worst academic sins, for the plagiarist destroys the trust among colleagues without which research cannot be safely communicated.  For questions regarding plagiarism, please consult the latest issue of the Texas A&M University Student Rules  (http://student-rules.tamu.edu/) under the section "Scholastic Dishonesty.”

 

Copyright Statement:  The materials used in this course are copyrighted. These materials include but are not limited to syllabi, quizzes, lab problems, in-class materials, review sheets, and additional problem sets.  Because these materials are copyrighted, you do not have the right to copy the handouts, unless permission is expressly granted.

 

The Honor Code:  The Honor Code, based on the long-standing affirmation that “An Aggie does not lie, cheat or steal or tolerate those who do,” is fundamental to the value of the Texas A&M experience. Anyone who violates the University rules on academic honesty will receive an “F*” for the course and additional sanctions as described in University regulations (http://www.tamu.edu/aggiehonor).