MetLink Activity 33 (ages 12-16)

Case study: An investigation of the weather across Europe on 6, 7 and 8 February 2006

The aims:
+ to use ICT skills in finding information, particularly the selection and extraction of data appropriate to a specific task
+ to use research skills to gain knowledge and understanding of weather processes
+ to interpret, describe, interrelate and explain weather observations

The activity:
Students will need an atlas with which to locate the names of places and areas and to help them describe where events have happened.

Temperatures across Europe:

Compare the temperatures on the Europe weather overview maps. You can increase the size and quality of the maps simply by clicking on them.
In your answers, remember to use the names of the points of the compass to aid your descriptions as well as names of countries and areas.

Early morning/end of the night, when conditions would be expected to be around their coldest:
For 06:00UTC on 6 February, click here
For 06:00UTC on 7 February, click here
For 06:00UTC on 8 February, click here

Middle of the day when conditions would be expected to be approaching their warmest
For 12:00UTC on 6 February, click here
For 12:00UTC on 7 February, click here
For 12:00UTC on 8 February, click here

Questions:
1. Describe which parts of Europe had the coldest conditions during the study period. What were the temperature values in these areas?
2. Describe which parts of Europe had the warmest conditions during the study period. What were the temperature values in these areas?
3. Identify the main changes in the distribution of temperatures that occurred during the case study period, describing where these happened and what happened. You must compare temperatures at 06:00UTC with each other and then the temperatures at 12:00UTC with each other as two separate groups.

Study the map which shows the temperatures of the land surface of Europe and the sea-surface temperatures surrounding Europe by clicking here. This map also shows the distribution of lying snow.

4. Describe where the highest temperatures occurred and give some examples.
5. Describe where the lowest temperatures occurred and give some examples.
6. Describe where the warmest land areas occurred and give some examples.
7. If possible obtain a print-out of the map and shade on it those areas which had snow lying on the surface. Describe the location of these areas.
8. What conclusions can you draw about the difference between land and sea temperatures in Europe in winter? Try to find out the reasons for this difference in land and sea temperatures in winter.

Cloud and precipitation across Europe:

Study the following satellite images of Europe:
Click here for infra red image on 6 February at 12:00UTC
Click here for visible image on 6 February at 12:00UTC
Click here for infra red image on 7 February at 12:00UTC
Click here for visible image on 7 February at 12:00UTC
Click here for infra red image on 8 February at 12:00UTC
Click here for visible image on 8 February at 12:00UTC
Remember that you can increase the size and quality of the satellite images simply by clicking on them.
Questions:
9. Describe which areas of Europe were most cloudy and which areas were clearest of cloud. You can also distinguish between thick cloud, which on the infra-red images appears brilliant white, and areas of thin cloud, which appear light grey.
10. Did the distribution of cloud change over the three days of the case study? If it did, describe the ways in which it changed.

Study the Europe weather overview maps again. You will see on them symbols which show precipitation and various other weather features. The key to these symbols can be found by clicking here.
11. Describe where precipitation was occurring in Europe each day and what sort of precipitation it was.
12 Describe to what extent the areas of precipitation changed over the three days of the case study.

Study these animations of lightning discharges in Europe:
Click here for 6 February animation of lightning discharges
Click here for 7 February animation of lightning discharges
Click here for 8 February animation of lightning discharges
Questions:
13. Describe where lightning discharges and therefore thunderstorms occurred each day.
14. Describe any changes in the location of the lightning discharges which occurred during each day (the animations change with each hour of the day).
15. Describe any changes which took place in the location of the lightning discharges over the whole of the three-day period.

Anticyclones, depressions and fronts:

Anticyclones are areas of high atmospheric pressure in which little or no precipitation normally occurs. Sometimes they are areas of clear sky; sometimes they are areas where thin layers of low cloud form. Surface winds blow clockwise around anticyclones in the northern hemisphere, and slightly outwards (about 5 degrees).
Depressions are areas of low atmospheric pressure in which thick cloud often forms and in which precipitation often occurs. Surface winds blow anticlockwise around the centre of depressions in the northern hemisphere and slightly inwards (10-30 degrees across the isobars).
Fronts are dividing lines in the atmosphere where a mass of warmer air rises above a mass of colder air. Clouds and often precipitation occur along the lines of fronts. To see how fronts are shown on weather maps, click here.
Study these three weather charts of Europe and find where the anticyclones (H), depressions (L) and fronts were. The large numbers printed by each High and Low show what the atmospheric pressure was, measured in millibars.
At 12:00UTC on 6 February, click here
At 12:00UTC on 7 February, click here
At 12:00UTC on 8 February, click here
Remember that you can increase the size and quality of the images simply by clicking on them.

Questions:
16. Describe where the anticyclones, depressions and fronts were over Europe at 12:00UTC on 6 February.
17. Describe how, and if at all, the positions had changed by 7 February.
18. Describe how, and if at all, the positions had changed by 8 February.

Interrelationships:

Find these by relating your earlier work to the weather charts of Europe:

19. Describe one example during the study period, if any exist, of an anticyclone in Europe having little or no cloud.
20. Describe one example during the study period, if any exist, of an anticyclone in Europe having a thin layer of low cloud.
21. How many examples are there of anticyclones having thick cloud and precipitation? If any exist name their locations.
22. Describe one example during the study period, if any exist, of a depression in Europe having cloud and rain.
23. Describe one example during the study period, if any exist, of a front in Europe having cloud and rain.
24. Was there much change in the positions of the anticyclones, depressions and fronts over the three day period?
Try to give one example, if any exist, of an anticyclone, a depression and a front which changed position considerably between 6 February and 8 February.
Try to give one example, if any exist, of an anticyclone, a depression and a front which barely changed position between 6 February and 8 February. Check to see if their weather moved with them (for example, did the position of the cloud and rain change in the same way as the position of a front changed?)
25. Can you find any locations where there was much precipitation but no depression or front? If so, describe where it was.
26. Try to draw some conclusions from all of this.

The observations of MetLink participants:

+ Firstly, how do the observations of your own school or college weather station over the three days of this study relate to the weather patterns observed in the previous answers?
+ Select a number of MetLink participants from contrasting areas of Europe and comment on how the observations of each of them match up with the weather patterns observed in the previous answers. To find the participants, first go to the MetLink Homepage (click here) and work from the Home page.

Click Data central
Click Search observations data
Leave the name contains box blank
Select one of the European countries listed below using the drop-down menu
Set the dates as From 06 February To 08 February
Click Search now
You will need to know where each participant whose observations you are referring to is located. To find this, click on the name of the participant. This will take you to their Details page where you can find the name of their location, maps of their locations and nearest webcam link.
Repeat this operation for some or all of the other European countries listed.

List of European countries with MetLink participants who have contributed observations during the period of this case study:
BE Belgium
CY Cyprus
ES Spain
FI Finland
GR Greece
IE Republic of Ireland
IT Italy
LV Latvia
MT Malta
NL Netherlands
RO Romania
SE Sweden
SK Slovakia