Meteorology 498, Tropical Meteorology 
Spring 2003
SYLLABUS / COURSE OUTLINE
Instructor:		Paul McCrone
Department:		Geosciences
Textbook:		Forecasters Guide to Tropical Meteorology, 
by Colin S. Ramage
Class Location:	
Time:			Monday Nights, 6:30 pm to 9:20 pm
Office Hours:		Mondays, 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm.

I.	Course Description: The purpose of this course is to provide the basic theory needed to understand meteorological processes of the tropical atmosphere.  

II.	Prerequisites: Completion of Math 106 is mandatory. Math 107 is also a good course to have taken prior to this course. It is strongly recommended that some introductory meteorology course has been taken also. I assume that this is NOT your first course in meteorology.  Also, I strongly recommend that you have taken at least one course in calculus-based physics.  

III.	Course Objectives: There are four objectives:
1.	Gain a basic, conceptual understanding of the underlying theory of tropical atmospheric statics, dynamics, radiation, and thermodynamics. Some understanding of climatic influences will also be discussed.  
2.	Be able to deal with the conceptual material in qualitative as well as quantitative terms.  The course will focus more on a qualitative understanding of the tropics.
3.	The tropics have a significant impact on the daily variations of weather throughout the world. Consequently, knowledge of the tropical environment will aid development of dynamical and synoptic analyses that tie the atmosphere to the earth as a whole. The course will focus on the physical processes influencing the tropical region and the effects these processes have upon the local region as well as global implications. A practical approach involving some synoptic briefings, tropical cyclone analysis, and forecasting will be emphasized throughout the term. 
4.	Use this knowledge by applying it in the real world.  This includes, but is not limited to, the following:
-	Forecasting the Weather
-	Global Scale Circulation Patterns
-	Advanced Research
-	And many other applications!

IV.	Method of Instruction: A combination of lecture and question-and-answer sessions will be used to cover the majority of the material. I welcome students to ask questions during class, and highly encourage reading ahead as much as possible. Weekly assignments will be given to reinforce concepts presented during class. These will be reviewed at the beginning of the following class, when questions covering the assignment or the previous weeks’ lessons are answered. 

V.	My Contact Information:
Work:		HQ Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA)
		Meteorological Satellite Applications Branch 
(Office Code: XOGM)
		106 Peacekeeper Drive, Suite 2N3
Offutt AFB, Nebraska 68113-4039
Building “D”, in Room #10-24 of AFWA.
Phone:		Work: (402) 294-2821 
		Home: (402) 291-8672 
Fax: 		(402) 294-2892 –OR- (402) 294 - 3505
Email:		Work: Paul.McCrone@afwa.af.mil     
Home: PaulJMC@aol.com
Additional Office Hours can be made available by appointment. 
I encourage you to use email to contact me!

VI 	Attendance Policy:  I highly encourage all students to attend all scheduled classes.  I will attempt to work with you as best as possible in the event of unavoidable situations. Please speak to me about these on a case-by-case basis.  If you know of an absence in advance, then let me know ASAP, so we can work out a plan. All tests will be based on lecture, homework, and assigned readings.  If there is an exceptional reason why you can’t attend on a given night, then let me know as soon as possible.  I ONLY INTEND TO DO THIS IN EXCEPTIONAL CASES (examples include: death in the family, car accident, medical emergency, and other exceptional cases).  

NOTE: IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF EACH STUDENT TO KEEP ME  INFORMED REGARDING TESTS.  IF YOU CAN’T TAKE A TEST ON THE SCHEDULED NIGHT, THEN YOU MUST CONTACT ME ASAP.
ALL MAKE-UP TESTS MUST BE TAKEN WITHIN ONE (1) WEEK OF THE ORIGINAL TEST DATE, OTHERWISE, A ZERO (0) WILL BE ASSIGNED AS YOUR GRADE (ONLY EXCEPTIONAL CASES WILL BE CONSIDERED). IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO WORK/COMMUNICATE WITH ME TO SCHEDULE THE MAKEUP TESTS.  It is unfair to your fellow students to delay the return of tests and grades.  This can negatively impact the ability of others to review for future exams.

VII.	Testing Criteria:

What will be the basis for your final grade?

1.	Exams: There will be three exams during the course: two regular exams and a final. The final exam will be comprehensive (although it will focus on that material covered after the second exam) Each exam will receive equal weight.
2.	Homework and Attendance: You will be assigned numerous analysis and forecast exercises.  These will be graded on a CASE-BY-CASE basis.   Homework will largely be evaluated on a qualitative basis. All homework grades will be averaged together and factored into your final course grade.
3.	Paper (For ALL Students):  ALL students, who enrolled in METR 498, will have to complete a paper.  The focus of this paper will be on topics related to tropical meteorology, such as the Numerical Weather Prediction, forecasting, synoptic meteorology, or others. See me either after class or during office hours. An abstract will be due to me sometime between the 1st and 2nd exam. 
4.	Presentation (Graduate Students only): Graduate Students will be required to give a presentation on their paper on the last day of class. The student will be held responsible to make all audiovisual arrangements in advance. 
5.	Grading Scale: The scale is a standard, conventional scale:		
 			Percent:	Grade:
94-100	                 A+
90-93		    A
85-89	                  B+
80-84	                  B
75-79	                  C+
70-74	                  C
65-69	                  D+
60-64	                  D
0-59	                    F

6.  Point Breakdown:
Grades will be computed from paper, exam grades and homework on the following scale (for undergrads):
	Paper	:	20%
	Test #1		20%
	Test #2		20%
	Homework	20%
	Final		20%
	TOTAL	100%

Grades will be computed from paper, exam grades and homework on the following scale (for graduate students):
	Paper	:	20%
	Presentation	10%
	Test #1		20%
	Test #2		20%
	Homework	10%
	Final		20%
	TOTAL	100%

VIII.	COURSE MATERIAL:

Here’s what I currently plan to cover in this course. This summary is still a bit fluid regarding the end of the course (the last three chapters). What we cover in the end will depend on our progress. 

General Topics					Ramage Chapter

Introduction/Streamlining					1 (and separate material) 
Primary Physical Controls of the tropical circulation		2
Pressure and Winds						4
Temperature and Water Vapor  				5
Cloudiness and Rainfall					6

Exam #1

Diurnal Variations						7
Tropical Synoptic Models					8
Tropical Cyclones						9 (and additional material)
Dvorak Analysis procedures					Separate Material

Exam #2

Tropical Analysis						11
Tropical Forecasting						12
Desert forecasting						Separate Material

Presentations (Last day of class.)

Paper due before final exam (ALL Students)

Final Exam