Meteorology

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Specification of minimum standard of competence for officers

in charge of an navigational watch on ships of 500 gross
tonnage or more
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Function:

Navigation at the Operational Level

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Competence:

Plan and conduct a passage and determine position

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Learning Objective:

After completing this subject, the cadet will be able to:

Acquire the ability to use and interpret information obtained from
shipborne meteorological instruments.
Gain knowledge of the characteristics of the various weather systems,
reporting procedures and recording systems
Demonstrate an ability to apply the meteorological information available.
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Meteor-ology
The word Meteorology derived from the Greek word
meteoron meaning "in the sky“ or "high in the sky". and "ology" is
derived from the Greek word logos meaning“ knowledge").
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Meteorology
is the study of the atmosphere, atmospheric phenomena, and
atmospheric effects on our weather. It explains the observable
events of Earth's atmosphere: temperature, air
pressure, water vapor, and the gradients and interactions of
each variable, and how they change over time.
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The Atmosphere
The Earth’s atmosphere is the layer of gases
surrounding the planet Earth that is retained by
Earth's gravity. It is an important part of what makes
Earth livable. It blocks some of the Sun's dangerous
rays from reaching Earth.
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The Atmosphere
Air in the atmosphere contains 78.09% nitrogen, 20.95%
oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.039% carbon dioxide, and small
amounts of other gases. Air also contains a variable amount of
water vapor, on average around 1% at sea level, and 0.4% over
the entire atmosphere.
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The Atmosphere
The atmosphere is divided into five
layers. It is thickest near the surface
and thins out with height until it
eventually merges with space.
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The Atmosphere
1) The troposphere is the first layer above the surface and contains
half of the Earth's atmosphere.

2) Above the troposphere lies the stratosphere. Jet airliners fly in this
layer, for it is far less turbulent than the underlying troposphere.
The ozone layer lies within the stratosphere.
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3) Meteors or rock fragments burn up in the mesosphere.

4) The thermosphere is a layer with auroras. It is also where the

space shuttle orbits.

5) The atmosphere merges into space in the extremely thin

exosphere. This extremely tenuous layer gradually gives way to the
vacuum of interplanetary space.
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Temperature of the
various layers of Earth's
atmosphere rises and
falls as one moves
upward from the
ground, in a seemingly
haphazard fashion.
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The Sun
The sun is the principal source of light and heat for the
earth. The heat from the sun travels to the earth in the
form of short wave radiation, which passes through the
atmosphere without appreciably warming it.
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The flow of visible

light into, and infrared
light back out of, the
lower regions of
Earth's atmosphere
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Insolation
Insolation is the intensity of incoming solar radiation on an
object. Incoming Solar Radiation varies depending on:
Time of year Time of Day
Solar Declination Atmospheric Condition
Earth – Sun Distance
Latitude
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Effect on insolation of a variation in latitude

Insolation and
Latitude

• Insolation
decreases with
increased latitude
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Solar Declination
Effect on insolation of sun’s declination
• Earth's axial tilt is: 23.45º
• Latitude of the subsolar
point (where the sun is
directly overhead at solar
noon)
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Effect on insolation of a variation in the length of daylight
Daylight Length (Photoperiod)
Varies primarily as a function of
latitude and solar declination
Photoperiod is a major
environmental cue used by plants
to time germination, leaf drop
and prepare for winter (cold
hardiness)
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The Water
Cycle
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Water Vapour
is the gaseous phase of water. It is one state of water within
the hydrosphere. Water vapor can be produced from the
evaporation or boiling of liquid water or from the sublimation
of ice. Unlike other forms of water, water vapor is invisible.
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Evaporation
Whenever a water molecule leaves a surface and diffuses into a
surrounding gas, it is said to have evaporated. Each individual
water molecule which transitions between a more associated
(liquid) and a less associated (vapor/gas) state does so through the
absorption or release of kinetic energy.
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Condensation
Condensation is the change of water from its gaseous form
(water vapor) into liquid water. Condensation generally occurs
in the atmosphere when warm air rises, cools and looses its
capacity to hold water vapor. As a result, excess water vapor
condenses to form cloud droplets.
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Precipitation
Precipitation is any product of the condensation of
atmospheric water vapour that falls under gravity. The main
forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow,
graupel and hail.
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Latent Heat of Vaporization

Latent heat is the heat necessary to change 1 kilogram of
water to 1 kilogram of Vapour at saturation temperature. If a
quantity of water changes to vapour an amount of latent heat
will have been required.
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Saturation
When a volume of air at a given temperature holds the
maximum amount of water vapour, the air is said to be
saturated. Relative humidity is the water-vapour content of
the air relative to its content at saturation.
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Saturation
Unsaturated air can become saturated in three ways—by evaporation
of water into the air; by the mixing of two masses of air of different
temperatures and by cooling the air
1. Air becomes saturated due to evaporation because in order for
water vapor to enter the atmosphere, evaporation needs to occur.
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Saturation (cont..)
Evaporation is impacted by temperature, so if it's hot, the molecules
move faster and are more likely to become a gas.

2. Air can also become saturated if it's cooled.

Colder air can hold less water vapor, so if you cool some hot air that
is not saturated, it will eventually become saturated.
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Saturation (cont..)
Air can cool for various reasons.

3. The mixing of two unsaturated air masses can create a saturated air
parcel.

In this case, the two air masses are not saturated, but when they mix, they
become saturated.
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Dew point is the temperature at which air becomes saturated
if cooled at constant pressure.
Absolute humidity is the same as the water vapor density,
defined as the mass of water vapor divided by the volume of
associated moist air and generally expressed in grams per
cubic meter.
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Relative humidity is the ratio of the actual vapor pressure to the
saturation vapor pressure at the air temperature, expressed as a
percentage.

Vapor pressure is the partial pressure of a given sample of moist air

that is attributable to the water vapor.
Meteorological
Equipments
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Meteorological Equipment
An aneroid barometer is an instrument for
measuring pressure. It uses a small, flexible metal
box called an aneroid cell (capsule), which is
made from an alloy of beryllium and copper.
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An aneroid barometer
measures the distortion
of an evacuated, sealed
elastic capsule inside
with change in
atmospheric pressure.
Small changes in external
air pressure cause the
cell (capsule) to expand
or contract.
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The reading of the aneroid barometer should be

corrected with the correction value against the
obtained observation with the mercury barometer.
When reading the barometer, pat the glass surface
slightly and read the value in the unit of 0.1 hPa, with
close attention to the parallax error.
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Thermometer
A thermometer is a device that measures temperature. It is sealed in
a glass tube that contains a column of liquid, as mercury, that
expands and contracts, or rises and falls, with temperature changes,

the temperature being read where the top of the column coincides
with a calibrated scale marked on the tube or its frame.
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Hygrometer
A hygrometer is an instrument used for measuring
the moisture content in the atmosphere. It relies on
measurements of some other quantity such as
temperature, pressure, mass or a mechanical or
electrical change in a substance as moisture is
absorbed.
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Wind Sensor
The Wind Sensor is a thermal anemometer based
on a technique for measuring wind speed and
wind direction. Most known types of anemometer
are the ultrasonic principle, and mechanical cup
and vane types sensors.
Atmospheric
Pressure
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Atmospheric Pressure
Pressure is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an
object per unit area over which that force is distributed. The
symbol of pressure is p or P . The basic unit of pressure is N/𝑚2
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Atmospheric Pressure
Earth’s atmosphere is a mixture of gases. It is these
molecules in the gases that exert pressure on which is
called atmospheric pressure. It decreases as one goes higher in
the atmosphere because the number of molecules decrease
and vice versa.
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Atmospheric Pressure
Atmospheric pressure acts in all direction at sea level normally
between 940 mbar 1050 mbar. (Note : 1 millibar = 102 N/𝑚2 )

Average sea-level pressure is 1013.25 hPa (1013.25 hPa or mbar) or

29.92 inches (inHg) or 760 millimetres of mercury (mmHg).
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Atmospheric Pressure

In the atmosphere, the force that compresses the air at the surface is
just the weight of all the air in the atmospheric column above it.

At the surface the atmospheric pressure is on average

P0 = 101.3 kPa = 1013 mb
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Atmospheric Pressure
Isobars are lines of equal atmospheric pressure drawn on a meteorological
map. Each line passes through a pressure of a given value, provided certain
rules are followed.

Isobar lines may never cross or touch.

Isobar lines may only pass through pressures of 1000 + or - 4. In other

words, allowable lines are 992, 996, 1000, 1004, 1008, and so on.I
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Atmospheric
ISOBAR
LINES Pressure

and
ISOBAR Isobar Lines
LINES
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Wind
Wind is air in motion. It is produced by the uneven
heating of the earth’s surface by the sun. Since the earth’s
surface is made of various land and water formations, it
absorbs the sun’s radiation unevenly. Two factors are
necessary to specify wind: speed and direction.
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What causes the wind to blow
As the sun warms the Earth’s surface, the atmosphere warms too. Some
parts of the Earth receive direct rays from the sun all year and are always
warm. Other places receive indirect rays, so the climate is colder.

Warm air, which weighs less than cold air, rises. Then cool air moves in and
replaces the rising warm air. This movement of air is what makes the wind
blow.
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Wind
The Apparent wind is the wind experienced by an observer in
motion and is the relative velocity of the wind in relation to the
observer.
True wind is the wind relative to a fixed point the observation of
which is not affected by the motion of the observer.
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The wind will just blow us off the dock. We raise sails and move ahead
on a close reach at 5 knots. We know the true wind is 10 knots and,
since we will be moving forward we will be producing 5 knots of wind
ourselves.
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BUY’S BALLOT LAW Northern Hemisphere
Face the wind. The
Low Pressure area is
towards to the right
and slightly behind.
The High Pressure area
is towards to the left
and slightly in front.
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BUY’S BALLOT LAW Southern Hemisphere
Face the wind. The
Low Pressure area is
towards to the left and
slightly behind. The
High Pressure area is
towards to the right
and slightly in front.
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Sample illustration of
weather chart showing
surface wind directions,
pressure distribution and
relative wind speeds at
various places within the
pressure field
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Estimating Wind Speed using the appearance of the sea
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The pressure gradient
is the force that is
usually responsible
for accelerating a
parcel of air from a
high atmospheric
pressure region to a
low pressure region,
resulting in wind.
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A low pressure system winds
blow towards the low pressure,
and the air rises in the
atmosphere where they meet.

A high pressure system

wind blows away from high

pressure swirl, opposite
direction from low pressure
system.
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Once air has been set in

motion by the pressure
gradient force, it
undergoes an apparent
deflection from its path.
This apparent deflection is
called the Coriolis force
and is a result of the
earth's rotation.
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Geostrophic wind scale
A graphical device used for the

determination of the speed of the

geostrophic wind from the isobar or cont

our line spacing on a synoptic chart;
it is a nomogram representing solutions o
f the geostrophic-wind equation.
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Cloud and precipitation

When air is cooled below its dew point the water vapour therein starts to
condense out into water droplets. The water droplets form either fog or cloud
depending on the process by which the air is cooled. The cooling of the air takes
place at the surface by conductive processes, whereas cloud generally forms
above the surface due to the adiabatic cooling of the rising air.
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Cloud and precipitation

Clouds are made up of tiny water droplets or ice crystals,
usually a mixture of both. The water and ice scatter all light,
making clouds appear white. If the clouds get thick enough
or high enough all the light above does not make it through,
hence the gray or dark look.
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Cloud condensation nuclei or CCNs (also known as cloud seeds) are
small particles typically 0.2 µm, or 1/100th the size of a cloud droplet
on which water vapour condenses. Water requires a non-gaseous
surface to make the transition from a vapour to a liquid; this process is
called condensation. In the atmosphere, this surface presents itself as
tiny solid or liquid particles called CCNs.
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Clouds are continually changing and appear in a variety of forms. It is
possible however to define a limited number of characteristic forms.
BASE HEIGHT

• Low Clouds <6500 ft

• Medium Clouds >6500 and <20000 ft

• High Clouds >20000ft

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Cirrus (Ci) – Clouds of Silky
Apperance.. Composed of Ice
Crystal. There Convergence
may Indicate the direction of a
low pressure area.
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Cirrocumulus (Cc) – Composed
of small white flakes or scales
(Mackerel Sky). Composed of
Ice Crystals. Associated with
fair weather, but may
proceeded a storm if they
thicken and lower.
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Cirrustratus (Ccs) –

Thin, Whitish high clouds

covering the sky completely.
Halos may form with sun or
moon (red color inside),
(Mare’s Tail).
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Alto Cumulus (Ac) –

A layer of large, ball like

masses. If thicken or lower,
they may produce thundery
weather weather and showers
but will not bring prolonged
bad weather.
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Alto Stratus (As) –

A grayish or bluish, fibrous veil

or sheet. Corona around moon
or sun (red color outside).
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Cumulus (Cu) – Dense clouds

with vertical development
(Clouds forms by rising air
which is cooled as it reaches
greater heights) Fair and Good
Weather. (Atoll Clouds)
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Stratus (St) –

Low cloud in a uniform layer

resembling fog but not resting
on the ground.
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Stratucumulus (Sc) –

Composed of soft, gray, roll-

shaped masses. Followed by
clear skies during the night.
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Cumulonimbus (Cb) –

Massive cloud with great vertical

produces shower or rain, snow or
hail, frequently accompanied by
thunder. “Thundercloud”
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Nimbustratus (Ns) –

Low Dark, Shapeless cloud layer

with ragged, wet-looking bases.
Rain Cloud. Precipitation is
steady or intermittent but not
showery.
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Cloud and precipitation

Precipitation is any product of the
condensation of atmospheric water
vapour that falls under gravity. The main
forms of precipitation include drizzle,
rain, sleet, snow, graupel and hail.
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Rain - is liquid water in the form of droplets that
have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then precipitated
that is, become heavy enough to fall under gravity.

Drizzle - is a light liquid precipitation consisting of liquid water drops

smaller than those of rain – generally smaller than 0.5 mm (0.02 in) in
diameter.
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Snow - is composed of small ice particles in the form of flakes
of crystalline water ice that falls from clouds.

Sleet - is a regionally variant term that refers to two distinct

forms of precipitation: Rain and snow mixed, snow that
partially melts as it falls
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Visibility
Visibility is a measure of the distance at which an object or light
can be clearly discerned.

Visibility degradation is caused by the absorption

and scattering of light by particles and gases in the atmosphere.
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Visibility
Visibility can be estimated by an observer during the day simply by recording
the maximum distance that a suitably large, dark coloured object can be
seen on the horizon against the sky.

This estimation can however be difficult to provide accurately when there

are not many objects at a known distance from the observer for comparison.
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Visibility
Visibility estimates can also be made during the night by observing the
maximum distance that a light of known intensity can be identified, although
this has the same sources of ambiguity as daytime estimates,

With the additional effect of light intensity loss by spreading that produces a
natural limit to the distance it can be seen by an observer, even under
perfectly clear conditions..
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Visibility
Mist is a phenomenon caused by small droplets of water
suspended in air.

Haze – is an atmospheric phenomenon where dust, smoke

and other dry particles obscure the clarity of the sky.
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Visibility
Fog is caused by the cooling of air in
contact with the surface to a
temperature at which it can no longer
maintain, in an invisible state, the
water vapour, which is present in it.
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Visibility
Fog may build in different ways. A distinction is made in terms of
development between radiation fog, advection fog, evaporative fog,
orographic fog (or rising fog) and mixed fog. Sometimes, these forms
appear in combinations.
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Visibility
Evaporation fog or Sea Smoke forms occurs when the air is very cold.
Instead of condensing into water droplets, the water
vapor desublimates directly into ice crystals. It forms when a light wind
of very cold air mixes with a shallow layer of saturated warm air
immediately above the warmer water.
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Visibility
Seasmoke forms when a light wind of very cold air mixes with a shallow layer
of saturated warm air immediately above the warmer water. The warmer air
is cooled beyond the dew point and can no longer hold as much water vapor,
so the excess condenses out. The effect is similar to the "steam" produced
over a hot bath or a hot drink, or even an exercising person.
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Visibility
With mixing fog, there is a simultaneous cooling and humidification of
the air. This happens in a turbulent mixing of warm, moist and cold air.
The differentiation from other forms of fog can be quite difficult, since
mixing processes in the formation of fog almost always play a role.
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Visibility
The orographic fog (or rising fog), also called mountain mist, is also a
type of cooling fog. The air cooling occurs through decrease of
air pressure if, because of wind streams, air masses passed over a
mountain or on a mountain. The fog is visible as a cloud around the
mountain peaks.
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Visibility
Radiation fog usually forms when the air is cooled to such an extent
that the relative humidity reaches 100%, the saturation point. It usually
forms during the night due to the heat irradiation from the surface of
the Earth and the associated cooling of the lower air layer.
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Visibility

Dispersal of Radiation Fog

As the sun rises, and the surface temperature increases, the air in
contact with the surface will warm and the fog will gradually
disperse. The fog may rise to form a low layer of stratus.
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Visibility
Advection fog occurs when warm air slides over colder air layers and is
cooled. Advection fog usually occurs as heavy fog, during an inversion.
This means that a warmer air layer has slidden over a colder layer,
which does usually not occur. Between the two layers, a thick blanket
of fog is then created.
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Visibility
Advection fog is the longest lasting form of fog, and may persist over
several days to weeks under certain circumstances. This type of fog can
clear and the visibility can improve just as rapidly as it declined and
such conditions can be difficult to forecast reliably.
The Wind and Pressure
Systems over the Oceans
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The Wind and Pressure Systems over the Oceans
The Coriolis effect is the observed deflection of a moving object, caused by
the moving frame of reference on the spinning Earth. As air warms, expands,
and rises at the equator, it moves toward the pole, but instead of traveling in
a straight path, the air is deflected eastward. In the Northern Hemisphere air
turns to the right. In the Southern Hemisphere air turns to the left.
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Coriolis
Effect
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Air moves in cells, influenced by

the Coriolis effect.

The wind belts girdling the planet

are organised into three cells:
the Hadley cell, the Ferrel cell,
and the Polar cell.
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Prevailing Winds
The Inter Tropical Convergence Zone, or ITCZ known by sailors as the
doldrums is a belt of low pressure which circles the Earth generally
near the equator where the trade winds of the Northern and Southern
Hemispheres come together. The prevailing winds are calm but
generates often vigorous thunderstorms over large areas.
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Prevailing Winds
Westerlies are on the polar sides of the oceanic anticyclones where the
wind direction becomes predominantly W. It generally lie on 40 deg N
and 40 deg S. The continual process of depressions from W to E across
these zones causes the wind to vary greatly in both direction and
strength.
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Prevailing Winds
Polar easterlies (also Polar Hadley cells) are the dry, cold prevailing
winds that blow from the high-pressure areas of the polar highs at
the north and south poles towards low-pressure areas within
the Westerlies at high latitudes.
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Prevailing Winds
The trade winds are the prevailing pattern of easterly surface winds
found in the tropics, within the lower portion of the Earth's
atmosphere, in the lower section of the troposphere near the
Earth's equator.
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Prevailing Winds
Subtropical high, one of several regions of semipermanent high
atmospheric pressure located over the oceans between 20° and 40° of
latitude in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres of the Earth.
The circulation around the highs is clockwise in the Northern
Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.
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Mean surface
pressure and wind
distribution over
the Earth’s surface
in January
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Mean surface
pressure and wind
distribution over
the Earth’s surface
in July
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The Wind and Pressure Systems over the Oceans
Monsoon is the seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and
precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and
sea. Usually, the term monsoon is used to refer to the rainy phase of a
seasonally changing pattern, although technically there is also a dry
phase.
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The Wind and Pressure Systems over the Oceans
Monsoons are large-scale sea breezes which occur when the
temperature on land is significantly warmer or cooler than the
temperature of the ocean. These temperature imbalances happen
because oceans and land absorb heat in different ways.
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Monsoons
The major monsoon systems of the world consist of the West
African and Asia-Australian monsoons. Tropical monsoon climates are also
commonly found in South and Central America. However, there are sections
of South Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa (particularly West and Central Africa),
the Caribbean, and North America that also feature this climate.
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The Wind and Pressure Systems over the Oceans
Local winds are small scale convective winds of local origin caused by
temperature differences. Local terrain has a very strong influence on local
winds, and the more varied the terrain, the greater the influence.
Common Local Winds
1. Land and Sea Breeze 3. Thunderstorm downdrafts
2. Slope and Valley Winds 4. Whirlwinds
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Local Winds A sea breeze is a gentle wind that
develops over bodies of
water near land due to differences
in air pressure created by their
different heat capacity. It is a common
occurrence along coasts during the
morning as solar radiation heats the
land more quickly than the water.
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Local Winds A land breeze or offshore breeze is
the reverse effect, caused by land
cooling more quickly than water in
the evening. The sea breeze
dissipates and the wind flows from
the land towards the sea. Both are
important factors in coastal
regions' prevailing winds.
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Local Winds
Katabatic wind is a wind that carries high
density air from a higher elevation down a
slope under the force of gravity. Such winds
are sometimes also called fall winds.
Katabatic winds can rush down elevated
slopes at hurricane speeds.
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Local Winds

Anabatic Wind

The air at the bottom of the valley is warmed

by conduction from the heated land during
the day, and this air, being less dense than the
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Structure of Depression
An air mass is a large volume of air in the atmosphere that is
mostly uniform in temperature and moisture. Air masses can extend
thousands of kilometers across the surface of the Earth, and can reach
from ground level to the stratosphere 16 kilometers (10 miles) into the
atmosphere.
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Structure of Depression

Air masses form over large surfaces with uniform temperatures

and humidity, called source regions. Low wind speeds let air
remain stationary long enough to take on the features of the source
region, such as heat or cold.

When winds move air masses, they carry their weather conditions
(heat or cold, dry or moist) from the source region to a new region.
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Air masses are classified according to their
temperature and moisture characteristics. They are
grouped into four categories based on their source
region.

cP: cold, dry air mass

mP: cold, moist air mass

cT: warm, dry air mass

mT: warm, moist air mass

cA: extreme cold, moist air mass

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Continental Arctic (cA): This air mass is characterized by extremely cold
temperatures and contains very little moisture. These air masses form north of
(or very near) the Arctic Circle and poleward.
Maritime Tropical (mT): Being from a source region in the Tropics and over water,
this air mass is characterized by hot, humid conditions.
Continental Tropical (Ct) : These are the hot, dry air massesThe leading edge of
this air mass is often called the dry line where it encounters the maritime tropical
air mass, (to the east),
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Maritime Polar (mP): Maritime Polar may be considered
the cool, moist air mass which affects the United States. The source
region for these air masses are the northern Pacific and the north-
western Atlantic. Because they carry an abundance of moisture, they
usually produce clouds and precipitation as they move inland and are
forced upward by the rising land.
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Continental Polar (cP): These air masses bring cold air during the
winter and cool, relatively clear, rather pleasant weather in the
summer. The air mass is stable and usually prevents cloud formation.
It also can develop inversions which inhibits vertical motion and may
cause high pollution events, especially near and downwind of large
industrial areas.
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Structure of Depression
Cold Front
The cold air behind the front undercuts the warm air of the warm
sector, causing the less dense warm air to rise.
Warm Front
When the air in the warm sector of the depression meets the denser,
cold air on the frontal boundary, the warm air overrides it; extensive
cloud and precipitation covering a wide area result as the warm air
ascends.
STCW Table A-II/1
COLD FRONT:
Pressure reaches minimum
and then begins rising
Temperature drops quickly
Wind increase in speed often
gusty Direction begins
shifting
Overcast
Visibility drops quickly to very
poor in showers
STCW Table A-II/1
WARM FRONT:
Pressure reaches minimum
and then remains steady
Temperature warms
steadily
Wind Direction varies
Speed may increase as
front passes
Usually overcast conditions
with predominantly stratus
and nimbostratus type
clouds
Visibility poor but slowly
improving as front passes
 STCW Table A-II/1
Structure of Depression
Depression (also referred to as a 'low'), air is rising. As it rises and cools,
water vapour condenses to form clouds and perhaps precipitation.

Consequently, the weather in a depression is often cloudy, wet and windy

(with winds blowing in an anticlockwise direction around the depression).
There are usually frontal systems associated with depressions.
 STCW Table A-II/1
Structure of Depression

Before we have considered the formation of a wave-like disturbance, along a

small section of a front. But sometimes with each out break of an air mass
develops a series of waves along the front and each wave forms its own
wavelike disturbance.

So from two or three to five depressions can form along a particular front.
 STCW Table A-II/1
Structure of Depression

The initial depression is called primary and others are called secondary
depression. These secondary depressions sometimes grow very quickly
into intense low with almost same characteristics as primary low.

Primary along with another or a series of secondary depressions is

termed as Family of depression.
STCW Table A-II/1

Structure of Depression
In the Northern Hemisphere,
winds circulate around a
depression in a anticlockwise
direction
In the Southern Hemisphere,
winds circulate around a
depression in a clockwise direction
STCW Table A-II/1
FAMILY OF DEPRESSION
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FAMILY OF DEPRESSION
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Depression
on the
DEPRESSION weather
map
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Occluded Front
An occluded front is formed during
the process of cyclogenesis when
a cold front overtakes warm front.
Normally cold fronts move faster than
warm fronts, they can catch up to and
overtake their related warm front.
When they do, an occluded front is
formed.
STCW Table A-II/1

A trough is an elongated region

of relatively low atmospheric
pressure, often associated
with fronts.
Strong troughs are typically
preceded by stormy weather
and colder air at the surface
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Anticyclones and other Pressure Systems

ANTICYCLONES
An anticyclone is a weather phenomenon in which there is a
descending movement of the air and a relative increase in barometric
pressure over the part of the earth's surface affected by it.
STCW Table A-II/1
High-pressure centers
are associated with the
letter H in English,
within the isobar with
the highest pressure
value.
HIGH PRESSURE On constant-pressure
CENTRES upper-level charts,
anticyclones are located
within the highest
height line contour.
 STCW Table A-II/1

In the northern hemisphere

an anticyclone rotates in
the clockwise direction, while
it rotates counterclockwise in
the southern hemisphere.

ANTICYCLONE AT NORTHERN ANTICYCLONE AT SOUTHERN

HEMISPERE HEMISPERE
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A ridge is an elongated
region of relatively high
atmospheric pressure,
the opposite of a trough.
In hydrologic terms, a line
or wall of broken ice
forced up by pressure.
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A col is the intersection

between two high and
two low pressure systems.
This creates an area of
neutral air where there is
no fixed weather.
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A synoptic chart is any map

which data from synchronous weather
observations are entered in the form
of numbers and symbols. Many kinds
of synoptic charts are used for weathe
r forecasting and for studying atmosp
heric processes.
STCW Table A-II/1

The surface prognostic chart

display forecast positions and
characteristics of pressure
systems, fronts, turbulence,
icing, rain and precipitation
 STCW Table A-II/1
Weather Services for Shipping
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a specialized agency
of the United Nations. It is the UN system's authoritative voice on the
state and behaviour of the Earth's atmosphere, its interaction with the
oceans, the climate it produces and the resulting distribution of water
resources.
 STCW Table A-II/1
Weather Services for Shipping
Sources of weather information
Marine VHF/MF Radio
NAVTEX and INMARSAT
HF/Single Sideband radio
Public service radio
Internet
Telephone
Media
 STCW Table A-II/1
Marine VHF/MF Radio

Coastal forecasts at scheduled times on VHF and/or MF. In all cases the forecasts
are produced by the relevant National Weather Service (NWS). Forecasts are
always, at least, for the next 24 hours and usually have an outlook.

Navtex

MRCCs broadcast texts of forecasts for "Sea Areas" as used in such as the BBC
Shipping forecast
 STCW Table A-II/1
Weather Services for Shipping

HF/Single Side-Band Radio

First there are voice broadcast then, there are charts broadcast on Radio facsimile by the
German Weather service (DWD) or by the Royal Navy. And Lastly are forecasts in text
on Radio teletype from the DWD. The most useful service is of wind, sea state and
sometimes weather at a few grid points from the German weather prediction model.
.
 STCW Table A-II/1
Weather Services for Shipping
Internet

This is an Aladdin's cave of weather information available in Internet cafés,

via WiFi, cell phone, satellite phone and, in a limited sense, over marine HF
and amateur radio.

For several reasons, it is well worth making the effort to be able to use the
service whether in harbour, on a buoy or at anchor and, even when at sea if
at all possible.
 STCW Table A-II/1

Weather Services for Shipping Facsimile machines were used to

transmit weather charts internationally
via HF radio.
Radio transmission of weather charts
provides an enormous amount of
flexibility to marine and aviation users
for they now have the latest weather
information and forecasts at their
fingertips to use in the planning of
voyages.
 STCW Table A-II/1
Weather Services for Shipping
The services provided by Metoffice
Provide information on the climatology of oceanic and coastal areas;
and
provide ground-truth for satellite observations.
Ice Analysis, Forecasts and Iceberg Reports
Tide Predictions, Observations
Storm Surge Forecasts
 STCW Table A-II/1
The Services provided by Metoffice

The National Weather Service issues storm warning when winds between 48
knots (89 km/h, 55 mph) and 63 knots (117 km/h, 73 mph) are occurring or
predicted to occur soon.

The winds must not be associated with a tropical cyclone. If the winds are
associated with a tropical cyclone, a tropical storm warning will be
substituted for the storm warning and less severe gale warning.
 STCW Table A-II/1
Yellow: Be aware. Severe weather is possible over the next few days and
could affect you. Yellow means that you should plan ahead thinking about
possible travel delays, or the disruption of your day-to-day activities.

Amber: Be prepared. There is an increased likelihood of bad weather

affecting you, which could potentially disrupt your plans and possibly cause
travel delays, road and rail closures, interruption to power and the potential
risk to life and property.
 STCW Table A-II/1
Red: Take action. Extreme weather is expected. Red means you should
take action now to keep yourself and others safe from the impact of
the weather. Widespread damage, travel and power disruption and risk
to life is likely. You must avoid dangerous areas and follow the advice of
the emergency services and local authorities.
 STCW Table A-II/1
Recording and Reporting Weather Observations
Countries exchange information to enhance their forecasts and to
produce global forecast models. The facility to move information
quickly between centers, without regard to language, and in a format
that may be processed by automated means is embodied in
meteorological codes.
 STCW Table A-II/1
Recording and Reporting Weather Observations
Meteorological codes are composed of a set of values defined in tables
with reference to specific position within strings of information. These
defined values make up a code form and binary codes are made up of
groups of letters representing meteorological or other geophysical
elements.
STCW Table A-II/1
 STCW Table A-II/1
Recording and Reporting Weather Observations
Beaufort Letters is a system which uses letters and numbers to denote
various weather types. It is accepted practice to record phenomena at
a particular time in the following order:
1. State of Sky
2. Thunderstorm (if present)
3. Precipitation (if present)
4. Atmospheric obscurity (if present)
5. Any other phenomena
 STCW Table A-II/1
STATE OF THE SKY

THUNDERSTORM/ALLIED PHENOMENA
 STCW Table A-II/1
PRECIPITATION
 STCW Table A-II/1
OTHER PHENOMENA, ETC. ATMOSPHERIC OBSCURITY
 STCW Table A-II/1
Recording and Reporting Weather Observations
WEATHER STATION PLOT.

Wind is plotted in increments with the outer end of the

symbol pointing toward the direction from which the
wind is blowing. The wind speed is determined by adding
up the total of flags, lines, and half-lines,

Sea-level pressure is plotted in tenths of millibars (mb), with

the leading 10 or 9 omitted.

The pressure trend has two components, a number and

symbol, to indicate how the sea-level pressure has changed
during the past three hours.
 STCW Table A-II/1
Reference: 7. http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/media/pdf/a/t/No.
1. http://www.geog.ucsb.edu/ideas/Insolation.html _11_-_Weather_Charts.pdf
2. https://content.meteoblue.com/en/meteoscool/ 8. http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/media/pdf/a/t/No.
weather/clouds/fog _11_-_Weather_Charts.pdf
3. http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Atmosp 9. http://gspmarine.com/Publications/AIR%20MASS
here/ %20&%20DEPRESSION.pdf
4. http://fas.org/irp/imint/docs/rst/Sect14/Sect14_ 10. http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/media/pdf/a/t/No.
1c.html _11_-_Weather_Charts.pdf
5. http://education.nationalgeographic.com/encyclo 11. http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/cgi-
pedia/air-mass/ bin/expertcharts?LANG=en&CONT=euro&MODEL
L=gfs&VAR=pslv
6. http://www.athensgaweather.com/meteorology-
101-pressure-fronts/
• QUIZ 1 FINAL

• 1. IT IS A COMPOSE OF SET VALUE DEFINE IN TABLE WITH

REFERENCE TO SPECIFIC POSITION.
• A. SYNOPTIC CODE B. METEOROLOGICAL CODE
• C. SYNOPTIC INFORMATION D. SYNOPTIC BULLETIN
•.
• 2.. How much the preasure change in the
millibars past 3 hours
• A. 3 to 5 oktas b. .2 to .3 0ktas c. .4 to .5
oktas d. .6 to 7 oktas
• 3 . What is the code of weight fog (visibility < 1000 m)?

• 4.. What is the symbol of blowing snow?

• 5. Draw the symbol of wind speed and the due point of 56 deg celcius
• 6. Draw the symbol of heavy rain?

• 7. Draw the symbol of of wind direction of south west and the speed 25
knots.

• 8. It is a plotted in tenths of millibars w/c the leading 10 and 9 omitted?

• 9. Symbol of atmospheric pressure in millibars
• a. aaa b. xxx c. vvv d. ppp

• 10. Symbol present weather

• a. mm b ww c. aa d. dd
• 11. What is the symbol of dust and sand storm?

• 12.. What is the code of total amount of cloud ?

• a. L b. Y c. X d. Z

• 22. How much the wind speed of typhoon?

• 23. What is the direction of typhoon?

• 24. How much the distance of typhoon Betty from central Phil.

• 25. What do you mean by PAGASA