ATMO 336 - Severe Weather Impact and 500mb Weather Maps

Trends in weather-related damages and deaths:
- Balanced number of deaths from severe weather from increasing forecasting/awareness and increasing population
- Increasing trend in damaged costs due to people having more valuable stuff and more property along the coastlines
- Heat wave: 5 consecutive days with temperatures 9F or more above average in the summer months
- Cold wave: similar definition from above
- More people die from heat waves in the northern cities (where it is out of the norm)
- More people die from cold waves in the southern cities (where it is out of the norm)
- Popular press shows more awareness about heat waves however the trend of articles show more deaths are from cold-waves
- Different studies yield very different results

500mb Weather Maps:
- Height of 500mb pressure level is plotted
- Contour map
- Can tell us things about temperature, storms, where it's cool and warm...
- hPa = mb
- 0 hour forecast is the truth, based on current observations
- Best observation using this map: general temperatures where it is above or below normal
- The higher the temperature, the higher the 500mb height
- Near a trough there will be below average temperatures
- Near a ridge there will be above average temperatures
- Closed Low: region of locally low heights around which one or more closed contours are drawn. Indicate a "pool" of colder air surrounded by warmer air.
- Can also have closed highs
- Comparing trough or ridge height with average height for that time of year
- October average 500mb height for Tucson is about 5800