Reading List 

Date:      December 2009

To:         MSC/COMET Winter Weather Course Attendees

From:     Phil Chadwick and Doug Wesley

Subject:  Pre-course reading

This list suggests some Web-based resources for review and introduction to basic topics that will serve as building blocks for many course presentations.

Please contact Michelle Harrison for the required username and the password to access the presentations contained in this link. Please do not circulate this username and password. Some specific topics from this page are suggested below.

1. MSC Meteorologists will want to study the use of the NinJo interface at the following link to the NinJo Training Site. http://cmodow2.ontario.int.ec.gc.ca/NinJo.html (Note: this is link will for for MSC participants only)

   The information provided is more than is required for the Winter Weather Course but will be important when NinJo is deployed.
   

2. Isentropic coordinates and analysis review:
   http://meted.ucar.edu/isen_ana/index.htm is a COMET Webcast on this subject
   
   
3. Slantwise Convection:An Operational Approach -
   http://www.meted.ucar.edu/norlat/slant/
   
   
4. Potential Vorticity:
   An introductory reference is found in the Canadian initial meteorological training Website. See:
   PV Intro - Structure and Evolution of Baroclinic Waves and Fronts: Isentropic Potential Vorticity.
   
   
5. Topics in Precipitation Type Forecasting.
   http://meted.ucar.edu/norlat/snow/preciptype/index.htm
   
   
6. Microphysics review:
   http://www.crh.noaa.gov/arx/micro/micrope.php(the second half is more operationally-oriented).
   
   
7. Conveyer Belts, System-relative flow, heavy banded snow and the TROWAL circulation review:
   See http://meted.ucar.edu/norlat/bandedsnow. This COMET Webcast includes discussion of these concepts.
   
   
8. Mesoscale Banded Precipitation -
   http://www.meted.ucar.edu/mesoprim/bandedprecip/
   
   
9. Orographic Storms:
   See: http://www.meted.ucar.edu/norlat/orographic/
   
   
10. Blowing Snow:
    http://www.meted.ucar.edu/norlat/snow/blowingsnow_case/
    
    
11. Satellite Meteorology:
    The Vorticity Maxima and Comma Patterns - http://www.meted.ucar.edu/norlat/sat_features/vort_max/
    The Vorticity Minima and Anticomma Patterns - http://www.meted.ucar.edu/norlat/sat_features/vort_min/
    Deformation Zone Analysis - http://www.meted.ucar.edu/norlat/sat_features/dz_analysis/
    
    
12. Ensemble forecasting:
    See the COMET module http://www.meted.ucar.edu/nwp/pcu1/ensemble/. This one contains a lot of information. The first two sections (Introduction and Generation) provide useful background review material.
    
    
13. COMAP Reading:
    Some useful reference articles come from the COMAP (COMET Mesoscale Analysis and Prediction) Course from May, 2002. They are found at: http://www.comet.ucar.edu/class/comap/07_May5_2002/html/week1.htm

• A second reference to PV is found on the COMAP page mentioned above. Choose “Potential Vorticity” on that page for a brief introduction to some PV concepts.
• Q-Vectors:
  From the COMAP page mentioned above, choose the lectures by Thaler from Tue May 7. They load as a group. Q-Vectors are discussed, starting on page 20. The first part of this reference also reviews Q-G theory.
• Frontogenesis and associated circulations review:
  
• From the COMAP page already referred to, choose “Kinematic Frontogenesis F-Vectors” for an introduction and brief review of the theory of frontogenesis. Also, the “Frontal Circulations” lecture from the same page has some information on the circulations associated with frontogenesis and their modulation by stability.
  

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