1.4 Weather Basics
When weather data are collected or disseminated a key component is the timestamp of the data. Everyone needs to know when the data was collected or when the forecast is supposed to be valid. Since there are 24 hours in a day, there are 24 time zones across the world. Each time zone is 15o longitude in width, although these boundaries are modified at a country’s discretion. Notice China (a yellow country) has only one time zone although it covers over 60o longitude.
This map depicts the 24 time zones across the world.
The timestamp for weather data has been universally agreed upon as the time at the Prime Meridian. This time is referred to as Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), Zulu (Z), or Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). All three of these acronyms refer to the time at the Prime Meridian. Additionally, a 24-hour clock is used with UTC rather than 12 hours in the morning (a.m.) and 12 hours in the evening (p.m.) clock.
To determine the UTC time at your current time zone, count the number of time zones between you and Greenwich (a suburb of London), England. UTC is 7 hours (+7) ahead of Tucson, Arizona.
Time zones: Goran tek-en, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
METEO3 Course Author: Steven Seman (Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University). Some portions adapted from original course materials by David Babb and Lee M. Grenci. Creative Commons license (cc By-NC-SA 4.0), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/, accessed 3-21-2021 / Modifications were to clip segments and reduce text volume.
Surface weather plot: Created with public money and in the public domain. Link to this chart is https://www.ametsoc.org/amsedu/dstreme/images/sfc-reg.html. This link is real-time data and the chart is updated throughout the day. Compass rose: I, Andrew pmk, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons
Compass rose: I, Andrew pmk, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons
Station model key: Created with public money and in the public domain. Link to this chart is https://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/sage/meteorology/lesson4/stationWx_plots.htm
METEO3 Course Author: Steven Seman (Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University). Some portions adapted from original course materials by David Babb and Lee M. Grenci. Creative Commons license (cc By-NC-SA 4.0), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/, accessed 3-21-2021 / Modifications were to clip segments and reduce text volume.
NASA images are included in the Public Domain
NOAA images, screenshots by provided by Glen Sampson
Most of the real-time data from GOES-west is available on the Internet at GOES-West – Sector view: U.S. Pacific Coast.
METEO3 Course Author: Steven Seman (Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University). Some portions adapted from original course materials by David Babb and Lee M. Grenci. Creative Commons license (cc By-NC-SA 4.0), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/, accessed 3-21-2021 / Modifications were to clip segments and reduce text volume.
Surface weather plot: Created with public money and in the public domain. Link to this chart is https://www.ametsoc.org/amsedu/dstreme/images/sfc-reg.html. This link is real-time data and the chart is updated throughout the day. Compass rose: I, Andrew pmk, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons
Station model key: Created with public money and in the public domain. Link to this chart is https://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/sage/meteorology/lesson4/stationWx_plots.htm
