This module provides a brief overview of Buoyancy and CAPE. Topics covered include the origin of atmospheric buoyancy, estimating buoyancy using the CAPE and Lifted Index, factors that affect buoyancy including entrainment of mid-level air, water loading, convective inhibition, and the origin of convective downdrafts. This module delivers instruction with audio narration, rich graphics, and a companion print version.
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gsb12
2020-04-12 15:54:00
Great, easy-to-understand lesson on CAPE and how it appears on skew-t’s.
Spongebob38
2018-12-07 01:04:57
Very informative. Tons of information.
2018-11-21 14:30:02
There were several topics discussed that were not adequately introduced or defined. Perhaps there was a module I should have taken before that this module builds on. If so, it would be good to outline which modules lead into each other and increase the skill level for this module.
jfromer1
2018-11-02 03:40:06
An excellent review of basic meteorological concepts that is quite useful once you've been out of the classroom for some time. Easy to follow and understand, with concise explanations and definitions.
kolinio
2018-09-16 10:16:23
Interesting Lesson
josaia
2018-09-06 06:17:42
MetEd topic had iproved my knowleded in meteorology
ssalis
2018-09-04 07:03:43
Interesting and intuitive dissertation about basic buoyancy concepts
MBWX
2018-08-04 10:49:45
Excellent for a refresher in convection/skew-t basics.
justanotherweathergeek
2018-07-31 20:05:27
Amazing Lesson. Did not know much about the topic when I started but I am now confident with my skills
kb0vug
2018-07-22 22:35:20
Good refresher.
IsabelK
2018-07-20 01:37:14
A little tricky
WeatherGuy15
2018-07-19 00:42:26
great info for free
Ann Andrew
2018-07-13 16:13:02
it improves my knowledge and understanding in dealing with my learning.
581759
2018-07-12 14:03:57
pretty much all the answer are in the slide
2018-07-10 05:59:18
good
2018-07-09 08:36:20
good
yooperbsn
2018-07-08 11:22:05
Good lesson overall. not having previous experience I needed to look some things up elsewhere to fully understand the material.
jttaifane
2018-06-29 09:53:22
A great refresher course to take for work related skills. Very detailed and easily understood.
dtomaso@abc27.com
2018-05-08 14:40:09
Good refresher on general mesoscale topics including skew Ts
Galify
2018-05-08 09:51:15
Taking this for my own purpose of learning to be a skywarn spotter
mdraszt25
2018-05-03 09:07:54
The videos on this Comet were especially helpful in absorbing the content!
FloodHydrologist
2018-04-10 05:45:37
Really good. It would be handy to have an optional explainer of the thermodynamic charts and wet and dry adiabats. I'm new to all of this and i don't really understand these (especially as they have no labels).
Dandogg
2018-03-30 20:15:09
Good basic material on convection.
ARWeather
2018-03-05 14:14:55
I enjoyed this lesson, my only complaint was I felt the commentator spoke WAY too quick. For those of us taking notes it was very hard to keep up.
pwarupi40
2018-03-04 22:59:49
Its best for NWS offices with Sounding to effectively analysis this data
Yabbles
2018-03-01 15:13:37
I did this for a grade
WPST Director 10
2018-02-21 22:56:06
Excellent course for decoding the mystery of Skew-T
Kaneelpantoffel
2018-02-21 07:36:25
keksflex
StormEagle
2018-02-12 16:39:57
This was really great and fun to do
mikezaz
2018-02-01 14:08:00
There seems to be a problem with the question on CAPE.
sosten.sos
2018-01-31 04:31:09
I really love this kind of quiz. It really interesting.
hayesjoseph89
2018-01-23 03:31:55
Awesome.
Pan6a
2018-01-15 02:06:23
A little bit difficult but useful
rpossert
2017-12-18 15:55:12
Very well illustrated lesson.
TheRollingStorms
2017-11-19 07:03:14
really helps in understanding thunderstorms and severe weather phenomena that ensue from such
MasterThor
2017-11-17 09:44:28
Excellent module. Love the fact that it's a video module.
prendek
2017-10-31 21:10:28
The series is really good to understand the underlying mechanics of storms.
Metin44
2017-10-12 06:12:56
sadasd
domo911
2017-10-01 23:00:36
very useful
mrs
2017-10-01 21:04:04
good
jancae
2017-10-01 20:20:18
Topic gets complicated quickly and I found myself going over topics multiple times and still confused. Could be my brain needs time to process.
elise_passow
2017-10-01 02:42:44
This lesson was very easy to get through, all the material was easy to read and understand the first time going through it. The slides were simple, easy on the eyes. Overall, I enjoyed the quality of this lesson.
manoah.tepa
2017-09-07 23:44:23
This is very important to forecasters and best to study.
Harris2019
2017-09-05 22:53:22
na
rmoroni
2017-08-08 19:01:13
I found this lesson nicely paced with each section building on the previous in a comfortable manner.The videos are a great aid to grasping the concepts involved.Although I was able to get a passing score.I recommend going over the lesson a few times before taking the quiz to really absorb the concepts presented.
navinsinghweather
2017-08-04 11:46:56
Excellent comprehensive explanation of buoyancy and convection. I do wish there were a few slides or pages explaining how to interpret the skew T graph as well as explaining what each individual line represents on the graph (for example, label the lines with their properties of dry adiabat, wet adiabat, constant mixing ratio line). I used outside resources because I do not have the background knowledge in skew T graphs besides seeing some on weather forums and learning what the temp and dew point lines were on those forums.
wtvisser
2017-08-02 13:09:13
Lesson content is interesting and useful, however it is hard to follow. The videos pack a lot of information and ends abruptly without allowing to read back or review. I would like to see the textual explanation alongside the video, not inside.
kopfk@uindy.edu
2017-07-13 10:25:33
I thought this was a great quiz to take and this really prepared me for my studies as a future meteorologist!
oser1122
2017-07-06 13:17:37
I found the active diagrams and and skew-T charts to be quite helpful. I would have liked to see some assessment questions throughout the lesson to make sure I was understanding the concepts correctly before moving on.
bcom
2017-07-02 04:20:19
Very interesting lesson;
Staples89
2017-06-07 10:11:47
I learned a lot with the lessons
paul.y.pelletier
2017-05-31 12:34:38
CQuimby
2017-05-23 16:26:33
Course was a good review!
AustinDE94
2017-05-17 11:21:14
This lesson I think can be simplified and a slightly longer introduction would have helped me more in my opinion.
sander.stoker@gmail.com
2017-05-15 03:37:12
Overall good. Some choice of words might be a bit confusing.
sander.stoker@gmail.com
2017-05-15 03:37:11
Overall good. Some choice of words might be a bit confusing.
bgonch@gmail.com
2017-05-03 21:20:36
An excellent resource for pilots trying to understand the dynamics of the atmosphere
cheese99
2017-04-20 15:08:28
It was a great chores thanks
sgarner
2017-04-16 22:05:35
Good intro to convective storm understanding/
sehie1975
2017-03-19 13:32:24
interesting course.
KD9CZR
2017-03-16 10:49:54
good lesson, it help with understanding how the skew-t graph interacts with storms lifecycle
ES-33
2017-02-22 16:20:53
Very relevant information in this lesson.d
Bauyrzhan
2017-02-17 03:46:09
stuabs19
2017-02-16 19:58:47
Some of the grahics move too quickly through animations.
mahughson
2017-02-14 19:23:22
Cool
Michael Mugrage
2017-02-13 15:27:44
wxgeek97
2017-02-11 12:36:09
Seemed way too advanced and brief for a beginner lever course. If I didn't have any previous knowledge I would not have passed.
SS109Penatrator
2017-02-07 12:53:56
well done
coopesg
2017-01-22 16:42:19
Pay close attention to the presenter to make sure you understand what is being said. I had to go back and repeat some of the slides multiple times to clearly understand what was said.
VortexStarr
2017-01-17 12:01:19
This lesson is very very informative and will greatly enhance your ability to determine whether or not you will see convection initiate in a given atmospheric condition, and how strong that convection can get.
pic2
2017-01-11 16:11:12
This is on the job training.
NordeenJ93
2016-12-07 22:38:43
This was a really easy course to pay attention to due to the graphics. I am a visual learner and seeing things as the narrator describes it really helps. Even those who aren't going into a meteorology field should take this course.
hollyster_12
2016-12-02 09:44:35
n/a
RNShuler89
2016-11-20 23:29:46
Being a novice and not having any prior experience/knowledge with the terminology in this lesson, adding a vocabulary page with the key terms would increase the ability for others to succeed.
spttr17
2016-11-11 10:42:32
This module is entirely video. It's a slidshow with some graphs and a narrator whose words appear on the screen (you could probably watch it with the sound off). It needs more questions throughout the lesson to keep the student engaged. However, it was informative and a great way to reinforce basic convection lessons.
yjh3044
2016-10-21 13:12:56
good.
cascoteam
2016-10-19 00:01:27
Good course
lbk9125
2016-10-08 00:52:00
.
drwater
2016-09-11 15:10:19
Skew T-log P diagram: need labels on the axis with quantity and unit. It would be nice to have one slide explaining the diagram in depth before walking through examples.
Odri
2015-10-03 14:22:12
Concept of buoyancy very nicely explained. Would highly recommend.
NWS Newton,KS
2015-06-28 17:46:36
A great module to start on greatly recommend it to new people in meteorological studies.
EQ
2015-02-23 17:35:49
Excellent module , if you are new to Meteorology I would advise you to start here.
jdaly19
2014-05-02 11:20:45
Excellent module, clearly explains the basics of convective processes.
msisione
2014-04-10 09:47:47
It was bit hard and challenging but thanks be to God I managed to get above pass mark and relevant knowledge.
Geej15
2013-07-13 15:20:09
Had a little trouble understanding the Moist and dry adiabat stuff and feel like it maybe could have been fleshed out a bit better but overall it was awesome!
reddolphin
2013-05-14 13:41:47
Very clear and well organized presentation.
I found it helpful to download the print version to supplement the audio [to make sure I heard what I thought I heard]
Also, I have bookmarked the glossary from the prior module in this course. Suggest that a glossary link be part of all modules.
God's Rebel
2013-04-29 09:15:35
This was a difficult one for me to take but when I passed it was worth it and all the knowledge that I now have is grand!! I would most certainly recommend for someone who is very interested in weather!!
Terminal Objectives
By the end of this module you will be able to do the following:
Describe how buoyancy contributes to formation of a convective storm and its related updrafts and downdrafts
Define CAPE, LI, and CIN and describe how they can be used to forecast convective activity
Enabling Objectives
By the end of this module you will be able to do the following:
Define buoyancy and list factors that tend to increase buoyancy
Describe the life cycle of a convective storm
Define CAPE and describe how CAPE is determined on a skew-T/log-P diagram
Define Lifted Index (LI) and describe how LI is determined on a skew-T/log-P diagram
Describe how CAPE differs from Lifted Index
Define Convective Inhibition (CIN) and list factors that tend to increase CIN
Given 2 soundings, choose the soundings that will give the stronger updraft or downdraft
buoyancy, convection, CAPE, convective available potential energy, LI, lifted index, DAPE, updraft, downdraft, LFC, level of free convection, EL, equilibrium level, LCL, lifted condensation level, Wmax, CIN, convective inhibition, cold pool
March 10, 2016: HTML framework updated to latest cross-browser compatibility standards.
December 1, 2013: HTML and media assets in this lesson have been updated for current browsers and mobile devices.