meteorological conventions

Introduction to Meteorology
Cartesian Coordinates Meteorological vs Mathematical
 Meteorological vs Mathematical
In polar coordinates, horizontal
velocities can be expressed as a direction
(α), and speed or magnitude (M)

Historically, winds are named by the

direction from which they come, while in
mathematics angles give the direction
toward which things move.

Thus, a west wind is a wind from the

west; namely, from 270°. It corresponds
to a positive value of U, with air moving
in the positive x direction.
Because of these differences, the usual trigonometric equations cannot be used to
convert between (U, V) and (α, M).

Use the following equations instead, where α is the compass direction from which
winds come.
Find the wind direction (degrees) and speed
(m/s), given the (U, V) components:

a. (-5, 0) knots
b. (8, -2) m/s
Earth Frameworks Reviewed
The Earth is slightly flattened into an oblate spheroid of revolution . The distance from the center of the Earth
to the north (N) and south (S) poles is roughly 6356.755 km, slightly less than the 6378.140 km distance from
the center to the equator. This 21 km difference in Earth radius causes a north-south cross section (i.e., a slice)
of the Earth to be slightly elliptical. But for all practical purposes you can approximate the Earth a sphere.

Recall that north-south lines are called meridians, and are numbered in degrees
longitude.
The prime meridian (0° longitude) is defined by international convention to pass
through Greenwich,
Great Britain. We often divide the 360° of longitude
around the Earth into halves relative to Greenwich:
• Western Hemisphere: 0 – 180°W,
• Eastern Hemisphere: 0 – 180°E.
Earth Frameworks Reviewed
By convention, the equator is defined as 0°
latitude; the north pole is at 90°N; and the south
pole is at 90°S.

Between the north and south poles are 180° of

latitude, although we usually divide the globe into
the:
• Northern Hemisphere: 0 – 90°N,
• Southern hemisphere: 0 – 90°S.

On the surface of the Earth, each degree of

latitude equals 111 km, or 60 nautical miles.
Azimuth, Zenith, & Elevation Angles
As a meteorological observer on the ground, you can describe the local angle to an object (white circle) by two
angles: the azimuth angle (α), and either the zenith angle (ζ) or elevation angle (ψ).
Azimuth, Zenith, & Elevation Angles
As a meteorological observer on the ground, you can describe the local angle to an object (white circle) by two
angles: the azimuth angle (α), and either the zenith angle (ζ) or elevation angle (ψ).

Zenith means “directly overhead”. Zenith angle is

the angle measured at your position, between a
conceptual line drawn to the zenith (up) and a line
drawn to the object

The elevation angle is how far above the horizon you

see the object.

Azimuth angle is the compass angle along the local

horizontal plane at your location, measured
clockwise from the direction to north (N) to the
direction to A.