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Come Rain or Shine: Understanding the Weather

Explore the physical processes behind the weather to understand why it is rainy, windy or sometimes even sunny in this online course from the University of Reading.

Duration

5 weeks

Weekly study

3 hours

100% online

How it works

Unlimited subscription

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Weather affects our lives almost every day through what we wear, what we eat and what we do. But why is it rainy, windy or sometimes even sunny? Explore some of the physical processes driving UK weather systems and get hands on in the world of weather with practical activities and fieldwork. Try your hand at forecasting and have a go at interpreting weather maps and compare your results with our educator, Dr Sylvia Knight’s. You’ll also watch our educators carrying out simple but effective experiments including creating clouds, simulating hot air rising and demonstrating the Coriolis effect.

You’ll then move on to explore the global controls on weather and climate, looking at Earth’s energy budget and the factors that influence it. You’ll learn about global atmospheric and oceanic circulation and discover how and why the weather in the Tropics differs from that in the UK, before studying other weather systems such as Monsoons, Tropical cyclones and El Niño/La Niña.

Week 1
Low pressure systems
- Welcome to the course
  Find out about what you will be learning, who will be guiding you and how the course is taught.
- Depressions and how they form
  Learn about low pressure systems, what depression are and how they form in mid-latitudes.
- The Coriolis Effect
  Discover what causes wind and how its direction is affected by the Earth's rotation.
- Review and Reflect
  Reflect on what you've learnt this week and explore online teaching resources related to the topics covered in Week 1.
Week 2
Weather maps, sting jets and jet streams
- Welcome to Week 2
  Find out what will be covered in Week 2.
- Weather maps
  Learn how to read a weather map using depression data in a series of exercises.
- Jets, conveyors and faster cold fronts
  Look in more detail at the movement of air within and around a depression and explore some associated weather features.
- Review and Reflect
  Check your understanding with an end of week quiz and take a look at online teaching resources related to the topics covered in Week 2.
Week 3
Air masses, rain, snow and high pressure
- Welcome to Week 3
  Find out what will be covered in Week 3 of Come Rain or Shine.
- Air masses
  Learn about the six air masses which can affect the weather in the UK before trying to identify air masses on a weather map.
- Types of rain
  Find out more about frontal, orographic and relief convective rainfall and explore a case study.
- Anticyclones
  Move on to look at high pressure weather systems - anticyclones - and how they affect UK weather.
- Review and Reflect
  Check what you've learnt with an end of week quiz and discuss the weather you've experienced recently in the light of what you've covered.
Week 4
Global controls on weather and climate, and fieldwork
- The Earth's energy budget
  In Week 4, you'll move beyond the UK and learn about the factors that determine the global climate.
- The Earth's energy budget: part 2
  Explore how time, volcanoes and people impact the Earth’s energy budget and therefore the weather and climate.
- Fieldwork
  Try recording weather data yourself, using readily available equipment or items you can find at home.
- Review and Reflect
  Check what you've learnt with an isoline exercise before looking ahead to the final week.
Week 5
Tropical weather systems
- Welcome to Week 5
  Find out about the weather systems you'll be learning about in Week 5 and get to grips with oceanic and atmospheric circulation.
- El Niño, monsoons and tropical cyclones
  Discover how the excess of energy within the Tropics impacts the types of weather systems that form in this part of the world
- Review and reflect
  Contribute to this course's record of weather around the world and understand the principles of forecasting before reflecting on what you've covered in Week 5 and exploring resources to continue your learning.