Meteorology Commons^™

Determining Atmospheric Boundary Layer Behavior Over Mountainous Terrain Using Aircraft Vertical Profiles From 2009-2018 Nasa Student Airborne Research Program Data, Dallas Mckinney

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) height separates turbulently mixed air and pollutants emitted at the ground from the free troposphere above and is an important parameter in numerical weather prediction and air pollution dispersion models. Discerning the ABL height over mountainous terrain has historically been difficult because of, for example, complex interactions with upper level winds, venting of humidity and aerosols into the free troposphere, and large spatiotemporal variability. ABL over mountainous terrain (MT) can closely follow the terrain, be flat, or be shallower than surrounding valleys depending on the time of day, synoptic conditions, and effects of the surrounding …

Taking Action: A Case Study Analyzing The Deficiencies And Potential Opportunities For Improvement In The Severe Weather Warning System, Carson Meredith

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The United States is one of the most prone areas in the world to experience severe weather. A warning system operated by the National Weather Service alerts the public of the dangers of severe weather. The purpose of this project is to analyze the effectiveness of the National Weather Service warning system across Kentucky and Tennessee. A case study is presented analyzing six severe weather events in areas warned by the National Weather Service offices in Louisville, Kentucky and Nashville, Tennessee in 2018. Factors reviewed include effectiveness in issuing timely warnings, verification (i.e., whether or not severe weather actually occurred), …

Ua66/8/2 Ogden College Of Science & Engineering Geography & Geology Centers & Institutes, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by and about Centers and Institutes administered by the Geography & Geology Department. Including:

• Center for Cave & Karst Studies
• Center for Local Government Services
• Hoffman Environmental Research Institute
• Kentucky Climate Center
• Resources Management Institute
• Small Public Water System Technology Center

A Climatology Of Convective And Non-Convective High-Wind Events Across The Eastern United States During 1973-2015, Victoria Murley

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

High-wind events (HWE) occur across every region of the United States (U.S.) and result in hundreds of fatalities, as well as thousands of dollars in damages annually. HWEs are classified as sustained high-winds or high-wind gusts and can be generated from convective or non-convective weather systems. This study investigates high-wind observations across the eastern U.S. during a 43-year climatological period (1973-2015) for spatial and temporal variations in wind speed and direction. Hourly surface wind observations were gathered from the National Centers for Environmental Information Data Center Integrated Surface Database (NCEI-ISD). This dataset includes qualitycontrolled wind observations from 391 first-order weather …

An Analysis Of Urban Heat Islands In Kentucky, Logan Mitchell

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The purpose of this research is to increase understanding of the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect in Kentucky by studying its three largest cities: Louisville, Lexington, and Bowling Green. By examining the UHIs of these three cities, two major attributes can be determined: if there is a relationship between the size of the city by population and the UHI magnitude, and if UHI magnitude follows any diurnal and/or seasonal cycles. Data was collected from weather stations within the three major cities, as well as from weather stations located in the rural areas surrounding them. The length of the time series …

Ua94/6/17 Student / Alumni Personal Papers Wku Annie Reis, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by and about Annie Reis during her years as a student at Western Kentucky State Normal School.

Cox, Brittany (Fa 763), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 763. Paper titled “Haunted Places in Brandenburg, Kentucky” written by Brittany Cox for a folk studies class at Western Kentucky University. Paper includes information about haunted locations in Brandenburg, Meade County, Kentucky.

Creation Of A Spatial Decision Support System As A Risk Assessment Tool Based On Kentucky Tornado Climatology, Christopher Michael Blinn

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Tornadoes are one of Mother Nature’s deadliest phenomena. They affect a large region of the United States. The risk of tornadoes is contingent on dynamic atmospheric conditions that are most likely during spring but which can occur anytime of the year, making the storms challenging to forecast. Using geographical information systems (GIS), a web-based spatial decision support system (SDSS) was created to help understand the spatial dimension of tornado risk assessment. The risk values are calculated using Tornado Days rather than taking a crude density measurement. The SDSS hosts GIS web services that are displayed on an Adobe Flex application. …

Ua668/4 Ogden College Of Science & Engineering Geography & Geology Administration, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by and about the administration of the Geography & Geology department.

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 83, No. 3, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Archives Records

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news.

Evaluating Spatial Variability Of Precipitation In Kentucky With Exploratory Data Analysis, Daniel Taylor

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Spatial variability of precipitation is examined over the state of Kentucky and surrounding areas. The study focuses on the analysis of monthly precipitation totals from the period of 1961-2000. The purpose of the study is to develop a set of indices to represent the spatial variability of the study area for a given month. Various exploratory data analysis methods such as variography, kriging, and cluster analysis were used. The study attempts to quantify the second order (local) effects of the spatial variation of precipitation as a means to provide insight into the prediction of precipitation randomness. This task can be …

A Model Of Precipitation Rates In Kentucky, 1965-1996, Kevin Cary

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Hourly precipitation data from thirty cooperative stations in Kentucky from 1965 to 1996 were used to determine the diurnal distribution of precipitation rates. Descriptive summaries for the diurnal distribution for each climate division in Kentucky and for Kentucky as a whole were calculated. In each case, the trends were similar. Precipitation rates increased into the afternoon and then decreased until sunrise. A stochastic model was developed to estimate mean seasonal precipitation rates in Kentucky by using regional and localized parameters. More than half of the variation (r2 = 0.57) in precipitation rates can be explained by the following variables: 1) …

Ua12/2/1 Special Storm Coverage, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Archives Records

Special hail storm coverage edition of the College Heights Herald:

• Batcheldor, Matt. Campus Damage Exceeds $4 Million; No One Hurt – Hail, Flooding
• Moore, Leigh. Downing University Center Roof Destroyed; Food Services Continue – Hail, Dining Services
• Batcheldor, Matt. Weather or Not . . . Hail, Flooding

Ua52/1 Hail Storm Memories, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Records

Memories of WKU faculty, staff, alumni and the general public regarding the 1988 hail storm solicited by WKU Archives.

Measuring The Momentum Of Throughfall Drops And Raindrops, Paul Kimble

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The methods previously used to determine the momentum and kinetic energy of throughfall drops in the field do not account for the drop's shape at impact or for the variations of the drop's velocity caused by chaotic air currents. The drop's shape at impact is critical because it influences the drop's measurable momentum, kinetic energy, impact force, and the amount of soil that can be displaced by the falling water drop. Since the momentum and kinetic energy of raindrops and throughfall drops are used as indices of soil particle displacement the most accurate momentum and kinetic energydata would be required …

Ua66/8/2 Climatic Extremes In Kentucky, Wku Kentucky Climate Center

WKU Archives Records

Kentucky Climate Center report number 28 Climatic Extremes in Kentucky.

Ua66/8/2 Climate Of Bowling Green, Kentucky, Wku Kentucky Climate Center, Glen Conner, John Ternent

WKU Archives Records

Climatological summary of weather and temperatures for Bowling Green, Kentucky between 1961 and 1990.

Ua66/8/2 The Climate Of Bowling Green & Warren County, Wku Center For Local Government, Glen Conner, Mike Nichols, John Ternent, Grant Whittle, Amy Huot

WKU Archives Records

Climate analysis of Bowling Green and Warren County, Kentucky from 1958 to 1987.

Ua35/11 Student Honors Research Bulletin, Wku Honors Program

WKU Archives Records

The WKU Student Honors Research Bulletin is dedicated to scholarly involvement and student research. These papers are representative of work done by students from throughout the university.

• Bachert, Sara. Rational Portrayal of the Irrationational in The Pit and the Pendulum
• Bell, Suzanne. Early Secret Involvement of the United States Military in Cambodia
• Brock, Beth. The Informal Caregiving System: The Frail Elderlys' Avenue of Choice
• Daniel, Janice. Child Sexual Abuse
• Johnson, Linda. International Telecommunications Trade with Japan
• Jones, LaMont. Ernie Pyle: Journalist Without Peer
• Kesserling, Marcia. Attitudes Toward the Need for Computer Literacy
• Lewis, Gloria. John Donne's Attitude Toward Love
• Majdi, …

Ua35/11 Wku Student Honors Research Bulletin, Wku University Honors Program

WKU Archives Records

The Western Kentucky University Student Honors Research Bulletin is dedicated to scholarly involvement and student research. These papers represent work done by students from throughout the university.

• Kesselring, Marcia. Attitudes Toward the Need for Computer Literacy
• Tuck, Janna & Karen Wiggins. Methylation and Confirmation of PGE
• Lewis, Gloria. John Donne's Attitude Toward Love
• Johnson, Linda. International Telecommunications Trade with Japan
• Sharpe, Greg. Precipitation Patterns in Bowling Green, Kentucky, 1980-1985
• Smith, Sandy. Religion and the Media: Alliance or War?
• Bell, Suzanne. Early Secret Involvement of the United States Military in Cambodia
• Scariot, Linda. Parental Divorce and Childhood Emotional Disturbances
• Daniel, Janice. …

Ua66/8/2 Climate Of Paducah, Kentucky, Wku Kentucky Climate Center, Glen Conner, Tom Feeney, Vernon Pyse

WKU Archives Records

Climatological summary of weather and temperatures for Paducah, Kentucky between 1956 and 1985

Ua37/30/2 Wku Research Notecards - H Topics, Lowell Harrison

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

Notecards created by Lowell Harrison while researching his book Western Kentucky University. The cards transcribed are for 108 topics beginning with H ranging from Hail Storm to Hundred Club.

Ua66/8/2 Growing Season In Kentucky 1951-1980, Wku Climate Center, Glen Conner, Mark Simpson

WKU Archives Records

Kentucky Climate Center report number 26 Growing Season in Kentucky 1951-1980.

Ua66/8/2 Climate Of Owensboro, Kentucky, Wku Kentucky Climate Center, Glen Conner, Tom Feeney, Douglas Harper

WKU Archives Records

Climatological summary of weather and temperatures for Owensboro, Kentucky from 1951 to 1980

Ua66/8/2 Climate Of Bowling Green, Kentucky, Wku Kentucky Climate Center, Glenn Conner, Sherree Tipton, Lynda Dilgard

WKU Archives Records

Climatological summary of weather and temperatures for Bowling Green, Kentucky between 1951 and 1980.

Ua66/8/2 Climate Of London, Kentucky, Wku Kentucky Climate Center, Glen Conner, Mark Simpson, Douglas Harper

WKU Archives Records

Climatological summary of weather and temperatures for London, Kentucky from 1954 to 1980.

Ua66/8/2 Climate Of Louisville, Kentucky, Wku Kentucky Climate Center, Glen Conner, Mark Simpson, Douglas Harper

WKU Archives Records

Climatological summary of weather and temperatures for Louisville, Kentucky from 1951 to 1980.

Ua66/8/2 Climate Of Madisonville, Kentucky, Wku Kentucky Climate Center, Glen Conner, Mark Simpson, Douglas Harper

WKU Archives Records

Climatological summary of weather and temperatures for Madisonville, Kentucky from 1951 to 1980.

Ua66/8/2 Climate Of Maysville, Kentucky, Wku Kentucky Climate Center, Glen Conner, Kevin Brown, Douglas Harper

WKU Archives Records

Climatological summary of weather and temperatures for Maysville, Kentucky from 1951 to 1980.

Ua66/8/2 Climate Of Manchester, Kentucky, Wku Kentucky Climate Center, Glen Conner, Kevin Brown, Douglas Harper

WKU Archives Records

Climatological summary of weather and temperatures for Manchester, Kentucky from 1951 to 1980.