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Building your 'weather' skills

Passage of a summer cold front - Exercise using data tables

A summertime cold front: 6-10 February 2001

This section presents two data tables for you to use to identify when the cold front passed. Note changes in pressure, wind direction and speed as well as temperature change.
This cold front brought very little rainfall.

Answers are listed at the bottom of the page.

ADELAIDE (FEBRUARY 2001)

DATE	TIME (UTC)	WIND DIR (DEGREES)	SPEED (KTS)	TEMP ^OC	MSL PRESSURE HECTOPASCALS	RAINFALL (PREVIOUS 6 HOURS (mm))
6 FEB	1200 1800	120 020	08 04	30.3 29.2	1013.3 1011.8	0 0
7 FEB	0000 0600 1200 1800	360 240 Calm 030	08 08 05	34.8 39.1 33.2 31.2	1013.3 1009.7 1009.2 1007.1	0 0 0 0
8 FEB	0000 0600 1200 1800	330 250 230 300	08 09 07 06	36.6 39.3 28.1 26.6	1009.2 1006.2 1008.1 1008.3	0 0 0 0
9 FEB	0000 0600 1200 1800	180 200 160 130	07 04 08 05	21.9 24.8 18.2 17.3	1013.1 1011.7 1014.5 1013.2	0 0.8 0 0
10 FEB	0000	020	04	19.8	1015.5	0

To convert UTC to Eastern Standard Time add 10 hours
i.e. 1200 UTC 6 Feb = 2200 EST 6 Feb
1800 UTC 6 Feb = 0400 EST 7 Feb

MELBOURNE (FEBRUARY 2001)

DATE	TIME (UTC)	WIND DIR (DEGREES)	SPEED (KTS)	TEMP ^OC	MSL PRESSURE HECTOPASCALS	RAINFALL (PREVIOUS 6 HOURS (mm))
6 FEB	1200 1800	120 360	06 04	25.3 19.8	1017.6 1017.8	0 0
7 FEB	0000 0600 1200 1800	010 010 360 360	19 12 08 10	26.2 33.5 29.2 24.6	1018.9 1015.3 1013.7 1012.0	0 0 0 0
8 FEB	0000 0600 1200 1800	360 360 200 360	21 23 11 07	29.1 34.8 25.4 23.7	1011.4 1007.8 1007.4 1005.5	0 trace 0 0
9 FEB	0000 0600 1200 1800	190 180 190 230	05 08 08 08	21.6 19.6 18.9 16.4	1009.6 1011.4 1011.8 1012.2	0 0 0 0
10 FEB	0000	210	10	17.9	1013.7	0

To convert UTC to Eastern Standard Time add 10 hours
i.e. 1200 UTC 6 Feb = 2200 EST 6 Feb
1800 UTC 6 Feb = 0400 EST 7 Feb

Answer: When did the cold front pass?

The chart sequence showed the front moving through both Adelaide and Melbourne between the afternoon of 8 February and the afternoon of 9 February.

Adelaide's table of data shows a sharp temperature drop (39.3°C at 0600 UTC to 28.1°C at 1200 UTC on 8 February) and a change in wind flow from NNW at 8 knots at 0000 UTC to WSW at 9 knots at 0600 UTC......suggesting the front passed soon after 0600 UTC, 8 February 2001.
Melbourne's table of data shows a similar temperature drop (from 34.8°C at 0600 UTC to 25.4°C at 1200 UTC) and a change in wind flow from N at 23 knots at 0600 UTC to SSW at 11 knots at 1200 UTC...suggesting the front passed through between these two times.

Back to the first page of A summertime cold front


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