Vermont's latitude and varying landforms and bodies of water can create a fairly broad range of weather conditions. The westerly flow of  North American weather patterns is affected by orographic lifting of the Adirondack Mountains of upstate new York to the west and storms often "stall" and build before overtopping the mountains with some severity. The long north-south trending Lake Champlain causes a different set of weather conditions to occur near its location with lake effect snow and moderated temperature fluctuations due to the high specific heat of that body of water. The winters in Vermont can often be severe when clipper systems from Canada and polar air masses descend southward which can lead to extended periods of below zero weather and occasional cold temperatures that can descend to -30 degrees Fahrenheit. Winter snowfall amounts can be significant as NorEasters often bring moist Gulf stream air inland on a regular basis. High temperatures in the relatively short summer can occasionally reach the high 90's  but mid 80's is more typical with humidity that is qualitatively "comfortable". Fall and spring weather conditions are deemed pleasant by locals and an interesting 5th season locally referred to as "mud season" occurs when spring precipitation is unable to penetrate the still frozen ground. Weather can be changeable in a short distance as one travels from the lake region through the Champlain Valley and then to the foothills and upper reaches of the Green Mountains. The Climate type of this region according to the Koppen-Geiger classification system is Dfb - Humid continental, warm summers, with three high mountain areas of Alpine tundra classified as ET by some. During the field trip you are to make a number of regular meteorological observations both qualitative and quantitative and record those observations in your trip journal. Record the qualitative data three times a day, once in the morning, then around noontime and in the evening. Include the following measurements in your data collection. Create a data table to organize the readings you make and a graphic organizer that allows you to analyze trends throughout the week.

• Wind speed and direction
• Temperature
• Dew point
• Relative humidity
• Barometric pressure
• Altitude

Make an appropriate data table that describes the location and time the measurements were taken. There are a number of instruments available to facilitate data collection. You may use any type that is appropriate and some options can be found at  Partshelf .com I have used the Speedtech Instruments products shown on that site and they are quality instruments but others may be equally effective.

                                                                              
                                                          All images above from Partshelf.com

For the qualitative data gathering portion of this requirement record observations of cloud cover and type of clouds, precipitation and the overall "feel" of the days weather. For a review of cloud types go to the informative University of Illinois website . Create an appropriate section in your journal for this meterologic data.

     

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Geogr. data

References