Complete Program List

Welcome to the Hands-On, Minds-On Meterology Program Page!
Hands-On, Minds-On Meteorology is a collection of interactive concept models (programs) designed to help depict atmospheric principles graphically and teach valued lessons in meteorology. Many of these programs have guided instruction exercises to accompany them and even include graphing and journaling tools.

These programs require the latest free Java* Software for your desktop.
To install, click on the button at left, and follow the Get It Now link on that page.

*Java is a trademark or registered trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries.

A list of all the available Concept Mdels follows. Some are more polished than others. For help on using the tools, please read our documentation pages. There are pages for each program, as well as general information about the whole project. Enjoy!!

Hands-On, Minds-On Meteorology Concept Models (Applet List)

Program	Description	Documentation	Topics	Exericse to Accompany Program
Condensation	Change temperature & moisture content to examine condensation in a volume.	Condensation	condensation, cloud formation, latent heat	-
Contour Contour (Pressure) Contour (Temperature)	Draw isobars or isotherms on a U.S. map of station observations.	Contour Contour (Pressure) Contour (Temperature)	tornadoes	-
Controls of Temperature	Change variables such as greenhouse gases, clouds, and albedo to see how surface temperature is affected.	Controls of Temperature	greenhouse effect, radiation balance, cloud properties	controls-of-temp.pdf
Coriolis Coriolis(Large)	Investigate the impact of rotation on a ball rolled across a disc.	Coriolis Coriolis(Large)	greenhouse effect, radiation balance, cloud properties	controls-of-temp.pdf
Cyclone	Examine how weather conditions change at various cities when cyclones track near them.	Cyclone	mid-latitude cyclones, fronts, meteograms, forces, effects of friction	cyclone_track.pdf
Ekman	See how various forces affect the ultimate direction and magnitude of the wind.	Ekman	forces, effects of friction	force_vector.pdf
Evaporation	Examine evaporation of ocean water by changing air and ocean temperatures.	Evaporation	evaporation, phase change, latent heat	-
Fronts	Identify fronts on a surface map using isotherms and station observations.	Fronts	fronts, reading and analyzing weather maps	front_fcst.pdf
Growing Seasons	Try to grow different crops in regions of the U.S. by considering climate and variability.	Growing Seasons	growing degree-days, regional climate	ag-climate.pdf
Humidity	Examine how relative humidity and dew point change in your house when the temperature of moisture change.	Humidity	moisture, dew point temperature, relative humidity, heat index	-
Jet Stream	Look at the relationship between low-level temperature gradients and winds aloft.	Jet Stream	jet stream, global wind circulations, thermal wind relationship	-
Lifting Air (Dry) Lifting Air (Moist) Lifting Air (Moist w/Sounding)	Lift an unsaturated volume of air to examine changes in temperature and pressure.	Lifting Air (Dry) Lifting Air (Moist) Lifting Air (Moist w/Sounding)	moisture, dew point temperature, relative humidity, heat index	-
Mountains Mountains (Fixed) Mountains (Large)	See how temperature and dew point change as air travels over mountains.	Mountains Mountains (Fixed) Mountains (Large)	adiabatic processes, pressure, moisture, condensation, evaporation	-
Pollution	Application	Pollution	air pollution	-
Radar	Learn to implement radar imagery using actual data.	Radar	radar, reading weather products, precipitation, thunderstorms	-
RadSat	Compare radar and satellite views side by side for similarities & differences.	RadSat	radar, satellite, temperature, water vapor	satellite.pdf
SlideViewer	A program to view images selected by the instructor	SlideViewer	varies by images selected	-
Temperature Temperature (Large)	Examine the relationship between temperature and molecular speed in a volume of air.	Temperature Temperature (Large)	varies by images selected	-
Thunderstorm	Identify where thunderstorms may develop using surface data and soundings.	Thunderstorm	thunderstorms	thunderstorms.pdf
Tornado	Determine the likely location of tornadic thunderstorms using upper air data (soundings).	Tornado	tornadoes	-

(Applet List)

The preceeding programs were designed by the Hands-On, Minds-On Meteorology Team in the Atmospheric Sciences Department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The programs were developed for use by educators and the general public. When using or linking to the programs, we ask that you acknowledge the Atmospheric Sciences Department at the University of Illinois.