The Weather

Weather-conditions have a great influence on the safety during a voyage and

should always be taken into consideration in voyage-planning and when
underway.
The state of the atmosphere is determined by various meteorological elements,
such as
temperature, humidity, cloudiness and fog, forms of precipitation, barometric
pressure, and speed and direction of wind. All these elements may be referred to
as "the weather".
Temperature
Any change in temperature is significant in weather-forecasting. When
measuring temperatures three different scales can be used:
- the scientifically used Kelvin-scale, also referred to as the absolute scale;
- the commonly used Celsius-scale, which measures a temperature in centigrades;
- the obsolete Fahrenheit-scale.

Humidity
Humidity refers to the amount of water vapour in the air.
Warm air is capable to contain a higher grade of moisture, or humidity, than cold
air.
The maximum amount of moisture that air can hold at a specific temperature is
known as "saturation".
Most clouds are the result of a rising mass of cool air.
When the temperature of air falls, water vapour in the air will condense into
droplets of ice crystals, thus forming clouds or fog.

Cloudiness
Clouds very often indicate an imminent change of weather.
Rising clouds is an indication that the weather is about to clear; lowering or
thickening clouds will indicate precipitation.
The main types of clouds are the high cirrus clouds, the layered stratus clouds
and the
huge and massivecumulus clouds. "Alto" stands for high, and "Nimbus" means
rain.
The presence of cirrus clouds may be a warning for an approaching storm.
The low-hanging stratus clouds indicate unstable weather.
The altocumulus clouds may precede adverse weather.

Fog
Fog is a cloud that touches the ground.
Dense fog will reduce visibility considerably and is referred to as "thick
weather". By this is meant any type of weather-condition that will reduce
visibility considerably, whether by fog, snow, rain, dust haze or any other
circumstance.
Precipitation
Precipitation is formed when the droplets or ice crystals in clouds have become
sufficiently large to fall to the ground.
Precipitation may take a variety of forms, for example rain, snow, drizzle, hail or
sleet. Wind
Wind is the most important factor that determines the condition of the weather.
Wind is merely an amount of air that moves in a horizontal motion over the earth
from an area of high barometric pressure towards an area of low barometric
pressure.
Falling barometric pressure generally indicates that a gale or storm is
approaching; rising pressure indicates the approach or continuation of fair
weather.
An area of low pressure is called a cyclone. A high-pressure area is an anti-
cyclone.
Because of the rotation of the earth, the circulations of winds in the northern
hemisphere tend to be clockwise around areas of high pressure, and anti-
clockwise around low-pressure areas.
In the southern hemisphere the directions of circulation are the opposite. Wind is
always named after the direction it is coming from, not blowing in.
Its force is indicated by the Beaufort-scale numbers. These numbers, ranging
from zero to force 12, refer to the wind-speed measured in nautical miles per
hour.
For the navigator the wind direction and force are the most important aspects
of meteorological conditions that are forecast in weather reports by weather
stations.
Information must always include an increase or decrease in force and any change
in wind-direction.
A change of direction is usually indicated by the terms veering" and "backing".
A veering wind changes in a clockwise direction.
A backing wind changes in anti-clockwise direction.

Weather Forecast
A weather forecast for seafarers offers a survey of weather conditions that may
be expected in certain places, sea areas and in vicinities of coastal stations within
the next 24 hours. A weather forecast is broadcast in radio bulletins and should be
monitored by the navigator and transferred to the Weather Forecast Information
Sheet.This Weather Forecast Information Sheet must be made available to all
bridge-personnel and studied regularly and closely in order to determine short-
range weather conditions and visibility.
The sheet consists of three parts:
- in the "General Synopsis" information is given about barometric pressure,
position and movement
of a depression or anti-cyclone;
- in the "Forecast for Sea Areas" information is given about wind, weather
conditions and visibility.
The presence of a gale is indicated by a "tick" in the column "gales";
- in "Reports from Coastal Stations" information is given about wind, weather
conditions, visibility
and atmospheric pressure.

Ship Motions
Due to the influences of wind and sea the vessel can make three different rotating
motions
and three different linear motion:
- when her starboard and port sides rise and fail with the waves, the vessel is
rolling
 - when her stem and stern rise and fall with the waves, the vessel is pitching
- when her bow is pushed to starboard and then to port, the vessel is yawing
- when the whole ship rises and falls back into a trough, she is heaving
when the ship is pushed forward by the waves and sinks back into a trough, she
is surging
- when the whole ship moves bodily to starboard and then to port, she is swaying

Sea State
By "sea" (or "seaway") is meant the waves that are formed by wind in a
"generating area", that is: the area where the waves are being formed.
Waves that have travelled out of this generating area are referred to as "swell".
Height of waves depends on the prevailing wind force, how long the wind has
been blowing, current and fetch. Sea-state codes are used to indicate to the
mariner what the sea will look like.
The codes range from 0 to 9 and correspond with a wave-height in metres.
Sea States: codes, descriptions and wave-heights
Code Sea- description Wave-height Code Sea-description Wave-
height
0 Calm - glassy 0 m. 5 Rough 2.5 - 4 m.
1 Calm - rippled 0-0.1 m. 6 Very rough 4 - 6 m.
2 Smooth wavelets 0.1 - 0.5 m. 7 High 6 - 9 m.
3 Slight 0.5 - 1.25 m. 8 Very high 9 - 14 m.
4 Moderate 1.25-2.5 m. 9 Phenomenal Over 14 m.
Ice
Shipping may be impeded by all forms of ice, ranging from a total freeze-over to
ice floes and icebergs. New ice and Nilas (an elastic crust of ice) are quite soft
and pliable forms of ice that will hardly cause any damage to sea-going vessels.
Care must be taken that water inlets will not become obstructed. Young ice and
first-year ice are thicker and tougher and can be recognised by their grey-white or
milky-white colour, Icebreaker assistance will often be necessary to ride up the
ice and form an opening. After one year the ice will take a greenish appearance.
When the colour of the ice is green-blue, we are dealing with old ice (2 or more
years of age), which is extremely hard and dangerous to navigation.
Pancake ice, ice cakes and icefloes are flat pieces of ice 30 cm to 20 m in
diameter.
Floebergs and Floebits are massive pieces of sea ice. Growlers, Bergy bits and
Icebergs are enormous pieces of floating ice with a thickness of 10 cm to many
metres. Icebergs are notorious for their submarine ledges that may extend to great
distances from their visible parts, which constitute not more than 10% of their
total volumes.
Tides

Tides are mainly caused by the gravitational pull of the moon.

This attraction-force causes the waters to swell out towards the moon in a high
tide.
At the same time, on the far side of the earth, the moon's attraction is at its
weakest and the waters on that side will swell away from the moon in an equal
and opposite high tide.
Within the 24-hour-period two high tides arise, with two low tides in between
them.
The sun has a gravitational effect on the earth, too. The effect of the sun's gravity
on the tides is approximately half of that of the moon because the sun is at a far
greater distance from the earth.
Every other week, at new and full moon, when the sun and the moon are both in
line with the earth, the two gravitational forces are added together, and
exceptionally strong tides, called Spring-tides, are produced. In the weeks that lie
in between, when the sun and the moon are at 90 degrees to each other,at the first
and third quarters of the moon, the pull of the sun will cancel out half of the
moon's gravitational effect, and weak tides, called Neap tides, will occur.
This theoretical pattern does not occur in every part of the world.
The shape of a continent may prevent water from flowing uninterruptedly across
the surface of the planet, and this has complex effects on the regularity of tides.
In some places there are four high tides within 24 hours, while only one high tide
and one low tide a day in other areas.
There are places on the ocean's surfaces where all the tidal forces cancel each
other out.
In restricted areas the tides may be almost imperceptible, while in other areas
enormous ranges - differences between high and low tides - may occur.
Tides are measured from chart datum, and levels are always given at average
(mean) heights. The Lowest Astronomical Tide (LAT) is the lowest tide that has
ever been recorded in that area. Highest high tides and lowest low tides are called
Spring tides. Highest low tides and lowest high tides are called Neap tides. When
the tide is turning we speak of Slack tide.
So, at Low Slack the tide is about to rise; at High Slack the tide is about to fall.
This latter tide is especially important to the mariner, since it is the best tide to
leave and proceed to open sea.

Dangerous Goods

The symbols used to indicate the types of dangerous goods have been
categorized by means of coloured labels. The colours that are used give very
important information concerning the storage of dangerous goods.
Orange-coloured labels indicate chemicals that must be separated from
flammable liquids by an intermediate space or on deck by at least 12 meters.
Red-coloured labels indicate chemicals that must be separated from flammable
solids, spontaneously combustible agents or agents that are dangerous when wet
by a longitudinal space or on deck by at least 24 metres.
Green-coloured labels indicate chemicals that must be stored at a safe distance
from explosive goods.
Yellow-coloured labels indicate chemicals that may not be stored near flammable
gas, non-flammable compressed gas or toxic gas.

A.2Supplythemissingterms
tropicalstormhectopascalsaveragewindheavy
hectopascalsdepressionfallingsettledweather
moderatepressure
1. Everyriseinthe____________doesnotforetellananticycloneandeveryfall
doesnotforetella
____________.
2. Variations of three to four ____________ except in the tropics, are fairly
normal.
3. Five hp above and steady or still rising barometer indicates
________________weatherwithlightto
____________winds.
4. Abarometerreadingoffivehectopascals,belownormal,withthebarometer
still _____________ , is an indication of a period of unsettled
______________.
5. Inthetropicsafallofthreembbelowthe_____________
needstobetreatedwithcaution.
6. Ifitlastsfortwoorthreedays,itisasurepredicationofa
______________.
7. Inotherareasthepressureoflessthan1000
_____________ , and the barometer falling rapidly at one hp per hour,
indicatesstrong_____________and
_____________rain.
A.3Insertthefollowingmissingmeteorologicalterms:

heavyvisibilityveerdrizzlefrontdirection
warmspeedcoldskyrainwindapproach
speedhazesleetcoldfront
1. In modern meteorological language windshift lines are called
______________;threetypesoffrontsarerecognized:__________________
fronts,_____________fronts,andoccludedfronts.
2.Themeteorologicalelementsofspecialinteresttothe navigatorare
wind_____________,wind____________,appearanceofthe___________and
frontal_____________.
3. The______________ofawelldefinedwarmfrontisindicatedinmiddle
andhighlatitudesbysolidlyovercastskieswithmoreorlesssteady
_______________anddiminishing_______________.Whenthewarm
frontarrives,the_____________________veersrathersuddenly,therain
stopsordiminishestoafine__________.
4. Theconditionsfollowingthepassageofawarmfrontaresucceeded,sooner
orlater,bypassageofa___________.
5. Whenthisoccurs,_____________rainbeginsandthewind_____________
suddenly.
6. Precipitationofrainandsnoworsnowandhailiscalled___________.
7. In_____________thevisibilityisreducedtoaboutonemile.
B.Grammar

B.1PuttheverbsinbracketsintotheSimplePresent(activeorpassive):

Tropicalstorms
Tropicalstorms (occur) _______________intropicalandsubtropicallatitudes inall
oceans.They(have)
_____________ different names in different oceans. In the western North Atlantic,
eastern North Pacific andwestern South Pacific they (know) _________________ as
hurricanes.They(call)____________cyclonesintheArabianSea,BayofBengal,South
IndianOceanandthevicinityofNorthWestAustralia.InthewesternNorthPacificthey
(refer) _______________ to as typhoons. A monsoon (not be) ______________ a
tropicalstormbecauseit(be)____________aseasonalwindwhich(occur)
__________________intheIndianandwesternPacificOceans.IntheArabianSeaand
intheChinaSeaamonsoonwind(reach)______________galeforce.

B.2PuttheverbsinbracketsintotheSimplePast,thePastContinuousorthePast
PerfectTense:

HurricaneGladys(1975)
Gladys(follow)____________thedisturbancefromwhichthehurricaneFaye
(form) ____________fourdaysbefore.Faye (take) ____________amorenortherly
trackwhileGladys(follow)____________the southeastalonglatitude1111'
N.It(reach)____________tropicaldepressionstatusnearlong.3500'Wandtropical
stormstrengthnearlong.4000'W.
It (reach) ____________ hurricane intensity before Faye. As the hurricane (turn)
_________toanortherlytracktheMSMarconiTrader(report)
____________hurricaneforcewindsof70knotsonOctober1st.Twentyfourhourslater
at18.00hrssoutherlywindsof60knots(report)_____________andareconnaissance
aircraft (measure) ____________acentralpressureof939mband120knotwind.On
the2ndOctobertheGladys(accelerate)_____________asit(pass)
____________about70milesoffCaperace.Widespread gales(cover)____________
thewestern Atlantic as Gladys (merge)____________witha strong cold
front.Aship which(run)____________intoatropicalstorm
threemonthsearlier(report)____________44knotwindsearlythatday.