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GEOG 309Physical Climatology

Units
0.50
Faculty
Environment
Subject
Geography and Environmental Management

Not in the current Undergraduate Calendar. Shown as it appeared in 2025–26.

When it runs

  1. F24
  2. W25
  3. S25
  4. F25
  5. W26
  6. S26
  7. F26
  8. W27
  9. S27

Ran in 2 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: not on the schedule. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

Principles of physical climatology with emphasis on regional and global change and variability. Topics include radiation and energy balances, general circulation patterns, synoptic development and micro-climatology.

Prerequisites

  • Complete 1 of the following
    • Must have completed at least 1 of the following:
      • EARTH121 - Introductory Earth Sciences (0.50)
      • GEOG102 - Global Environmental Systems: Processes and Change (0.50)
    • Enrolled in H-Science & Aviation

Antirequisites

None listed.

Leads to

Reviewed on UW Flow

73% liked it84% easy67% useful

From 30 ratings and 11 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • Quite an easy course focusing on slightly more detailed concepts around meteorology, atmospheric processes, and some physical geography. Could have been a bit more interesting but at least it wasn't much work.

    Apr 2024 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • I found this course really simple and straightforward, mostly an overview of previous courses condensed into one. GEOG102 in particular. Tests were ok and assignments were pretty easy, no final! The prof was very hard to understand at first but you get used to it after a couple lectures. Yuri went over sections of content for very long periods of time to make sure people understood the lecture notes. The final group assignment in the last month focused on weather fronts and pressure systems, make sure you use a good site to track them. I used Ventusky.

    May 2026 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • I think I would've gotten more stimulation from a anechoic chamber. Group assignment is dumb

    Mar 2026 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Taken in W26 with Yuri Leonenko. Boring bird course that Science and Aviation students have to take for some reason.
    EDIT: This course NO LONGER exists. Aviation course requirement has been switched to AVIA 370: Aviation Meteorology.

    Jan 2026 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • The course was very easy and rather interesting, but the professor did nothing to help his students with it. Learned absolutely nothing from his lectures. The TAs marked very leniently, and I would recommend taking the course if you want a good grade with minimal effort.

    Apr 2025 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

8 posts and comments in 8 threads mention GEOG 309, November 2015 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.

Spring 2023

Fall 2019

Opinions on these Geography Courses?(209, 271 and 306) 0 points, 8 comments

“I am looking to take these three in the Winter. Has anyone took these courses yet? What did you think of the workload and difficulty, and did you find them interesting? …”

u/RedPanda26: “209: Was interesting but definitely science heavy for a geography course. The workload was fairly easy and the labs and lab assignments were fun. …”

u/RedPanda26: “… I've also taken GEOG 309, 310, 316, and 349. …”

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Fall 2017

Any way to disable UWCourseLinker from posting? 16 points, 26 comments

“posting a reply to my comment I find the bot annoying.”

u/Jackhofmann: “PSYCH 483 PSYCH 484 PSYCH 485 PSYCH 486 PSYCH 490R PSYCH 499A PSYCH 499B PSYCH 499C PSYCH 621 PSYCH 630 PSYCH 677A PSYCH 704A PSYCH 704B PSYCH 707 PSYCH 710 PSYCH 714 PSYCH 717 PSYCH 720A PSYCH 721A …”

u/Jackhofmann: “… GEOG 187 GEOG 201 GEOG 203 GEOG 215 GEOG 222 GEOG 233 GEOG 281 GEOG 293 GEOG 294 GEOG 303 GEOG 309 GEOG 310 GEOG 311 GEOG 316 GEOG 319 GEOG 340 GEOG 356 GEOG 371 GEOG 374 GEOG 387 GEOG 404 GEOG 405 GEOG 428 GEOG 453 GEOG 474 GEOG 490A GEOG 490B GEOG 600 GEOG 602 GEOG 604 GEOG …”

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Spring 2017

What courses are you taking this fall? 28 points, 129 comments

“With course selection and add/drop happening this week I figured this would be a cool discussion post. …”

u/RedPanda26: “GEOG 309 Physical Climatology GEOG 310 Geodesy and Surveying ENVS 178 Introduction to Environmental Research Methods ENVS 200 Field Ecology CS 115 Intro to CS 1 The joys of being an environment student, I'm actually super pumped for the term all my courses seem interesting and …”

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Fall 2015

Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

Undergraduate Calendar