Outline of meteorology

Essence of meteorology

• Climate - the average and variations of weather in a region over long periods of time.
• Meteorology - the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere that focuses on weather processes and forecasting.
• Weather - the set of all the phenomena in a given atmosphere at a given time.

  Branches of meteorology

• Microscale meteorology - the study of atmospheric phenomena about 1 km or less, smaller than mesoscale, including small and generally fleeting cloud "puffs" and other small cloud features
• Mesoscale meteorology - the study of weather systems about 5 kilometers to several hundred kilometers, smaller than synoptic scale systems but larger than microscale and storm-scale cumulus systems, such as sea breezes, squall lines, and mesoscale convective complexes
• Synoptic scale meteorology - is a horizontal length scale of the order of 1000 kilometres or more

  Methods in meteorology

• Surface weather analysis - a special type of weather map that provides a view of weather elements over a geographical area at a specified time based on information from ground-based weather stations

  Weather forecasting

Data collection

• Pilot Reports

  Weather maps

• Surface weather analysis

  Forecasts and reporting of

• Atmospheric pressure
• Dew point
• High-pressure area
• Ice
• * Black ice
• * Frost
• Low-pressure area
• Precipitation
• Temperature
• Weather front
• Wind chill
• Wind direction
• Wind speed

  Instruments and equipment of meteorology

• Anemometer - a device for measuring wind speed; used in weather stations
• Barograph - an aneroid barometer that records the barometric pressure over time and produces a paper or foil chart called a barogram
• Barometer - an instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure using either water, air, or mercury; useful for forecasting short term changes in the weather
• Ceiling balloon - a balloon, with a known ascent rate, used to measure the height of the base of clouds during daylight
• Ceiling projector - a device that is used, in conjunction with an alidade, to measure the height of the base of clouds
• Ceilometer - a device that uses a laser or other light source to measure the height of the base of clouds.
• Dark adaptor goggles - clear, red-tinted plastic goggles used either for adapting the eyes to dark prior to night observation or to help identify clouds during bright sunshine or glare from snow
• Disdrometer - an instrument used to measure the drop size, distribution, and velocity of falling hydrometeors
• Field mill - an instrument used to measure the strength of electric fields in the atmosphere near thunderstorm clouds
• Hygrometer - an instrument used to measure humidity
• Ice Accretion Indicator - an L-shaped piece of aluminum 15 inches long by 2 inches wide used to indicate the formation of ice, frost, or the presence of freezing rain or freezing drizzle
• Lidar - an optical remote sensing technology used in atmospheric physics that measures the properties of scattered light to find information about a distant target
• Lightning detector - a device, either ground-based, mobile, or space-based, that detects lightning produced by thunderstorms
• Nephelometer - an instrument used to measure suspended particulates in a liquid or gas colloid. Gas-phase nephelometers are used to provide information on atmospheric visibility and albedo
• Nephoscope - an instrument for measuring the altitude, direction, and velocity of clouds
• Pyranometer - A type of actinometer found in many meteorological stations used to measure broadband solar irradiance
• Radar - see Weather radar
• Radiosonde - an instrument used in weather balloons that measures various atmospheric parameters and transmits them to a fixed receiver
• Rain gauge - an instrument that gathers and measures the amount of liquid precipitation over a set period of time
• Snow gauge - an instrument that gathers and measures the amount of solid precipitation over a set period of time
• SODAR - an instrument that measures the scattering of sound waves by atmospheric turbulence
• Solarimeter - a pyranometer, an instrument used to measure combined direct and diffuse solar radiation
• Sounding rocket - an instrument-carrying sub-orbital rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments
• Stevenson screen - part of a standard weather station, it shields instruments from precipitation and direct heat radiation while still allowing air to circulate freely
• Sunshine recorders - devices used to indicate the amount of sunshine at a given location
• Thermograph - a chart recorder that measures and records both temperature and humidity
• Thermometer - a device that measures temperature or temperature gradient
• Weather balloon - a high-altitude balloon that carries instruments aloft and uses a radiosonde to send back information on atmospheric pressure, temperature, and humidity
• Weather radar - a type of radar used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, estimate its type and forecast its future position and intensity
• Weather vane - a movable device attached to an elevated object such as a roof that shows the direction of the wind
• Windsock - a conical textile tube designed to indicate wind direction and relative wind speed
• Wind profiler - equipment that uses radar or SODAR to detect wind speed and direction at various elevations

  History of meteorology

• History of weather forecasting - prior to the invention of meteorological instruments, weather analysis and prediction relied on pattern recognition, which was not always reliable
• History of surface weather analysis - initially used to study storm behavior, now used to explain current weather and as an aid in short term weather forecasting

  Meteorological phenomena

• Atmospheric pressure - the pressure at any given point in the Earth's atmosphere
• Cloud - a visible mass of droplets or frozen crystals floating in the atmosphere above the surface of a planet
• Rain - precipitation in which separate drops of water fall to the Earth from clouds, a product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor
• Snow - precipitation in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds

• Freezing rain - precipitation that falls from a cloud as snow, melts completely on its way down, then passes through a layer of below-freezing air becoming supercooled, at which point it will freeze upon impact with any object encountered
• Sleet - term used in the United States and Canada for precipitation consisting of small, translucent ice balls, usually smaller than hailstones
• Tropical cyclone - a storm system with a low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and flooding rain
• Extratropical cyclone - a low-pressure weather system occurring in the middle latitudes of the Earth having neither tropical nor polar characteristics
• Weather front - a boundary separating two masses of air of different densities; the principal cause of meteorological phenomena
• Low pressure - a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower in relation to the surrounding area
• Storm - any disturbed state of the atmosphere and strongly implying severe weather
• Flooding - an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges the land; a deluge
• Nor'easter - a macro-scale storm along the East Coast of the United States, named for the winds that come from the northeast
• Wind - the flow of air or other gases that compose an atmosphere; caused by rising heated air and cooler air rushing in to occupy the vacated space.
• Temperature - a physical property that describes our common notions of hot and cold
• Invest - An area with the potential for tropical cyclone development

  Weather-related disasters

• Weather disasters
• Extreme weather
• List of floods
• List of natural disasters by death toll
• List of severe weather phenomena

  Leaders in meteorology

• William M. Gray - has been involved in forecasting hurricanes since 1984
• Francis Galton - was a polymath, and devised the first weather map, proposed a theory of anticyclones, and was the first to establish a complete record of short-term climatic phenomena on a European scale
• Herbert Saffir - was the developer of the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale for measuring the intensity of hurricanes
• Bob Simpson - was a meteorologist, hurricane specialist, first director of the National Hurricane Research Project, former director of the National Hurricane Center, and co-developer of the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.