Outline of meteorology

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See also: Index of meteorology articles
Eye of Hurricane Isabel from the International Space Station, September 15, 2003.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to meteorology:

Meteorology – interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere which explains and forecasts weather events. Meteorology has application in many diverse fields such as the military, energy production, transport, agriculture and construction.

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Essence of meteorology

Main article: 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 (in contrast with climatology).
  • 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 (about 620 miles) 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

Weather forecasting – the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a future time and a given location

Data collection

Weather maps

Weather map

Forecasts and reporting of

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
NOAA continental US weather forecast map for November 7, 2006
  • 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 (38 cm) long by 2 inches (5 cm) wide used to indicate the formation of ice, frost, or the presence of freezing rain or freezing drizzle
  • Lidar (LIght raDAR) – an optical remote sensing technology used in atmospheric physics (among other fields) 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 (SOnic Detection And Ranging) – 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 (rain, snow, hail, etc.) 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

Main articles: History of meteorology and Timeline 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
Weather station in Fuencaliente de La Palma, La Palma, Canary Islands, March 28, 2008
  • 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 (meteorology) – An area with the potential for tropical cyclone development

Weather-related disasters

Leaders in meteorology

Hurricane Emily bears down on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula on July 17, 2005
  • William M. Gray (born 1929) – has been involved in forecasting hurricanes since 1984
  • Francis Galton (February 16, 1822 - January 17, 1911) – 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 (March 29, 1917 – November 21, 2007) – was the developer of the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale for measuring the intensity of hurricanes
  • Bob Simpson (born 1912) – is 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.

See also

Climate:

Other phenomena:

External links

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