What is Weather Forecasting?

We all want to know what the weather will be like. It helps us plan our days. We want to know how to dress warmly, if we should bring umbrellas or if today is going to be a nice day for a picnic. While it sometimes seems like meteorologists are just guessing, there’s a lot of science that goes into weather prediction.

Meteorology

Meteorology is the study of the Earth’s atmosphere. Scientists who study the atmosphere are called meteorologists. By studying the Earth’s atmosphere, meteorologists can predict the weather. However, there are many variables that go into weather forecasting. For this reason, the predictions are not 100% accurate.

Meteorologists measure and study many aspects of Earth’s atmosphere. To predict the weather, they study high and low pressure systems and the boundary between them is called the weather front. We describe them in more detail below.

Highs and Lows

Knowing areas of high and low barometric pressure is important for weather prediction, because differences in barometric pressure cause winds to form.

High Pressure System – A high pressure system usually means good weather because it draws in cool, dry air. On weather maps, a swirling storm is indicated by the letter H in blue.

Low pressure system – Low pressure system usually means rainy or cloudy weather. This is because low-pressure systems often draw warm, moist air. On weather maps, low-pressure systems are indicated by a red L.

Weather Fronts

The boundary between high and low pressure systems is called the weather front. It’s where two different air masses meet that most hurricanes form.

Cold front – Front in which a cold air mass replaces a hot air mass. When a cold front passes, the temperature drops. Cold air can cause a narrow storm path and cause rapid weather changes.

Warm Front – Front where a warm air mass replaces a cold air mass. Hot fronts tend to move more slowly than cold fronts. They often bring rain clouds.

Stationary Front – Fixed front is the front that stays in the same position for a long time. Fixed fronts can bring rain for a long time.

Clouded Front – An obscured front occurs when a cold air mass overwhelms a warm air mass.

Dry line – The dry line is the boundary separating the dry air mass from the warm air mass. There can be a large difference between the temperature and the dew point on either side of the dry line.

Meteorological Technology

A lot of technology goes into measuring and predicting weather. Some of the tools used by meteorologists are described below.

Doppler Radar – Doppler radar is a special type of radar that can determine the speed of rain (rain, hail, snow) as well as wind speed and direction. This can help meteorologists issue severe storm warnings.

Satellites – Satellites can be used to view clouds forming over large areas of the Earth.

Rain gauge – A rain gauge is an instrument used to measure precipitation.

Anemometer – Anemometer measures wind speed.

Barometer – A barometer that measures atmospheric pressure and whether it is rising or falling.

Computer Modeling – Weather forecasting uses computers to model the weather using various measurements and collected information.

Interesting Facts about Weather Forecasting

Doppler radar uses the Doppler effect to determine the speed and direction of an object. It is also used in non-weather applications such as police, military and medical speed guns.

The dew point is the temperature at which water begins to condense in the air.

Some say they can predict the weather based on pain in joints, such as knees. This may be due to changes in atmospheric pressure.

Humidity is a measure of the amount of water vapor in the air.