What to do before working with the
official
data for a dozen
or so fields? How do we wade through these variables such as temperature, pressure etc. and perhaps a hundred or more
surface locations
such as airports?
Meteorologists
need some way to make sense of this information.
These
forecast map weather
professionals work for large organizations. Employers such as the
National Weather Service
or similar agencies in other parts of the world that produce local weather forcasts. Broadcast corporations such as
The Weather Network
can have their own staff meteorologists making customized forecasts as well.
They analyze and sort the information by
contouring.
That is drawing curves, isopleths, on the map joining places with equal values for each variable and using a standardized set of colors to represent each of the different types of quantity.
They look for familiar patterns and compare with
satellite
and
radar
imagery. By knowing the physics of the atmosphere, they can diagnose the weather situation and make a four-dimensional picture of the atmosphere.
What does four dimensional mean?
The usual three plus time.
Meteorologists are good guessers.
With their forecast map weather wizards have to make
quick decisions
with insufficient data and may even use an area's history and known tendencies to "fill in the gaps".
Are you an educator? Perhaps you can find some ideas for
atmosphere lesson plans
or
layers in our atmosphere
for fundamental classroom ideas. Higher grades might be interested in an example of a
physics formula
or two in a meteorological context. If your curriculum includes any internet topics such as website creation, you might find
this information
or the free course material available from
this page
handy.
For further details on wind creation, you can find information on
weather jet streams
and
gulf streams
for comparison. Also see some of the vertical structure of the
atmosphere.