Outline of meteorology


The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the field of Meteorology.
; Meteorology : The interdisciplinary, scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere with the primary focus being to understand, explain, and forecast weather events. Meteorology, is applied to and employed by a wide variety of diverse fields, including the military, energy production, transport, agriculture, and construction.

Essence of meteorology

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

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
  • 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 (meteorology) - An area with the potential for tropical cyclone development

Weather-related disasters

Leaders in meteorology