WWK The student will know the history of forecasting and the characteristics of meteorology.

History of Forecasting  The art of weather forecasting dates back to around 650 B.C.  During this time Babylonians tried to predict short-term weather changes based on the appearance of clouds and optical phenomena such as haloes.  Around 340 B.C., the Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote Meteorologica, a philosophical treatise that included theories about the formation of rain, clouds, hail, wind, thunder, lightning, and hurricanes.  Most of his theories and claims were used until about the 17th century, then many of his ideas were overthrown.  By the end of the Renaissance philosophers realized that they needed instruments to measure the properties of the atmosphere.  A few of the first instruments were the hygrometer, an instrument to measure the humidity of air, the thermometer, and the barometer for measuring atmospheric pressure.

History of Forecasting  By the 1920s the radiosonde was invented. These are small lightweight boxes equipped with weather instruments and a radio transmitter.  Radiosondes are carried high into the atmosphere by a hydrogen or helium- filled balloon that ascends to an altitude of about 30 kilometers before bursting. During the ascent, these instruments transmit temperature, moisture, and pressure data back to a ground station.  At the ground station the data is processed and made into weather maps. Today, radiosondes are launched every 12 hours from hundreds of ground stations all over the world.  Forecasting involves the use of meteorology. Meteorology is the scientific study of the atmosphere and atmospheric phenomena, or the study of weather and climate.

Meteorology  A very important instrument that meteorologist use is the Doppler radar.  The Doppler radar can perform all of the tasks that a conventional radar can, and this new generation of weather radar can detect motion directly and hence greatly improve tornado and severe storm warnings.  A tornado is a small, very intense cyclonic storm with exceedingly high winds, most often produced along cold fronts in conjunction with severe thunderstorms.  The first stage of a tornado is called the dust whirl stage, this is marked by the emergence of a short funnel cloud and the swirling of debris on the ground.

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K.S.  What is the term for the study of weather and climate?

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