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 (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, skjjoch 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

 * Pilot Reports

Weather maps
Weather map
 * Surface weather analysis

Forecasts and reporting of

 * Atmospheric pressure
 * Dew point
 * High-pressure area
 * Ice
 * Black ice
 * Frost
 * Low-pressure area
 * Precipitation
 * Temperature
 * Weather front
 * Wind chill
 * Wind direction
 * Wind speed

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 (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

 * 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

 * Weather disasters
 * Extreme weather
 * List of floods
 * List of natural disasters by death toll
 * List of severe weather phenomena

Leaders in meteorology

 * William M. Gray (October 9, 1929 – April 16, 2016) – 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 (November 19, 1912 – December 18, 2014) – was 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.