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Weather Analysis & Forecasting Handbook

SECOND EDITION (2021)

WEATHER ANALYSIS & FORECASTING HANDBOOK, 2nd edition (2021) COLOR

Price:

$46.95

Availability:

Ships in about 1 week

Tim Vasquez

2021 / 340 pp. / $46.95
ISBN-10: 978-0-9969423-4-8 / apprx. 7 x 10"
True bound / Color / Glossy color cover

SPECIAL NOTE: Customers needing a copy of Weather Analysis & Forecasting Handbook First Edition (originally sold 2011-2021) may obtain a copy at this link for a limited time, or until copies are depleted.

Weather Analysis & Forecasting Handbook is the ultimate guidebook for anyone who needs to know the details of operational weather analysis and forecasting, not just theoretical aspects and basic concepts. It is written for actual forecasting without difficult math or a extensive review of physics and weather history.

This 2021 revision contains an extensive update of numerical modeling, bringing readers the latest on models like the GFS, ECMWF, and HRRR models. The content covers the same concepts and techniques that National Weather Service forecasters practice on a daily basis. Among those who will enjoy the title are meteorology professionals, students, pilots, flight dispatchers, amateurs, storm chasers, and spotters. Note that this is not a rewrite of the earlier 2011 version, but numerous sections throughout the book have been updated. The most extensive revisions are found in the modeling, radar, and satellite chapters.

Basic physical concepts are reviewed, and then the book covers thermodynamics, surface analysis, and upper analysis. There is a thorough overview of weather systems, including their thermal structure, dynamics, and effects. Special problems such as thunderstorms, winter weather, and tropical weather are treated in detail. The margins are filled with forecasting facts, hard-hitting quotes, educational stories, and even a few fun weather jokes. With added emphasis on analysis, visualization, and awareness of model limitations, readers learn to use tools properly and are always a step ahead.

Weather Analysis & Forecasting Handbook is the perfect companion to our other title, Weather Map Handbook Handbook, and our meteorologist's desk reference Weather Forecasting Red Book. It replaces the Weather Forecasting Handbook, though we will continue to make the former title available to those who want to collect it.

Contents

1 PHYSICS
1.1. Mathematics
1.2. Time
1.3. Distance, direction, and velocity
1.4. Mass, force, and pressure
1.5. Temperature
1.6. Density
1.7. Water
1.8. Coriolis force
1.9. Wind forces
1.10. Geostrophic wind
1.11. Gradient wind
1.12. Cyclostrophic wind
1.13. Vorticity
1.14. Horizontal coordinate systems
1.15. Vertical coordinate systems
1.16. Scale
1.17. Atmospheric structure
1.18. Global circulation

2 OBSERVATION
2.1. Observation networks
2.2. Observation coding formats
2.3. Temperature
2.4. Dewpoint
2.5. Wind
2.6. Pressure
2.7. Visibility
2.8. Weather
2.9. Clouds
2.10. Automated Surface Observation System (ASOS)

2.11. Ocean observations
2.12. Upper air systems

3 THERMODYNAMICS
3.1. Phases of matter
3.2. Adiabatic changes
3.3. Stability
3.4. Instability
3.5. Soundings
3.6. Sounding interpretation
3.7. Instability quantification
3.8. Potential instability
3.9. Symmetric instability

4 UPPER AIR ANALYSIS
4.1. Constant pressure charts
4.2. Long waves
4.3. Short waves
4.4. Divergence and convergence
4.5. Vertical motion
4.6. Jets
4.7. Jet streaks
4.8. Thermal advection
4.9. Thickness
4.10. Water vapor measurements
4.11. Frontogenesis and frontolysis
4.12. Vorticity
4.13. Q vectors
4.14. Isentropic analysis

5 SURFACE ANALYSIS
5.1. The surface chart
5.2. Air masses
5.3. Frontal concepts
5.4. Cold front
5.5. Warm front
5.6. Quasistationary front
5.7. Occluded front
5.8. Dryline
5.9. Outflow boundaries
5.10. Sea/land breeze fronts

6 WEATHER SYSTEMS
6.1. Baroclinic lows
6.2. Baroclinic high
6.3. Cold-core barotropic low
6.4. Warm-core barotropic low
6.5. Cold-core barotropic high
6.6. Warm-core barotropic high
6.7. Arctic air outbreaks
6.8. Winter weather systems
6.9. Climate oscillations

7 SATELLITE
7.1. Satellite hardware
7.2. Imagery types
7.3. Satellite imagery limitations
7.4. Clouds
7.5. Patterns

8 RADAR
8.1. How radar works
8.2. Dual-polarization data
8.3. Problems and pitfalls
8.4. Weather signatures
8.5. VAD/VWP wind data

9 CONVECTIVE WEATHER
9.1. Thunderstorm structure
9.2. Multicellular storms
9.3. Supercells
9.4. Mesoscale convective systems
9.5. Wind profiles
9.6. Tropical weather circulations
9.7. Tropical cyclones
9.8. Tropical cyclone forecasting

10 NUMERICAL MODELING
10.1. Model characteristics
10.2. Model geometry
10.3. Model production
10.4. Model techniques
10.5. Model implementation
10.6. Data assimilation
10.7. Parameterization
10.8. Limitations of models
10.9. Statistical models

11 PROGNOSIS
11.1. The forecast process

click any page sample to enlarge

About the author

Tim Vasquez began a meteorology career in 1984 writing the weather page for a Dallas newspaper. From 1989 to 1998 he was an Air Force meteorologist and worked at two television stations. He developed the Digital Atmosphere weather analysis software system in use worldwide. Residing in Texas, he is a software programmer, a consulting meteorologist, and a columnist for Weatherwise magazine.