Operational Weather Analysis ... An On-Line Book

Operational Weather Analysis


Purpose of this Book

Analysing the current state of the atmosphere is the first step in preparing a weather forecast. Operational Weather Analysis is an on-line book that was written for an introductory course in weather analysis and forecasting. It is a book that lies somewhere between in an introductory meteorology course and a course in dynamic meteorology. It assumes that the reader has a solid foundation in meteorological concepts as taught in an introductory course based on texts such as Aguado and Burt (Understanding Weather and Climate, Prentice Hall) or Ahrens (Essentials of Meteorology, Thomson). The e-book emphasizes the practical application of dynamical concepts from the perspective of operational weather analysis. These concepts are described without the rigorous derivations typically covered in dynamic meteorology course.

Download the Chapters

  • Title Page and Preface

  • Part I: Introduction

  • Chapter 1: What is Weather Analysis?

  • Part II: Analysis Basics

  • Chapter 2: Weather Observations

  • Chapter 3: Drawing Isopleths

  • Chapter 4: Introduction to Objective Analysis

  • Chapter 5: Derived Parameters

  • Chapter 6: Atmospheric Analysis Models

  • Part III: Interpretation

  • Chapter 7: Satellite Interpretation

  • Chapter 8: Radar Interpretation

  • Chapter 9: Waves in the Westerlies

  • Chapter 10: Quasi-Geostrophic Implications

  • Chapter 11: Sounding Analysis

  • Chapter 12: Practical Atmospheric Analysis

  • Appendices

  • Appendix A: Vector Basics

  • Appendix B: Precipitation Type

  • Appendix C: Sounding Analysis Exercise

  • References

  • Exercises
  • Comments and recommendations on these documents are welcome.

    Contacting the Author

    The author may be contacted at the following email address: wxman256 ...at... att ...dot... net


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    last updated on 6/08/12