Weather Lab
ISC 1005C LAB WORKSHEET
Interpreting the Weather Map
OBJECTIVES:
Upon completion of this lab, the student should be able to:
✓ Identify pressure systems on weather maps
✓ Develop wind directions/circulation from a pressure pattern on a weather map
✓ Identify frontal systems on weather maps
✓ Correlate precipitation and clouds phenomena to pressure patterns and fronts.
INTRODUCTION:
The History behind Weather Maps
Creating a daily weather map was not possible until the development of the telegraph in the mid 1800s. In the United States, the first weather maps were routinely produced in the 1870s. At that time, the first government meteorologists worked for the US Army Signal Service. Later, this department became the Weather Bureau and now it is known as the National Weather Service (NWS).
In order to make a weather map, stations from around the country would take observations. Meteorologists recorded temperature, wind speed and direction, and pressure. This data was then sent to one location, Washington, DC, where it was analyzed by hand.
Unfortunately, a large part of the US was not well populated in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The weather maps of that time were not complete since they were missing observations from most of the central Plains states. Also, meteorologists did not always understand what the maps they were analyzing meant, since many of the theories used today in forecasting had not yet been developed.
The weather map is perhaps the most valuable tool that the meteorologist uses to forecast the weather. Without it, it would be very hard to predict what the weather was going to do. By looking at weather maps from different heights in the atmosphere, meteorologists can create a three-dimensional picture of what is happening in the atmosphere. They can tell whether a particular area has high or low pressure, whether it may rain, and many other things just by looking at a weather map.
Today, weather
Interpreting the Weather Map
OBJECTIVES:
Upon completion of this lab, the student should be able to:
✓ Identify pressure systems on weather maps
✓ Develop wind directions/circulation from a pressure pattern on a weather map
✓ Identify frontal systems on weather maps
✓ Correlate precipitation and clouds phenomena to pressure patterns and fronts.
INTRODUCTION:
The History behind Weather Maps
Creating a daily weather map was not possible until the development of the telegraph in the mid 1800s. In the United States, the first weather maps were routinely produced in the 1870s. At that time, the first government meteorologists worked for the US Army Signal Service. Later, this department became the Weather Bureau and now it is known as the National Weather Service (NWS).
In order to make a weather map, stations from around the country would take observations. Meteorologists recorded temperature, wind speed and direction, and pressure. This data was then sent to one location, Washington, DC, where it was analyzed by hand.
Unfortunately, a large part of the US was not well populated in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The weather maps of that time were not complete since they were missing observations from most of the central Plains states. Also, meteorologists did not always understand what the maps they were analyzing meant, since many of the theories used today in forecasting had not yet been developed.
The weather map is perhaps the most valuable tool that the meteorologist uses to forecast the weather. Without it, it would be very hard to predict what the weather was going to do. By looking at weather maps from different heights in the atmosphere, meteorologists can create a three-dimensional picture of what is happening in the atmosphere. They can tell whether a particular area has high or low pressure, whether it may rain, and many other things just by looking at a weather map.
Today, weather