Weather Map Handbook

The Weather Map Handbook explains nearly every forecasting chart used in meteorology. It's designed especially for the Internet, showing how to predict weather from scratch using the same charts that professional meteorologists use. A complete listing of weather map symbols, iconographs, and decoding information fills the pages. It's perfect for hobbyists, pilots, students, broadcasters, and storm chasers. Using a double-page format, the Weather Map Handbook demonstrates nearly every type of weather map, image, and product in common use. An overview of each item's origin, purpose, shortfalls, and tips are outlined. Standards for analysis symbology and chart markings are summarized. The surface, 850 mb, 700 mb, 500 mb, and 300-200 mb charts get two pages each, complete with philosophy, objectives, and techniques for each chart. Thickness, isentropic, and Q vector products get their own sections. Topping off the book is an appendix with surface and upper-level station plot models, a vast technical glossary compiled from the depths of the NWS, SPC, and NCEP, and much more.

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 Austin, Texas, he is a software programmer, a consulting meteorologist, and a columnist for Weatherwise magazine.