Satellite images, fronts, isobars, highs and lows show large
scale weather features and help us see the big weather picture. However,
meteorologists need to look at the weather data
with more detail.
One common
way to look closer at the weather conditions is with station
weather plots.
The station weather plot shows the current weather conditions,
cloud cover, wind speed, wind direction, visibility, temperature, dew
point
temperature,
atmospheric pressure, and the change in pressure
over the last three hours. Here is an example of a surface station
weather plot (in black) with labels
explaining the data ( in blue).
In this station plot, the temperature is 76 degrees Fahrenheit (F), the
dew point is 55F, the wind direction is from the northeast at
about 20 knots. The pressure is 1013.8 mb. The pressure tendency
indicates that the pressure increased then decreased
and is
now lower by 0.3 mb than three hours ago. The cloud cover is 100%
overcast and it is raining.
The amount of sky covered by clouds is indicated by the circle in the center
of the station plot. Whatever fraction is filled in represents the
fraction of the sky that is cloudy for that location.
Here are some Weather Symbols
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Smoke
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Haze
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Dust
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Blowing Snow
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Lightning
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Funnel Cloud
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Light Fog
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Thick Fog
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Precipitation at time of observations
|
Type
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Light
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Moderate
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Heavy
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Drizzle
|
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Rain
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Snow
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Other types of precipitation
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Rain Shower
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Snow Shower
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Thunderstorm
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Freezing drizzle
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Freezing rain
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Sleet
|
Here
are a few practice exercises decoding station weather plots. Have fun
and good luck!
