PREDICTING THE WEATHER
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PREDICTING THE WEATHER | |
Red sky in morning, sailors give warning. red sky at night, sailors delight. |
What does the rhyme mean? It was used by sailors in the United States for many years. Is this old saying true? As a matter of fact, the saying often holds true in the United States.
Because the weather patterns in North America generally move from west to east,
when clouds arrive overhead at sunrise the sky will appear red, signaling a
storm "moving in". When the storm eventually passes, the sky will
clear in the western sky. If sunset occurs simultaneously, the light will
cast a red glow on the clouds above, now moving towards the east. |
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Click on this map of the United States, then click on the part of the country where your local city is located. This will take you to the website for your local Natioanl Weather Service Forecast Office. Every National Weather Serivce Office homepage has a clickable map on its homepage, showing the counties in your area. Click on the county you are located in and take a look at the forecast for your area. This modern, seven day weather forecast, obviously relies on more than simply the current observations of the sky. What are the factors that help meteorologists make this forecast? What methods were used to make the predictions?Weather forecasting is not an exact science. It ranges from weather folktale simplicity to elaborate computer simulations that rely on a variety of methods to produce their results. |
