How to Create Your Own Weather Forecast
Weather conditions are subject to a variety of factors, including atmospheric pressure, relative humidity, wind speed and temperature. Meteorologists use these factors in their analysis to determine a forecast, or prediction, of what weather conditions will be like in a particular geographic location at a time in the near future. Amateur meterologists, hikers and others can create a forecast too, using commonly known environmental condition observations such as cloud type, dewfall and wind direction.
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Instructions
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Feel the grass on your lawn at dawn. Grass that is wet from heavy dewfall, not a previous night's storm, indicates that rain that day is unlikely. Dry grass may indicate heavy cloud coverage, which means a storm is coming.
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Assemble a weather vane on the top of your house or garage where it is able to catch wind that is not hindered by trees or buildings. Deduce the direction of the wind from the vane. Wind coming from the east toward the west indicates that rain may be near, since many weather fronts come from the west.
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Check to see if any nearby tree's leaves have turned upside down. This is an indication that a storm may be coming.
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Notice the color of the sky at dusk and dawn. If the sunset is very red, the next day will likely have good weather. If the dawn sky is red, rain may follow. This follows the old sailor's adage: "Red at night, sailor's delight. Red in the morning, sailors take warning."
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Analyze the types of clouds found in the sky. Different cloud appearances indicate different weather patterns. Clouds classified as "high clouds" indicate rain is near.
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Pay attention to animal behaviors. Certain animals will act in peculiar, distinct ways prior to rainfall. A cow might lay on the grass. Birds find coverage and stop chirping prior to a storm.
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Analyze your home barometer readings to determine pressure changes. A sudden drop in air pressure means that rain is on its way.
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Track weather history in a journal or notebook (see Resources). Record weather throughout the day in hourly periods, including rainfall and other precipitation. Use these records to spot patterns in weather around your area in order to create future weather predictions.
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Watch the moon to see if a light halo is visible. This halo is caused by refracted light passing through ice crystals in clouds that are in our line of sight when viewing the moon. A moon halo indicates likely snowfall the next day.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Weather Vane image by Carol Wingert from Fotolia.com
