In order to read a weather map, you first need to know what the different symbols on it mean!

In order to read a weather map, you first need to know what the different symbols on it mean!

When you see an H it stands for High Pressure.

High pressure brings blue skies and fair weather.

When you see an L it stands for Low Pressure.

Low pressure brings stormy weather and strong winds.

When air masses meet, we have what is called a front.

Fronts bring stormy weather.

Cold fronts bring cold air which replaces the warmth.

Blue “triangled” lines show cold fronts.

Warm fronts have warm air replacing the cold chill.

Red bumpy lines indicate a warm front.

Air masses are made up of both warm and cold fronts.

Sunny Storms

Cloudy Snow

Rainy Partly Cloudy

Pictures are used to describe the weather. These are called weather symbols.

Check a weather map to see what the temperature for the day will be.

More Symbols

TYPICAL MEDIA WEATHER MAP

Look at the symbols.

What weather does Eastern England have?

What is the weather like in

Northern Scotland ?

HOW IS WEATHER SHOWN ON A WEATHER MAP?

Mist

Fog Thunder

Drizzle

Rain Snow

Hail Shower

The shower symbol can be combined with others….

Rain shower

Hail shower

Snow shower

Heavyrain

Heavysnow

Drizzle

Present weather is shown by the symbol at the bottom left of the circle

Temperature is shown at the top left of the circle 18

FRONTS ON WEATHER MAPS

Warm fronts are shown by the following symbol.

Cold fronts are shown by the following symbol.

There is a third type of front that we will study later – the OCCLUDED front. They are shown by the following symbol.

Scientists are able to predict what the weather will be. They are called meteorologists.

They study high and low air pressure and weather fonts to predict what the upcoming weather will be.

Today meteorologists use many tools to measure and predict the weather including Doppler radar, rain gauges, satellites, anemometers, computer models, thermometers and barometers.

Even with all the technology, weather predictions isn’t a 100% accurate science. Only God know what the future has in store for us and for the weather.