Posted on March 23, 2021
This is an update of my post published on March 23, 2010:
This day commemorates the beginning of the World Meteorological Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations. The WMO says this service is on behalf of humanity's “safety and well-being.”
Meteorology is the study of weather. People have always studied the weather—our earliest ancestors studied the skies and clouds, kept track of the seasons, and tried to predict the weather of the immediate future. Today, with lots of scientific observations and experiments, weather instruments and computers, and satellite imagery, we are able to better at record weather measurements, compare current weather to that of the past, and spot weather trends—and all of that means that our weather predictions are better...but it's still a challenge to “get it right.”
Weather forecasters can't be totally accurate, but by talking about “the chances of rain,” the likely time a hurricane will arrive at a particular spot, and the expected temperatures, meteorologists do all of us a HUGE service! Of course, no matter how good our predictions get, there will always be some surprises, when it comes to weather—some nice, and some nasty.
Learn more about f
orecasting.
The Weather Dude has a clear explanation about weather forecasting, and a YouTube video tells how people at KTNV station put weather reports on TV.
You can't beat weather for dramatic photos!
Weather Pix has some great images.
And here are some gorgeous cloud photos. Wow, how varied clouds' beauty can be!
Explore storms on Chris Kridler's Sky Diary.
Also on this date:
National Chia Day
National Melba Toast Day
National Chip and Dip Day
