Surface weather analysis is a special type of weather map that provides a view of weather elements over a geographical area at a specified time based on information from ground-based weather stations. Use of surface analyses began first in the United States, spreading worldwide during the 1870s. The pressureNET project will likely continue to lead to changes in the way surface analyses are created and displayed over the next several years.
About Surface weather analysis in brief
Surface weather analysis is a special type of weather map that provides a view of weather elements over a geographical area at a specified time based on information from ground-based weather stations. Weather maps are created by plotting or tracing the values of relevant quantities such as sea level pressure, temperature, and cloud cover onto a geographical map to help find synoptic scale features such as weather fronts. The first weather maps in the 19th century were drawn well after the fact to help devise a theory on storm systems. After the advent of the telegraph, simultaneous surface weather observations became possible for the first time, and beginning in the late 1840s, the Smithsonian Institution became the first organization to draw real-time surface analyses. Use of surface analyses began first in the United States, spreading worldwide during the 1870s. The pressureNET project will likely continue to lead to changes in the way surface analyses are created and displayed over the next several years. When analyzing a weather map, a model is plotted at each point of observation. Within the model, the temperature, dewpoint, wind speed and direction, atmospheric pressure, and ongoing weather are plotted. The circle in the middle represents cloud cover; when the degree of overcast is filled in, the fraction of cloud cover is filled. When the full flag represents 10 knots, each half flag represents 50 knots, and when the flag is full, each flag represents 5 knots. Outside the U.S., dew points are plotted in degrees Celsius, and wind barb points in the direction from which the wind is coming is coming.
The full flag on the flag represents the wind speed, which is coming from the direction of the wind, and which half flag is coming from the flag. For example, an H may represent high pressure, implying clear skies and relatively warm weather. An L, on the other hand, may represent low pressure, which frequently accompanies precipitation. Various symbols are used not just for frontal zones and other surface boundaries on weather maps, but also to depict the present weather at various locations on the weather map. Areas of precipitation help determine the frontal type and location. Since the leading edge of air mass changes bore resemblance to the military fronts of World War I, the term ‘front’ came into use to represent these lines. Despite the introduction of the Norwegian cyclone model just after World War II, the U States did not formally analyze fronts on surface analyses until late 1942, when the WBAN Analysis Center opened in downtown Washington, D. C. Hong Kong completed their process of automated surface plotting by 1987. By 2001, the various surface analyses done within the National Weather Service were combined into the Unified Surface Analysis, which was issued every six hours and combines the analyses of four different centers. For instance, icing conditions can be mapped onto the road, for instance, for instance. This project is an ongoing project that is likely to continue for several years and will likely be used to gather data using smartphones.
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This page is based on the article Surface weather analysis published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 05, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
