Home > Encyclopedia of Science > Weather Forecasting

• Weather recording instruments
• Scientific advances
• Daily Weather Map
• Long-range forecasting

Weather forecasting is the attempt by meteorologists to predict weather conditions that may be expected at some future time. Weather forecasting is the single most important practical reason for the existence of meteorology, the study of weather, as a science. Accurate weather forecasts help save money and lives.

Humans have been looking for ways to forecast the weather for centuries. Modern weather forecasting owes its existence to the invention of many weather recording instruments, such as the hygrometer, barometer, weather balloon, and radar. Three major technological developments have led weather forecasting to its current status: the development...