What is a Weather Report?
A weather report can be defined as,
“A written or spoken statement describing what the weather has been like recently, what it is like at the moment or what it will be for a period in the future.”
OR
“A daily report of meteorological observations, and of probable changes in the weather; esp. one published by government authority”.
Writing a Weather Report
A weather report is a bit technical as compared to other report writing you have been practicing earlier. You need to choose words and phrases correctly and present the information gathered in the language of meteorologists.
Information Items in a Typical Weather Report Format
Weather report writing has its own format which is precise, to the point and delivers facts and prediction right on hand. A weather report article or analysis typically includes the statement of current weather conditions along with a weather forecast for the next 24 hours.
Following are the important information elements included in a typical weather analysis report:
Stn: Station ID
Temp: Present temperature (°C)
MinT: Minimum temperature (°C) recorded over the last 18 hours
MaxT: Maximum temperature (°C) recorded over the last 18 hours
RH: Present RH (%)
WndDir: Wind direction
WndSpd: Wind speed (km/h)
WndGust: Wind gust (km/h)
Rain_mm: Rain since last report (mm)
Snow_cm: Snow since last report (cm)
Hail_mm: Hail since last report (mm)
FFMC – Fine Fuel Moisture Code
ISI - Initial Spread Index
DMC – Duff Moisture Code
BUI – Build Up Index
DC – Drought Code
DSR – Daily Severity Rating
FWI – Fire Weather Index
Corporate Rgn: Name of corporate region the weather station is associated with.
Step By Step Guide for Writing A Weather Report
Go through the following steps carefully to learn what is required and not required in a weather report. These steps will help you in building a strong foundation on weather reporting.
Get Sample Weather Reviews from Your Local and National Weather Services
Before writing a weather report, visit the National Weather Service and ask them to show you a few samples on weather reporting. This will give you a good idea of the information required.You can also visit official websites of local weather agencies and ask for online assistance.
Provide Complete Weather Statistics
For writing a weather report, you need to provide an overall view of the weather condition of your area. This will include humidity, dew point, Ultraviolet ray index, direction and speed of wind, temperature, barometric pressure, rating of air quality and precipitation amount. Mentioning the timings of sunrise and sunset and visibility information would be a plus.
Include Average Temperatures of the Current Year
Your weather report must include the average low and high temperature for the current year. Historical information about the weather changes taking place since past few years is optional.
Helpful Resources for Weather Analysis
Satellite map and weather forecasting are the two key tools which will help you greatly in creating a weather report.
Satellite Map
With the help of satellite map, explain the temperature and other weather indications for the past few hours. Point out the areas under pressure and explain why it is so; based on the wind and storm pressure information.
Make educated guess about how the weather would be like in the next couple of hours. A satellite map will also show you the weather conditions of the neighboring areas; on this basis, you can predict weather changes of your city or state.
Weather Forecast
Weather forecast makes a significant part of weather report. It can be defined as:
“An attempt at predicting rain, wind, temperature, and sunshine with the probability of success rapidly diminishing over time.”
OR
“It is the prediction of the weather through application of the principles of physics and meteorology. Weather forecasting predicts atmospheric phenomena and changes on the Earth’s surface caused by atmospheric conditions (snow and ice cover, storm tides, floods, etc.). Scientific weather forecasting relies on empirical and statistical techniques, such as measurements of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind speed and direction, and precipitation, and computer-controlled mathematical models.”
The weather forecast you mention in your report must be for three or seven days. Do not forecast the weather conditions for months because long term forecasts are less accurate therefore, less reliable. The forecast can be made by studying the satellite map or taking help of meteorologists.
When writing a weather forecast, you need to state the general weather conditions such as sunny, cloudy, rainy, stormy, cloudy, low and high temperature and weather warnings like tornadoes, flooding etc.
Writing Style of a Weather Report Review
The writing style of weather forecast must be to the point; no fillers are required. You must choose your words and phrases correctly and arrange them in a way that the information looks precise and accurate, and fits well in one or two lines.
Examples of Weather Reports
The following examples will give you a good idea on how to write a weather report. Also note the difference in formatting.
Partly cloudy in the evening, becoming cloudy overnight. Low around 55 F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph
Sun may give way to rain for this evening, with a 10 percent chance of precipitation and a low of 50 degrees. Winds are expected to remain calm at 9 mph
Clear with cloudy periods; a slight chance of showers or thundershowers
Mostly clear with showers likely. Slight chance of a thunderstorm. 3 to 6 mm of rain
table
In computer programming, a table is a data structure used to organize information, just as it is on paper. There are many different types of computer-related tables, which work in a number of different ways. The following are examples of the more common types.
I) In data processing, a table (also called an array) is a organized grouping of fields. Tables may store relatively permanent data, or may be frequently updated. For example, a table contained in a disk volume is updated when sectors are being written.
2) In a relational database, a table (sometimes called a file) organizes the information about a single topic into rows and columns. For example, a database for a business would typically contain a table for customer information, which would store customers' account numbers, addresses, phone numbers, and so on as a series of columns. Each single piece of data (such as the account number) is a field in the table. A column consists of all the entries in a single field, such as the telephone numbers of all the customers. Fields, in turn, are organized as records, which are complete sets of information (such as the set of information about a particular customer), each of which comprises a row. The process of normalization determines how data will be most effectively organized into tables.
3)A decision table (often called a truth table), which can be computer-based or simply drawn up on paper, contains a list of decisions and the criteria on which they are based. All possible situations for decisions should be listed, and the action to take in each situation should be specified. A rudimentary example: For a traffic intersection, the decision to proceed might be expressed as yes or no and the criteria might be the light is red or the light is green.
A decision table can be inserted into a computer program to direct its processing according to decisions made in different situations. Changes to the decision table are reflected in the program.
4)An HTML table is used to organize Web page elements spatially or to create a structure for data that is best displayed in tabular form, such as lists or specifications.
Numbers or quantities arranged in rows and columns
This is a table of what sport people play at a school.
Graphs
Definition
Two-dimensional drawing showing a relationship (usually between two set of numbers) by means of a line, curve, a series of bars, or other symbols. Typically, an independent variable is represented on the horizontal line (X-axis) and an dependent variable on the vertical line (Y-axis). The perpendicular axis intersect at a point called origin, and are calibrated in the units of the quantities represented. Though a graph usually has four quadrants representing the positive and negative values of the variables, usually only the north-east quadrant is shown when the negative values do not exist or are of no interest. Often used interchangeably with the term 'chart'.
example
This bar graph displays data.
Students were asked their
favorite colors.
The graph shows that 17 students
chose purple.
The fewest number of students
chose green.
More students chose blue than red.
