Contents

• The uniqueness of Australian weather
• The Sun's heat input to Earth
• Heat transfer between ground and air
• Large-scale air circulation
• Pressure systems
• Air masses and weather maps1, 2, 3
• Cloud formation and rainfall
• Convection in tropical latitudes
• Severe weather
  • Thunderstorms and tornadoes
  • Tropical cyclones and extra-tropical cyclones
• Monitoring the weather:
  • Pressure 1, 2, 3
  • Temperature 1, 2
  • Humidity
  • Satellites 1, 2, 3, 4
  • Radar
• Producing a weather forecast:
  • Producing a weather forecast
  • Before the computer
  • How computers predict the weather 1, 2, 3
• Newspaper weather presentations
• Building your 'weather' skills:
  • Know your local climate
  • Local wind systems
  • Learning about the climate of your region
  • Using newspaper maps and reports
  • Using maps and reports from the Bureau's website
  • Examples of weather map sequences:
    • Typical midsummer weather map
    • Typical midwinter weather map
    • Tropical cyclone Rosita
    • Tropical cyclone John
    • A summertime cold front
  • Learning more by making your own forecasts
• Acknowledgments