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Weather Education

What is weather?

What causes weather?

How we forecast the weather

Australia's first weathermen

Weather related web pages

In this section of our web site we have provided a selection of web pages that are specifically relevant to learning about the weather. Consider the following information as a starting point.

Climate & Weather: what's the difference?

There are a variety of ways to explain the difference. Here are a few that may shed some light:

Climate is what you expect; Weather is what you get.

Climate is about long-term records, trends and averages;
Weather is the day to day experience.

Climate is the sum or synthesis of all the weather recorded over a long period of time. It tells us the average or most common conditions, or extremes, or counts of events, or frequencies. Weather is a description of conditions over a short period of time - a "snap shot" of the atmosphere at a particular time.

If weather is the watch then climate is the calendar.

What is weather?

The Macquarie dictionary (third edition) defines it as the state of the atmosphere with respect to wind, temperature, cloudiness, moisture, pressure, etc.

It occurs in the troposphere, the layer of air about 10 - 15 km thick, above the surface of the earth.

What causes weather?

The weather is caused by the circulation of the atmosphere which is caused by the unequal heating of the earth's surface by the sun. The rotation of the earth on its axis and its revolution in its orbit around the sun determine the amount of sunlight reaching the earth. In December, when the southern hemisphere is tipped toward the sun, more direct sunlight and long hours of daylight cause warmer weather than in June, when the southern hemisphere is tipped away from the sun. See also 'Meteorology - What is it' for more information.

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Weather related web pages

See below for the meaning of the and icons.

Aneroid Barometer: how to use it, brochure (size 800K)

Bushfire Weather: bushfire; safety, profiles, anatomy, patterns, threats,
brochure (size 237K)

Clouds: formation and classification: brochure

Cloud Quiz: Mr McCloud's cloud quiz

Cyclones: surviving cyclones, brochure

Rainfall Maps: links to rainfall maps

Satellite Images: understanding the pictures

Storm Spotters Guide, Australian: images and descriptions of various
types of storms

Storms, Severe: facts, warnings and how to protect against

Sun Safety Forecasts: UV forecast service, brochure (size 830K)

Temperature Maps: for all of Australia

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Weather and Flood information

Weather and Flood information, New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory

Weather and Flood information, Queensland

Weather and Flood information, South Australia

Weather and Flood information, Tasmania

Weather and Flood information, Victoria

Weather and Flood information, Western Australia

Weather Charts: understanding the charts

Weather Forecast, The: how it is done, brochure

Weather Journal: announcement, a book for recording your local weather

Weather Maps: high and low pressure systems

Weather Maps: how to prepare

Weather Maps: rain or fine

Weather Maps: and what they show

Weather Maps: wind strength

Weather Patterns: typical weather patterns

Weather Station Locations, Automatic: in South Australia

Weather Stations, Automatic: setting up automatic weather stations in Australia

Weather, Wonders of The: a textbook that may be purchased through the
Bureau of Meteorology

Weather Words: a glossary of weather terms and their definitions

Wind Information: wind maps, wind roses, wind direction

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Brochures

Brochures are a valuable source of information; especially for school projects. They may be ordered as a paper copy or downloaded electronically from our web site as Portable Document Files (PDF). Either or both of the following icons :

, may appear in the description of some brochures found in the list of topics.

Clicking on the

(PDF) icon will allow you to select and download an electronic version of the brochure in a PDF format. Clicking on the

(REQ) icon will allow you to electronically request that a paper copy of the brochure be mailed to you. When composing your request, please include your full postal address and the name of the brochure you require (available from the menu provided when you make your request). Click here to contact us about any problems you experience.

Please note that you must download Adobe Acrobat Reader (available free from ADOBE) to open the PDF versions of the publications. If you encounter problems reading the PDF versions, ensure you have version 3.1 or later of Adobe Acrobat Reader. Click here to contact us if problems still exist.