Weather 101: From Doppler Radar and Long-Range Forecasts to the Polar Vortex and Climate Change, Everything You Need to Know about the Study of Weather

Adams 101

by Kathleen Sears

Learn the science behind weather and weather prediction in this clear and straightforward new guide.

Weather is everywhere, and while it’s typically not thought about most of the time, it can get everyone’s attention in an instant—whether it’s the swirling destruction of a tornado, the wreckage from a hurricane, or the havoc of climate change on the environment.

Weather 101 gives you the basics on weather, from blue skies to hail to dust storms, with information on the science of how weather works, how to predict the weather in your area, how to be ready for natural disasters, and how climate change is affecting weather patterns across the world. With this guide, you’ll be a weather expert in no time!

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Nature, Audiobook

257 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 12, 2017

Reviews

[Libby · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'd like to give this book negative stars based on its horrible assessment of climate change. More on that at the end.

I’ll admit...I was intrigued. With a background in atmospheric sciences, I wanted to see what this book had to say. I love also science outreach and communication. It’s one of my most favorite things. Plus, people loooooove to complain about the weather and I will admit that I think that if everyone took a basic course in meteorology, the world would be a slightly better place. Lastly, it was recommended by the library for the “Nature” Square for Library Bingo 2020. #quarantine.

To start, it was a bit choppy. I’m clearly not the only one who felt that way. I did listen to the audiobook, but it had a lot of unnecessary headers that broke the flow of the book. It also could have gone into a lot more detail. (Perhaps that’s just the scientist in me... But I love details.) But this resulted in a lot of the choppiness. There was some interesting history of weather events and general meteorology that the author provided, and she did an...ok...job of explaining some things (although so much of it could have been explained much better and more accurately). The book is also very focused on the US, which is dumb. Weather, in case you weren’t aware, is a global phenomenon.

It went REALLY sour in the end when it did a SHIT JOB with climate change. The author misleadingly implied that it’s possibly because of Milankovitch cycles and plate tectonics that we’re experiencing our current climate change. 🤯🤯😱😱 Noooooooo!!!!!! Sure, that's a reasonable explanation for LONG TERM CLIMATE CHANGE on millennial timescales!!! I wanted to slap this author. I...I will not rant and rave for paragraphs on this subject, but I could. She did what many outside of scientific circles do, and tried to show “both sides” to a “climate change controversy,” which is highly problematic for a book like this (also, I wrote part of my MS thesis on this subject so I have some thoughts). Her language was vague and misleading about the scientific consensus surrounding climate change. Plus seriously, “Benefits of Global Warming”? And the sun’s effects on the climate?!😳🙄 You’ve got to be kidding me. I'm severely disappointed. While these topics are great topics of discussion, they’re brought up in a misleading and confusing way which can lead the reader to think they’re potentially causing climate change when in reality: they’re not. The author also brings up things that are frankly just plain conspiracy theories. Come on. The fact that she said that the climate change debate would continue to rage on for years to come and we had much more research to do on whether or not it’s actually man made...just...🤬🤬🤬. (This book was written in 2017, by the way.) Do better research. And don’t spread such rampant disinformation. It’s frankly embarrassing and problematic. Can you tell I'm mad?

This book needed editing for it's excessive choppiness and desultory nature, AND should have been looked over very thoroughly by an atmospheric scientist.

Random aside: in my Intro to Met class in college, I wrote a paper on acid rain and called it “Red Rains.” Title courtesy of my roommate and Peter Gabriel. I'm clearly still pleased with that, many years later.

[Jason Koivu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything herein sounded very familiar. I think I read this last year or maybe the year before. I wouldn't put it past me. I've reached "that age".

[Coralie · Rating 1 out of 5]

i’m not really one to rate books but i felt i had to with this one

“put in that perspective, slow global warming doesn’t sound quite so bad. certainly, much more research is needed to determine whether the changes seen in earth’s climate during the past few decades are a result of natural processes or if mankind’s recent industrialization is lending a hand…”

it’s giving climate denialist, do better kathleen

[Aron · Rating 1 out of 5]

The good: the author provides interesting anecdotes about and summaries of specific historical weather events; the sections on clouds, pressure systems, and lightning were reasonably well written.

The bad: this book has over 50 chapters that total less than 250 pages, which hints correctly that the flow and organizational structure are nearly nonexistent. I started out listening to this book in an audio format and switched to hard copy, at which point I realized my difficulty in following along was more due to the actual contents than my ability to focus. My skepticism reached what I thought would be a high point (it was very high) when the book followed up giving advice about safe room construction with providing actual medical advice, but then it got even worse.

The unforgivable: The section on climate change should be ripped out of every library copy of this book in existence. Alternatively, the book itself could be removed from libraries. Here are some samples of excrement I've picked out for your disgust:
* "Some scientists are certain that the actions of human beings are the cause for this increase [in atmospheric carbon dioxide.]" Some? Not "an overwhelming majority"? And this word choice was reviewed and published? This is misleading and dangerous.
* "Are you confused yet? So is everyone else..." No, ma'am, "everyone" is not confused on whether humans are influencing the climate - but authors like you that sow confusion and imply that Milankovitch cycles, plate tectonics, and sunspots could explain recent trends are surely contributing to that embarrassing, despicable issue.
* "Certainly, much more research is needed to determine whether the changes seen in Earth's climate during the past few decades are a result of natural processes or if mankind's recent industrialization is lending a hand." I just. No. What a bunch of crap. This book was written in 2017, not 1957. This no longer controversial in scientific circles, despite what Fox News tells you, and it hasn't been for many years (decades?).

===============================================

Side note: I just looked this author up and realized she has written 6 other "101" books on a wide range of topics, notably including astrology. I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that she likely has no background or expertise in any of these areas.

Also, I will forever be skeptical of and will probably avoid anything published by Adams Media for approving that climate change section.

[Vidura Barrios · Rating 2 out of 5]

Basic book....they lost me when towards the end they said it is not clear global warming is manmade.

[Kemp · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like Goldilocks’ and the Three Bears, after reading The Weather Machine: A Journey Inside the Forecast by Andrew Blum and Weather Wise: Reading Weather Signs by Alan Watts, this was going to be the perfect book on weather forecasting. Sitting between the details of forecasting and the reading of clouds. WRONG.

It was not. And it missed in several ways – some in style that others may not object to but also in content. My first complaint is the style. I read the digital version on a Kindle. I don’t know the term but Kathleen Sears has a TON OF side stories that in a printed version are boxed with the main text flowing around it. I’ll use the term callout. Every few pages on the Kindle there is a callout on some topic not entirely related to the main text forcing the reader to jump ahead to finish the text and revert back to the callout if its of interest. This detracted from the readability of the Kindle version.

Secondly, it was the Baby Bear version of the three books. Topics are lightly covered – at best. Way, way too light on the history of forecasting and the chapters on major storm types quickly devolved into stories of particular storms like Andrew or Katrina.

Lastly, the back section addresses Global Warming. Other readers blasted Sears as a naysayer. I read it differently – she’s a fence sitter on the topic. As one who believes we are experiencing Global Warming I felt Sear should have taken a firm position – one way or the other.

I’m afraid this gets two stars just like “Weather Wise: Reading Weather Signs”. The difference between these two books is that this one is US centric while Weather Wise is UK centric.

[Cristhian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lo amé.

Lo quiero en papel.

5/5

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good overview of the various components of weather and the science of weather but Sears often goes off on random tangents so the book lacks focus. This book would have benefited from some editing.

[Dixie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always wondered about the weather and clouds and hurricanes and such. this is a great book to find out what is what and how they are made and affect us

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to read and interesting facts about the earth’s weather.

[Rachael · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a book for those who wish to learn about weather from someone who is knowledgeable and an expert in the field. The book on the shelf looks like a fantastic starting point for an immersive book on weather, but upon further look the author is not a meteorologist, nor a scientist at all. The section on climate change, is frankly, wrong. DNF.

[Belle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Extremely U.S.-centric, which was a shame, as everything is in imperial only, and it has lots of information and stories specific to the U.S. Otherwise full of useful information, but very dense so might need to read it again!

[Kloe · Rating 1 out of 5]

Although I’ve learnt some things from this book. However, it’s a pain in the ass to read when there are so many reductant writings. It’s interesting to know the perspective of an opinion about climate change.

[Nathalie Brouwers · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to know about weather, but a book presenting climate change as still completely debatable, makes me doubt everything else I read in it.

[Carlo Flores · Rating 1 out of 5]

Decent up until the chapters on global warming.

[BookSweetie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly appealing small size and production design to learn the basics of weather! Each heading is broken down into one or two or three small pages of digestible bits of information. Everything is presented in clear language; somehow the objective voice feels almost like a patient, concise teacher. Consequently, learning more about a giant subject —the weather — at once feels possible.

The small number of photographs, while unnecessary for comprehending the text, do add to the overall experience. I happily dipped into this book in small, regular doses, somewhat like attending an introductory class. Well, the volume is aptly titled Weather 101, after all.

A possible down-side to a book like this for certain readers: there is no true narrative arc, of course, being topical, so a less motivated reader might not propel him-or-herself through to the end. On the other hand, a reader can jump around to preferred topics and later cycle back to fill in the jumped-over sections —or skip them altogether. Another point: while weather is a worldwide phenomenon, the weather events do have a US focus.

At a recent bookstore visit, I saw a book from afar that I almost mistook for Weather 101 until I looked more closely.

The book was Genetics 101 and it was really only then that I realized the publisher had produced more than one book with the same design and general purpose of presenting a big topic in bite-sized doses. I must say I am in favor of their mission.


I just now checked on Goodreads by clicking on the book details of this book Weather 101 and then clicking on ADAMS 101 (on the Series line above editions) to see the list of other books in this fairly recent series.

The publisher has already produced in this Adams 101 series about thirty books on other topics including Mythology, American government, US history, investing, stock market, accounting, budgeting, architecture, anatomy, astronomy, astrology, economics, social security, management, psychology, philosophy, American lit, art, Buddhism, day trading, music theory, ethics, genetics, grammar, negotiating, poetry, statistics, and world history. More books seem to be coming.

[24I · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading Weather 101 by Kathleen Sears a lot. I got this book because I want to learn more about the weather, and apply it to daily life. This book exceeded my expectations and taught me more than I thought.

One of the main things I liked about this book was its relevance to the real world. Most of the information inside the book could be applied to everyday life. For example, it teaches about different types of cloud formations, and what each could mean. I can now look up in the sky and tell what the forecast may be.

Another thing that was great about this book was its historical context. This book taught me a lot about the evolution of weather forecasting. This ranges from the invention of the doppler radar to the thermometer. It also taught me a lot about how weather made impacts on some of the great wars, like the world wars. Additionally, I learned about some of the biggest natural disasters in history, such as Hurricane Katrina and the Haiti Earthquake.


Lastly, one of the nicest things about this book is its simplicity. While Sears explains very complex terms, she makes it understandable and easy to comprehend, even for someone who has little to no background information on weather.

I recommend this book to anyone wanting a thorough but not complicated explanation of weather.

[Sav · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really disappointed in this book. I was enjoying most of the book, the first 75% as fun review of things I studied in grad school with some fun facts and stories that I think were great examples to use for explaining weather-related phenomena to non-scientifically minded people. However, once the book got into climate change it really lost me. Inaccurate information and wording, making pretty bold statements about how "global warming" is a "hot debate" and how we are "unsure" about a lot of the causes and effects. This is a good example of a book that tries to sneak in climate change denialism through seemingly scientific methods and place doubt in the minds of the public while science is certain of what it is researching. After reading books about the methodology of denialism used in climate change denier propaganda, this book was a great example of that exact thing happening! Given how wrong this information is I am surprised this book is offered on kindle unlimited and has some strong reviews. Scary what "science" people publish and others take as fact!

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting survey of how weather works, how it is forecast and some major historical weather events. I was surprised to learn that many forecasting equipment, and data collection networks only date back to to the 1990s. At this point, many weather weather events including tornadoes, hurricanes and floods are very predictable -- the difficulty is getting the affected people to take action when the alerts and warnings arrive.

It was also the first I'd heard of HAARP, a 1990s program to study the ionosphere originally run by the Air Force, Navy, DARPA, and the University of Alaska. While it may be possible to manipulate the weather by manipulating the ionosphere, it was disingenuous to suggest it is or was being done at HAARP given the facility was shut down and turned over to the University of Alaska four or five years before this book was published.

The global warming discussion, in contrast, was more balanced and presented several climatological and solar cycles that may be enhancing or diminishing the warming attributable to humans.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weather 101 is an interesting book, but I feel as though it tries to cram too much information into a small package. It provides an introductory look into many aspects of weather. I learned a lot! But at the same time, it only spends a few pages on each topic and ultimately left me with plenty of questions after each chapter.

I know a lot of people complain about the climate change portion of the book, but I saw it as a very non-committal way to present all the facts. Kathleen Sears does not pick a side, and simply presents all of the facts. Also, at the end of the day it's only a few pages out of an over 200 page book, so I would say, ignore those negative reviews and read this book if you have a casual interest in weather.

[Jim Gallen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to an audio format of “Weather 101” in the car. I found it to be an interesting and informative work. Explanation of terms will help me better understand weather reports. At the end I felt I knew more about the weather, but its detail left me frustrated because I think I should be more versed in the types of clouds, storms, Doppler Radar, high and low pressure systems, etc., but that is my problem, not the book’s. I credit author Kathleen Sears for her balanced section on global warming, presenting arguments for natural and human-made cases, leaving readers to draw their own conclusions.

I recommend “Weather 101” for readers seeking an in-depth introduction to weather and to less intense readers satisfied to learn a bit more about our environment.

[Alia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Explains in detail many weather phenomena. USA centric so it does not provide much information about events specific to other countries or worldwide. Uses lots of scientific jargon so not very friendly to those new to the field and not easily understandable. In my personal opinion, topics can be better ordered or preceded with more basic explanation of the needed background information and concepts.
Though the worst part about the book is that it barely talks about climate change and it introduces as a topic which is debatable whether it is caused by humans or nature.
2 starts for the scientific content only.

I read this book whenever I couldn't fall asleep and it always put me to sleep lol

[Luke Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I once heard the newspaper USA Today as "McNuggets of news" and thus Weather 101 is to me little McNuggets of weather info. Some of it is REALLY interesting like how the Earth's rotation and axial tilt effect the weather. But a lot of it, especially later in the book, wasn't really interesting at all to me.

It's very choppy, doesn't really ever seem to have a flow, and is so scatter shot that I can't give it a lot of praise.

[Thomas Prenzno · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weather 101 is a worthwhile overview of weather components and the anatomy of storms. Its discussion of climate changes that are expected over the next 20 to 50 years, needs to be reworked. It leaves open the question of human-industrial actions versus natural cycles when discussing the current accelerated rate of climate change. The detrimental effects of human-industrial actions were well established before the book was published in 2017.

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

long hair humid and short dry, Empire averages 23 strikes/year, only 20% are lightning to ground, 800 tornadoes/year, Pinatubo eruption dropped 1.5 degree, 1816 eruption, 1900 Galveston storm worst ever, car frames safe during lightning, media obsession with climate change, effects of sun spots wind and UV variations.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great primer for someone who is curious about the weather around us and does not have much previous knowledge. The 101 title is an accurate description, it gives you a lot of high-level information about numerous weather related topics but doesn’t go into too much detail. I would recommend this as a jumping off point into much deeper topics.

[Ameya Warde · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book spent more time on how to protect yourself from bad weather than I would have liked (especially as it's hard to skip stuff in audiobook form) but it was a pretty quick listen that I'll have to listen to again someday to try to absorb more of the info.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

As others have mentioned, the structure of the book is pretty scattered. Also, the author's treatment of climate change toward the end does not accurately reflect the general scientific consensus that global warming is a result of human activity.

[Mikey Peloquin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool book that will teach you a lot that you didn’t know about the science and theory behind weather. I learned tons that allowed me to stitch together reasoning on the cause and effects of atmospheric activity.

[Mourning_elf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Awalnya membosankan karena bahas tentang War dan efeknya, trus lebih banyak tentang cuaca di Amerika aja yang dibahas. Unrelated ama yang tinggal di equator. Tapi di bab agak akhir bahas tentang survival berbagai bencana sih, agak berfaedah juga.