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The Weather Machine: A Journey Inside the Forecast
From the acclaimed author of Tubes, a lively and surprising tour of the infrastructure behind the weather forecast, the people who built it, and what it reveals about our climate and our planet
The weather is the foundation of our daily lives. It’s a staple of small talk, the app on our smartphones, and often the first thing we check each morning. Yet behind these quotidian interactions is one of the most expansive machines human beings have ever constructed—a triumph of science, technology and global cooperation. But what is this ‘weather machine’ and who created it?
In The Weather Machine, Andrew Blum takes readers on a fascinating journey through an everyday miracle. In a quest to understand how the forecast works, he visits old weather stations and watches new satellites blast off. He follows the dogged efforts of scientists to create a supercomputer model of the atmosphere and traces the surprising history of the algorithms that power their work. He discovers that we have quietly entered a golden age of meteorology—our tools allow us to predict weather more accurately than ever, and yet we haven’t learned to trust them, nor can we guarantee the fragile international alliances that allow our modern weather machine to exist.
Written with the sharp wit and infectious curiosity Andrew Blum is known for, The Weather Machine pulls back the curtain on a universal part of our everyday lives, illuminating our relationships with technology, the planet, and the global community.
The weather is the foundation of our daily lives. It’s a staple of small talk, the app on our smartphones, and often the first thing we check each morning. Yet behind these quotidian interactions is one of the most expansive machines human beings have ever constructed—a triumph of science, technology and global cooperation. But what is this ‘weather machine’ and who created it?
In The Weather Machine, Andrew Blum takes readers on a fascinating journey through an everyday miracle. In a quest to understand how the forecast works, he visits old weather stations and watches new satellites blast off. He follows the dogged efforts of scientists to create a supercomputer model of the atmosphere and traces the surprising history of the algorithms that power their work. He discovers that we have quietly entered a golden age of meteorology—our tools allow us to predict weather more accurately than ever, and yet we haven’t learned to trust them, nor can we guarantee the fragile international alliances that allow our modern weather machine to exist.
Written with the sharp wit and infectious curiosity Andrew Blum is known for, The Weather Machine pulls back the curtain on a universal part of our everyday lives, illuminating our relationships with technology, the planet, and the global community.
203 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 25, 2019
287 people are currently reading
1774 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 216 reviews
July 22, 2019
Unfortunately I was disappointed in this book I had anticipated for so long. Admittedly, I do not read a lot of science as I can find it difficult to understand with my background in the humanities. I was hoping for that rare jewel, a book that makes science approachable to the layperson and links it to daily life. Like weather forecasting, right?
It wasn't that the book was difficult to understand, it was more like there just wasn't much there. Aside from learning who creates the "European model" referred to by forecasters, I felt like I didn't actually learn much. It was more like a magazine article that went on too long. Rather than expanding on the concepts (weather forecasting uses on the ground observations, satellite observations, and computer calculations) the author simply cited example after example and name after name of these instances. And the actual models were basically dismissed as "lots of complicated computer calculations - not going to go there."
Most disappointing was that other than mentioning the use of the now ubiquitous smartphone weather app, all this forecasting improvement developed in the last hundred years was never related to real life. Predict tornadoes and warn a town? Save a few thousand people from a hurricane compared to the 1900 Galveston storm or the 1935 Labor Day Category 5? Nope, nothing about that.
I really wanted to like this book. It could have been so much more.
It wasn't that the book was difficult to understand, it was more like there just wasn't much there. Aside from learning who creates the "European model" referred to by forecasters, I felt like I didn't actually learn much. It was more like a magazine article that went on too long. Rather than expanding on the concepts (weather forecasting uses on the ground observations, satellite observations, and computer calculations) the author simply cited example after example and name after name of these instances. And the actual models were basically dismissed as "lots of complicated computer calculations - not going to go there."
Most disappointing was that other than mentioning the use of the now ubiquitous smartphone weather app, all this forecasting improvement developed in the last hundred years was never related to real life. Predict tornadoes and warn a town? Save a few thousand people from a hurricane compared to the 1900 Galveston storm or the 1935 Labor Day Category 5? Nope, nothing about that.
I really wanted to like this book. It could have been so much more.
November 28, 2020
as someone who works in meteorological data collection this was a fun read. My biggest complaint is go deeper! I'm here dude go fuckin all in. It reads like a long form internet article of "isn't this stuff cool!" which like it is, and the brevity of it made it really crushable and interesting. But I would have been right there with him if he would have pulled a little harder on some the the more niche threads that you could tell excited him. Still recommended it to some other weather nerd friends and would love to check out "tubes" lmao
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August 28, 2019A short journey across the world about how weather is forecasted (with a chapter on the history to begin it). It was fine, but wasn't exactly what I'd hoped for: more insight into where and how forecasting connects to the humans who experience the weather itself and how that connects to changes in forecasting due to climate change. I could have had another 100 pages in this little book to get that, since it all relates.
Although it touches on the privatization of forecasting, I wished for more like The Coming Storm offered.
Audio was fine.
Although it touches on the privatization of forecasting, I wished for more like The Coming Storm offered.
Audio was fine.
April 14, 2020
The Weather Machine : A Journey Inside the Forecast (2019) by Andrew Blum explores how modern weather forecasts are made. Blum is a journalist who has written for The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal and Wired and various other magazines. The Weather Machine picks a subject that is more incredible than we realise and something we take for granted.
The fact that it is possible to predict the weather with impressive accuracy 3-4 days out is absolutely amazing. It's something we've come to take for granted but it's a super-human exercise in computation. It's interesting that when we consider AI we don't even consider that predicting weather 2-3 days out well is something that humans simply couldn't do but that a machine, calibrated with data from sensors around and above the world can do.
In The Weather Machine Blum explores how this can be done. He goes through the history of weather forecasting, with people figuring out how it could be done before they had the computational ability to do so. With the advent of computers this huge achievement became possible and routine. Blum looks at the satellites, the forecasters, the computers and the international organisations that make this possible.
The point is also made that the fact that we can forecast tornados and hurricanes accurately is something that saves lives.
The Weather Machine is a well written, clever book that provides a view on the incredible achievement that is the weather forecast. It's really a very good book.
The fact that it is possible to predict the weather with impressive accuracy 3-4 days out is absolutely amazing. It's something we've come to take for granted but it's a super-human exercise in computation. It's interesting that when we consider AI we don't even consider that predicting weather 2-3 days out well is something that humans simply couldn't do but that a machine, calibrated with data from sensors around and above the world can do.
In The Weather Machine Blum explores how this can be done. He goes through the history of weather forecasting, with people figuring out how it could be done before they had the computational ability to do so. With the advent of computers this huge achievement became possible and routine. Blum looks at the satellites, the forecasters, the computers and the international organisations that make this possible.
The point is also made that the fact that we can forecast tornados and hurricanes accurately is something that saves lives.
The Weather Machine is a well written, clever book that provides a view on the incredible achievement that is the weather forecast. It's really a very good book.
February 7, 2021
One of our oldest desires is knowing the weather. And we gradually raised our expectations on fulfilment of this desire. Niels Bohr has famously said: "Predictions are very difficult, especially if they are about the future". Especially for the weather, they were extremely difficult just a century ago. As in many fields, the advancements in technology improved the weather forecasts quite radically. Many of us don't even look through the window or read the glas thermometer anymore to know the weather. An app is our weather guru these days.
Nowadays, the weather forecast for the next couple of days is usually very accurate, but we didn't stop there. The forecasters are now expected to be able to tell whether it is going to rain on cousin’s wedding in a month. For that, an apparatus of extraordinary capabilities is needed. The author takes us to a short journey inside this amazing machine, one of the technological wonders of the world.
The book provides a wide perspective on weather forecasts machinery. As a sailor, I was expecting some deeper technical information on how weather forecasts are made, data, methods, etc. The historical background is the best part of the book, while the writing about the modern technology is pretty superficial. Maybe, this book would be a good start for a novice.
Nowadays, the weather forecast for the next couple of days is usually very accurate, but we didn't stop there. The forecasters are now expected to be able to tell whether it is going to rain on cousin’s wedding in a month. For that, an apparatus of extraordinary capabilities is needed. The author takes us to a short journey inside this amazing machine, one of the technological wonders of the world.
The book provides a wide perspective on weather forecasts machinery. As a sailor, I was expecting some deeper technical information on how weather forecasts are made, data, methods, etc. The historical background is the best part of the book, while the writing about the modern technology is pretty superficial. Maybe, this book would be a good start for a novice.
October 15, 2019
I really wanted to like this book. It did have some interesting factoids, such as early Morse code operators sharing weather, and how Weather Underground started. But other than that is was dreadfully boring. I did the audiobook and the narrator was decent. There were parts where the author described scientists and how they collected data, but I would have liked to hear more about the actually science of what they collected and how (example, how is air pressure measured?) It seemed like the book was missing substance.
I guess if you are really into weather, and specifically how AI and modern scenic collects weather data, this book might be worth a read as an introduction, but you won’t walk away as an expert. For the average person who wants an interesting book to read, this may not be the book for you.
I guess if you are really into weather, and specifically how AI and modern scenic collects weather data, this book might be worth a read as an introduction, but you won’t walk away as an expert. For the average person who wants an interesting book to read, this may not be the book for you.
June 10, 2019
This one was good. I was afraid it was gonna be dry, but it really wasn't. Could have had a little more link with big storms and forecasting, but overall, it was a good read.
May 12, 2021
Blum has a talent for capturing the social aspect of sociotechnical systems, in this case the weather forecast that is an entirely unremarkable part of our lives. Weather forecasting has improved immensely, even in a few decades, and this book is how those forecasts are made worldwide.
The first forecasts were local, limited by what the metrologist can see and measure with their own eyes and perhaps a barometer. But weather systems span continents, and tomorrow's rain is often already pouring some miles to the west. In the 19th century, metrologists, with a surprising contribution from Norwegians, began a process of systematic observations reported by telegraph and telephone. While physicists had dreams of being able to calculate the weather, including an immense cathedral amphitheater of 65000 human calculators, the partial differential equations were far beyond abilities at the time. Instead, forecasters relied of crude pattern recognition, matching the fronts and winds they saw with with historical weather to provide a guess which was moderately skillful, one more precise than the simple average for that time and date.
Weather is continuous, but observations are only collected at discrete stations and times. Good data was a matter of massive international cooperation, since only a handful of nations were large enough to meaningfully encompass weather systems. The Cold War, with its advances in rocketry and computers, brought weather prediction into its modern form. Blum sees the launch of a NASA satellite with a billion dollar sensor for measuring surface moisture, and then goes to the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, a supercomputer site that gulps in torrents of data from satellites and ground stations and has incrementally produced a model accurate to five to eight days out. You might remember the Euro from hurricane season, when different models try to figure out where the big storm is going to make landfall.
Weather is international science diplomacy, but all is not well. While the traditional system was egalitarian, there's now a split between major powers capable of launching satellites and running supercomputers, and the minor nations still dependent on freely available forecast data. Private companies pose another threat, including US giant The Weather Company, which supplies forecasts to consumers, and a potential future of big data from millions of small sensors, collected and collated by a tech titan.
Blum keeps it light, focusing on the people and places of weather forecasting, so while a nerd may want a more in depth book, this is one that ordinary people can finish.
The first forecasts were local, limited by what the metrologist can see and measure with their own eyes and perhaps a barometer. But weather systems span continents, and tomorrow's rain is often already pouring some miles to the west. In the 19th century, metrologists, with a surprising contribution from Norwegians, began a process of systematic observations reported by telegraph and telephone. While physicists had dreams of being able to calculate the weather, including an immense cathedral amphitheater of 65000 human calculators, the partial differential equations were far beyond abilities at the time. Instead, forecasters relied of crude pattern recognition, matching the fronts and winds they saw with with historical weather to provide a guess which was moderately skillful, one more precise than the simple average for that time and date.
Weather is continuous, but observations are only collected at discrete stations and times. Good data was a matter of massive international cooperation, since only a handful of nations were large enough to meaningfully encompass weather systems. The Cold War, with its advances in rocketry and computers, brought weather prediction into its modern form. Blum sees the launch of a NASA satellite with a billion dollar sensor for measuring surface moisture, and then goes to the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, a supercomputer site that gulps in torrents of data from satellites and ground stations and has incrementally produced a model accurate to five to eight days out. You might remember the Euro from hurricane season, when different models try to figure out where the big storm is going to make landfall.
Weather is international science diplomacy, but all is not well. While the traditional system was egalitarian, there's now a split between major powers capable of launching satellites and running supercomputers, and the minor nations still dependent on freely available forecast data. Private companies pose another threat, including US giant The Weather Company, which supplies forecasts to consumers, and a potential future of big data from millions of small sensors, collected and collated by a tech titan.
Blum keeps it light, focusing on the people and places of weather forecasting, so while a nerd may want a more in depth book, this is one that ordinary people can finish.
July 7, 2019
I’ve always been a bit of a science nerd and I remember that when I was a middle schooler I wanted to be a meteorologist. Then, I found out that there was a lot of math involved, so I had to change plans. But I’m still a weather junkie and couldn’t wait to read “The Weather Machine: a Journey Inside The Forecast” by Andrew Blum.
We learn about how super computers to generate weather models that guide the preparation of forecasts. Models are continuously updated as actual data is added. It’s a fascinating look at How forecast relay on world wide measurements and sophisticated algorithms. Decades ago the ability to predict weather 48 hours ahead of time was largely a guess while the 1 week and 10 day forecasts are increasing in accuracy.
Governments of many nations have traditionally shared weather data that goes into these models, but Bloom shares his concerns that privatization puts future developments into jeopardy as well as what happens if governments no longer invest in measurements and the sharing of data.
If you are interested in the science...and politics....of weather, I'd recommend this book.
Memorable Quote: "The weather machine has to be a global system, and it won’t work any other way. At its heart is an equilibrium between the things nations do for themselves and the things they contribute to systems that supersede their borders. We are many countries, on one planet. "
We learn about how super computers to generate weather models that guide the preparation of forecasts. Models are continuously updated as actual data is added. It’s a fascinating look at How forecast relay on world wide measurements and sophisticated algorithms. Decades ago the ability to predict weather 48 hours ahead of time was largely a guess while the 1 week and 10 day forecasts are increasing in accuracy.
Governments of many nations have traditionally shared weather data that goes into these models, but Bloom shares his concerns that privatization puts future developments into jeopardy as well as what happens if governments no longer invest in measurements and the sharing of data.
If you are interested in the science...and politics....of weather, I'd recommend this book.
Memorable Quote: "The weather machine has to be a global system, and it won’t work any other way. At its heart is an equilibrium between the things nations do for themselves and the things they contribute to systems that supersede their borders. We are many countries, on one planet. "
July 30, 2019
As a retired Navy Meteorologist, I would have gave it 4 stars if the author had included at least one chapter or even several paragraphs about the military contributions to the "weather machine". Five stars if he would have provided more detail and examples of the equipment, equations and models themselves and less detail about the various buildings, offices, cafeterias, coffee shops that he visited while researching the book. Other than that, it was a good, fairly broad brush stroke (similar to TV weather forecasts) of the beginnings, growth and inner workings of how an accurate weather forecast (out to about 5 to 7 days) is now available to anyone, anywhere, at any time.
April 28, 2020
I loved the first chapter or two as the author provided historical context for weather forecasting and how it developed. But by the time he got to about the 1980s the focus was on weather satellites - the (minor) differences between them, and too many technical details -- and how the advancement of high speed computing and the collection and storage of large volumes of data has allowed some of the great strides that have been made in forecasting. I learned very little about how actual weather patterns can be read, or about what they have learned about weather from these great information gathering and processing tools.
May 31, 2020
This book was well written for what it was, but as a person who didn't know much about forecasting before reading this, it all felt a bit mundane. It was difficult for me to get through the entire book; I would only recommend to people with both a background and a motivating interest in the topic.
July 18, 2019
A week before I came across this book I was thinking about how we actually do weather forecasting, like how we really do it. The recipe and all. I knew it was something to do with differential equations but that was too vague for my liking. Then I came across this book. How rich? I saw it was only 200 or so pages and knew I will chew through it in a few days.
The book did a good job explaining the history and present of weather forecasting. I especially liked how the invention of telegraph made it easy for operators to compare weather across stations and come up with rudimentary forecasts. Or how after concerted efforts to collect observations, early pioneers in the field realized that without a science or model to work with, they were just bean counting without knowing how the actual plant grew.A lot of credit should be given to the early pioneers especially the likes of Vilheim Bjerknes, L.F Richardson among others who noted that they could repurpose equations from thermodynamics and come up with numerical weather forecasting models.
The book did not answer my question on how they actually did it ergo a step by step process. I wouldn't blame it. If it did so it would turn into a text book rather than a popular science book accessible to all. I went ahead and did some side research on the partial differential equations used. There are a series of them whose partial solutions are used as feed back to another set with their solutions being used as outputs on parameters such as wind speed, precipitation levels, cloud cover among others. They are a tough bunch, I had an initial misplaced notion that I could calculate rough solutions of them and presto have the next day forecast on my rough book, then I came across the story that Richardson, one of the early pioneers, thought it would need 64,000 human computers[ he was doing it before the age of computers] to calculate the solutions to the partial differential equations needed to come up with forecasts. Cowed by this I settled for just having a rough idea of how they worked.
My review might make it seem that weather forecasting is all calculations but that is not the case. Its both an art and a science. The equations' output is taken through statistical constraining and further refined by human observers who have a wealth of experience in forecasting resulting into the results we get in our apps and weather news. This book and my side fact finding mission has given me a better appreciation and respect for all who do weather forecasting. I am not very clear as to who I should recommend this book to, ideally is everyone but I can't shake the nagging thought that this is a niche read. Anywho, happy hunting to anyone trying to solve those equations.
The book did a good job explaining the history and present of weather forecasting. I especially liked how the invention of telegraph made it easy for operators to compare weather across stations and come up with rudimentary forecasts. Or how after concerted efforts to collect observations, early pioneers in the field realized that without a science or model to work with, they were just bean counting without knowing how the actual plant grew.A lot of credit should be given to the early pioneers especially the likes of Vilheim Bjerknes, L.F Richardson among others who noted that they could repurpose equations from thermodynamics and come up with numerical weather forecasting models.
The book did not answer my question on how they actually did it ergo a step by step process. I wouldn't blame it. If it did so it would turn into a text book rather than a popular science book accessible to all. I went ahead and did some side research on the partial differential equations used. There are a series of them whose partial solutions are used as feed back to another set with their solutions being used as outputs on parameters such as wind speed, precipitation levels, cloud cover among others. They are a tough bunch, I had an initial misplaced notion that I could calculate rough solutions of them and presto have the next day forecast on my rough book, then I came across the story that Richardson, one of the early pioneers, thought it would need 64,000 human computers[ he was doing it before the age of computers] to calculate the solutions to the partial differential equations needed to come up with forecasts. Cowed by this I settled for just having a rough idea of how they worked.
My review might make it seem that weather forecasting is all calculations but that is not the case. Its both an art and a science. The equations' output is taken through statistical constraining and further refined by human observers who have a wealth of experience in forecasting resulting into the results we get in our apps and weather news. This book and my side fact finding mission has given me a better appreciation and respect for all who do weather forecasting. I am not very clear as to who I should recommend this book to, ideally is everyone but I can't shake the nagging thought that this is a niche read. Anywho, happy hunting to anyone trying to solve those equations.
Read
August 20, 2025“The weather machine is based on an idea of international cooperation that has become outmoded…. Now multinational technology corporations are poised to create a new structure of data ownership and exchange.”
Our lives are constantly becoming privatized… a problem that is expanding into access to weather information, something that disproportionately affects poorer countries and countries facing stronger climate change effects. “The most important weather observations are increasingly collected by the narrow tier of countries that operate satellites. And the most important forecasts are produced by the equally slim group of countries that operate weather models. How long can the current system of data exchange among nations hold? How soon might it be supplanted by global technology corporations- themselves often acting like nations?”
My thoughts summed up in this quote: “New weather extremes demand new efforts to smooth the differences among nations and new stakes for the group’s understanding for how weather ties us all together.”
Our lives are constantly becoming privatized… a problem that is expanding into access to weather information, something that disproportionately affects poorer countries and countries facing stronger climate change effects. “The most important weather observations are increasingly collected by the narrow tier of countries that operate satellites. And the most important forecasts are produced by the equally slim group of countries that operate weather models. How long can the current system of data exchange among nations hold? How soon might it be supplanted by global technology corporations- themselves often acting like nations?”
My thoughts summed up in this quote: “New weather extremes demand new efforts to smooth the differences among nations and new stakes for the group’s understanding for how weather ties us all together.”
December 12, 2020
I really enjoyed Blum's first book - Tubes - so I am not surprised I enjoyed this book. I am often fascinated by the role weather and it's for casting plays in government - it is mentioned both in The Fifth Risk and The Signal and the Noise as an organization that is incredibly underappreciated, underfunded and incredibly crucial but at a cross roads due to big technology companies and lack of funding. I wish Blum took a bigger stance on the public private partnership of weather data and offered a glimpse for what it may look like in 5-10 years but that was never the premise of the book. The premise was how weather forecasting got to now I'm a very global, high level sense
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August 30, 2021A hard book to rate as it neither went deep enough or skimmed enough over the surface. One of the rare times that I think a book really could have benefited from another 100 pages to really get its teeth into the subject.
December 14, 2020
Not bad.
The relationship between the public and private sectors of weather forecasting was not tackled with the same nuance as Michael Lewis.
The relationship between the public and private sectors of weather forecasting was not tackled with the same nuance as Michael Lewis.
December 21, 2023
Interesting and illuminating, but much like our current climate, the book is soooo very dry. It does give one an appreciation for the vast global physical, human, and technological infrastructure necessary to produce the weather forecasts that we take for granted. I'll never complain about an inaccurate weather prediction again. Considering what it takes to create forecasts, it's amazing they are as accurate as they are! The author also wrote Tubes, which was really fascinating. This one didn't quite live up to Tubes.
January 23, 2025
So interesting!!
September 4, 2025
this book has an audience somewhere. that audience is just not me :)
February 4, 2022
This book was fine. Short and sweet and gives a general explanation of where weather modelling came from and where it's at now. It could probably have gone into less detail about some of the personalities involved (and about Blum's personal story of meeting these various people), and into more detail about things like chaos theory and the potential limits to weather prediction, but I'm not too put off over it.
October 4, 2019
I was hoping for more about actual weather. How the models get to the forecast. This emphasizes weather bureaucracy.
October 12, 2021
This is a fast and interesting read, but don't expect too much from it.
Blum runs down a quick history of how "The Weather Machine" - that is, the global, cooperative efforts to foretell weather - came to be and how it works. He completes the experience by outlining a few challenges moving forward. And, well, that's it.
This book is super surface-level information clearly just meant to give you a peek behind the curtains. It provides that, but nothing more.
Blum runs down a quick history of how "The Weather Machine" - that is, the global, cooperative efforts to foretell weather - came to be and how it works. He completes the experience by outlining a few challenges moving forward. And, well, that's it.
This book is super surface-level information clearly just meant to give you a peek behind the curtains. It provides that, but nothing more.
August 12, 2019
I had enjoyed the author's 'Tubes' and was looking forward to a similar lively and sparky exploration of the weather forecasting business. But this book didn't have any of the spark, and although you can see the format is essentially the same as 'Tubes', it either doesn't work so well in this context, which needs to deal with concepts and scientific theories more than physical infrastructure, and the author doesn't seem quite up to it. But it was a short book!
The Weather Experiment by Peter Moore, although not about the current multinational modelling and forecasting system, is a much more satisfying read.
The Weather Experiment by Peter Moore, although not about the current multinational modelling and forecasting system, is a much more satisfying read.
August 16, 2019
Predicting the weather ranks among humanity’s great adaptations to life, writes the author.
This mediocre book wants to tell where the weather machine originated and how it evolved.
But the story here complete missed the contributions of Increase Lapham, recognized as the Father of the National Weather Service, who issued the first storm warning a hundred and fifty years ago, for the Great Lakes. Studying Wisconsin: The Life of Increase Lapham, early chronicler of plants, rocks, rivers, mounds and all things Wisconsin
Beginning with the telegraph in the eighteen forties, news could travel faster than the wind. One operator could click about conditions to the next operator downwind. Weather transformed from conditions at a place to patterns that stretched from place to place, elevating from a grab bag of daily surprises to a system of advance warnings and updates.
The Smithsonian launched a weather observation map, a display that symbolized how America evolved from isolated communities into a connected nation in the eighteen fifties. The early iteration served as a system of observations not predictions. But the observations led to observable patterns which led to forecasting.
This mediocre book wants to tell where the weather machine originated and how it evolved.
But the story here complete missed the contributions of Increase Lapham, recognized as the Father of the National Weather Service, who issued the first storm warning a hundred and fifty years ago, for the Great Lakes. Studying Wisconsin: The Life of Increase Lapham, early chronicler of plants, rocks, rivers, mounds and all things Wisconsin
Beginning with the telegraph in the eighteen forties, news could travel faster than the wind. One operator could click about conditions to the next operator downwind. Weather transformed from conditions at a place to patterns that stretched from place to place, elevating from a grab bag of daily surprises to a system of advance warnings and updates.
The Smithsonian launched a weather observation map, a display that symbolized how America evolved from isolated communities into a connected nation in the eighteen fifties. The early iteration served as a system of observations not predictions. But the observations led to observable patterns which led to forecasting.
February 1, 2020
How can they predict that it will rain 10 blocks from my house, but not rain in my from yard? What is a "weather model?" What are point specific atmospheric "observations?" How do these observations feed into the "weather models?" And math -- how can someone express the behavior of weather patterns in formulas, equations, and calculations?
This book has all the answers, in plain, simple, easy to understand language that is fun and real. The author makes the subject COME ALIVE -- he FINDS and interviews the mathematicians creating the formulas that require the calculations. He VISITS the buildings in which the supercomputers perform the calculations that are needed to predict the weather using the models developed. He TRACKS the location of the weather observation stations that feed the models that require the supercomputers to perform the calculations to predict the weather.
And how do the centralized predictions of the supercomputers allow the local weather guy on TV to tell me that it will rain 10 blocks from my house, but not rain in my from yard? Read this book and find out!
This book has all the answers, in plain, simple, easy to understand language that is fun and real. The author makes the subject COME ALIVE -- he FINDS and interviews the mathematicians creating the formulas that require the calculations. He VISITS the buildings in which the supercomputers perform the calculations that are needed to predict the weather using the models developed. He TRACKS the location of the weather observation stations that feed the models that require the supercomputers to perform the calculations to predict the weather.
And how do the centralized predictions of the supercomputers allow the local weather guy on TV to tell me that it will rain 10 blocks from my house, but not rain in my from yard? Read this book and find out!
June 9, 2021
A very enjoyable account of the history of weather date collection, its forecasts and predictions. I especially like the informative explanation of SMAP, NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive project as shown in one of NASA's YouTube videos.
April 25, 2025
This book was a great introduction into the complex world of global weather forecasting. I learned a lot about the history of forecasting and the mathematics/physics that relates to this field. A relatively quick and easy read but I could see this book not being for everyone.
December 6, 2022
Dry as dust! Hoping for an insightful book into the weather and instead got a boring diatribe on weather scientists and machines. Avoid.
September 28, 2022
Siapa yang pernah merasa kecele sama prakiraan cuaca? Saya! (dan saya yakin hampir semua orang di dunia juga akan tunjuk jari). Kesal? Jangan. Selain menghabiskan energi, ini juga bukan kesalahan orang-orang meteorologi.
Memprediksi cuaca itu sulit, bahkan dengan segala teknologi dan peralatan canggih yang ada sekarang. Sulit karena begitu banyak variabel yang mempengaruhi perubahan cuaca, dan perubahannya begitu cepat terjadi. Mengutip seorang ilmuwan dalam buku ini, katanya "Mendaratkan pesawat luar angkasa di Mars berurusan dengan ratusan variabel matematika, tapi membuat model atmosfir global membutuhkan ratusan ribu variabel! Sangat kompleks!"
Buku The Weather Machine berusaha menggali apa yang sebenarnya berlangsung di balik prakiraan cuaca yang sudah menjadi bagian dari hidup kita sehari-hari.
Awal buku ini cukup menarik. Dibuka dengan cerita akuratnya prediksi pakar meteorologi mengenai jalur hurricane Sandy, bahkan jauh sebelum tropical system itu berubah menjadi hurricane.
Dari situ Blum membandingkan kemajuan teknologi observasi cuaca saat ini (yang memungkinkan akurasi prediksi jalur hurricane) dengan bagaimana hal itu dilakukan di masa lalu.
Buku ini dibagi menjadi 4 bagian : Calculation, Observation, Simulation, dan Preservation, yang masing-masingnya dibagi beberapa sub-bab.
Bab Calculation bercerita tentang awal mula munculnya ide dan usaha memprediksi cuaca. Awalnya, ketika teknologi masih sangat terbatas, semua dilakukan melalui observasi manusia di permukaan bumi. Satu-satunya jalan mengetahui cuaca adalah dengan melihat ke langit di horizon pandangan mata kita. Kemudian setelah ditemukan telegraf, observasi tersebut meluas. Manusia bisa mengetahui cuaca di daerah-daerah lain dan memprediksi efeknya untuk daerahnya. Pada waktu itu info cuaca diperlukan karena kabel telegraf tidak berfungsi dengan baik dalam hujan. Jadi operator telegraf bisa mempersiapkan diri jika ada gangguan servis.
Pemikir di abad itu mulai mengenali potensi telegraf (atau teknologi semacamnya, jika nanti ditemukan di masa depan) untuk pengamatan cuaca, karena observasi cuaca bisa dilakukan dalam jaringan global lintas negara. John Ruskin, pemikir dari Inggris menulis pada 1839 tentang bagaimana di masa depan teknologi komunikasi akan mengubah pandangan manusia "tidak hanya tentang cuaca, tetapi juga tentang dunia." Ia menyebutnya "a vast machine". Ketika itu ia juga menuliskan visinya tentang pengamatan meteorologi dari angkasa. Sangat visioner pada masanya.
Kemudian di akhir abad 19 fisikawan Norwegia Vilhelm Bjerknes melalui termodinamika dan mekanika fluida mengaplikasikan fisika dan matematika untuk memahami gerak atmosfir dan memprediksi cuaca melalui model numerik, alih-alih sekadar observasi. Bjerknes dianggap sebagai salah satu pendiri ilmu meteorologi modern.
Pengembangan ilmu meteorologi ini tanpa disangka terbantu oleh perang dunia I. Perang memungkinkan adanya jaringan pos-pos observasi di garda depan (front -- ini awal mula digunakannya kata 'front' dalam meteorologi). Setelah perang berakhir, pos-pos ini digunakan sebagai pos observasi cuaca, yang melaporkan kondisi cuaca ke pusat untuk dicatat, dikalkulasi, dan disebarkan informasinya ke berbagai penjuru.
Bab Observation bercerita tentang pos observasi cuaca di Utsira, Norwegia; pengembangan teknologi roket dari militer untuk observasi cuaca dari angkasa, bagaimana pada 1954 untuk pertama kalinya kamera roket bisa menangkap putaran awan badai dari angkasa; peluncuran satelit-satelit cuaca pertama di awal dekade 1960an. Ternyata presiden Kennedy dulu selain mendorong Amerika mendarat di bulan, juga mempunyai visi menggunakan satelit-satelit di luar angkasa untuk pengamatan cuaca global; tentang dua kategori satelit cuaca: geostationary (GEO) yang berputar bersamaan dengan bumi, dan low earth orbiter (LEO) yang memutari bumi secara vertikal; peluncuran satelit untuk mengukur kelembaban tanah dari angkasa.
Bab Simulation menceritakan pengalaman Blum mengunjungi institusi-institusi meteorologi di Amerika dan Eropa, yang berurusan dengan kalkulasi data cuaca untuk membuat model. Bab Preservation menceritakan kerja politisi dan diplomat dalam hubungannya dengan koordinasi data cuaca global.
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Buku ini saya ambil dari rak perpustakaan untuk dibaca di jalan, karena kelihatannya tipis. Bacaan ringan di sela-sela tumpukan bacaan berat. Sayangnya, bacaan ringan yang saya pikir akan lumayan informatif tentang proses memprediksi cuaca ini agak mengecewakan.
Saya mengira isi bukunya akan lebih teknikal, menjelaskan seluk beluk weather forecasting. Apalagi saya baru selesai baca The Age of Cryptocurrency yang padat info. Tapi karena penulisnya bukan meteorolog melainkan jurnalis, ia lebih banyak menuliskan 'pengalamannya berinteraksi dengan mereka yang bergelut di dunia meteorologi', dengan narasi subjektif tentang sesuatu. Agak drama. Dan saya bukan penggemar genre drama ataupun memoar. Jadi (menurut saya), buku ini seperti tahu sumedang, enak sih, dan ada gizinya juga, tapi isinya kopong. Hahaha.
-dydy-
Memprediksi cuaca itu sulit, bahkan dengan segala teknologi dan peralatan canggih yang ada sekarang. Sulit karena begitu banyak variabel yang mempengaruhi perubahan cuaca, dan perubahannya begitu cepat terjadi. Mengutip seorang ilmuwan dalam buku ini, katanya "Mendaratkan pesawat luar angkasa di Mars berurusan dengan ratusan variabel matematika, tapi membuat model atmosfir global membutuhkan ratusan ribu variabel! Sangat kompleks!"
Buku The Weather Machine berusaha menggali apa yang sebenarnya berlangsung di balik prakiraan cuaca yang sudah menjadi bagian dari hidup kita sehari-hari.
Awal buku ini cukup menarik. Dibuka dengan cerita akuratnya prediksi pakar meteorologi mengenai jalur hurricane Sandy, bahkan jauh sebelum tropical system itu berubah menjadi hurricane.
Dari situ Blum membandingkan kemajuan teknologi observasi cuaca saat ini (yang memungkinkan akurasi prediksi jalur hurricane) dengan bagaimana hal itu dilakukan di masa lalu.
Buku ini dibagi menjadi 4 bagian : Calculation, Observation, Simulation, dan Preservation, yang masing-masingnya dibagi beberapa sub-bab.
Bab Calculation bercerita tentang awal mula munculnya ide dan usaha memprediksi cuaca. Awalnya, ketika teknologi masih sangat terbatas, semua dilakukan melalui observasi manusia di permukaan bumi. Satu-satunya jalan mengetahui cuaca adalah dengan melihat ke langit di horizon pandangan mata kita. Kemudian setelah ditemukan telegraf, observasi tersebut meluas. Manusia bisa mengetahui cuaca di daerah-daerah lain dan memprediksi efeknya untuk daerahnya. Pada waktu itu info cuaca diperlukan karena kabel telegraf tidak berfungsi dengan baik dalam hujan. Jadi operator telegraf bisa mempersiapkan diri jika ada gangguan servis.
Pemikir di abad itu mulai mengenali potensi telegraf (atau teknologi semacamnya, jika nanti ditemukan di masa depan) untuk pengamatan cuaca, karena observasi cuaca bisa dilakukan dalam jaringan global lintas negara. John Ruskin, pemikir dari Inggris menulis pada 1839 tentang bagaimana di masa depan teknologi komunikasi akan mengubah pandangan manusia "tidak hanya tentang cuaca, tetapi juga tentang dunia." Ia menyebutnya "a vast machine". Ketika itu ia juga menuliskan visinya tentang pengamatan meteorologi dari angkasa. Sangat visioner pada masanya.
Kemudian di akhir abad 19 fisikawan Norwegia Vilhelm Bjerknes melalui termodinamika dan mekanika fluida mengaplikasikan fisika dan matematika untuk memahami gerak atmosfir dan memprediksi cuaca melalui model numerik, alih-alih sekadar observasi. Bjerknes dianggap sebagai salah satu pendiri ilmu meteorologi modern.
Pengembangan ilmu meteorologi ini tanpa disangka terbantu oleh perang dunia I. Perang memungkinkan adanya jaringan pos-pos observasi di garda depan (front -- ini awal mula digunakannya kata 'front' dalam meteorologi). Setelah perang berakhir, pos-pos ini digunakan sebagai pos observasi cuaca, yang melaporkan kondisi cuaca ke pusat untuk dicatat, dikalkulasi, dan disebarkan informasinya ke berbagai penjuru.
Bab Observation bercerita tentang pos observasi cuaca di Utsira, Norwegia; pengembangan teknologi roket dari militer untuk observasi cuaca dari angkasa, bagaimana pada 1954 untuk pertama kalinya kamera roket bisa menangkap putaran awan badai dari angkasa; peluncuran satelit-satelit cuaca pertama di awal dekade 1960an. Ternyata presiden Kennedy dulu selain mendorong Amerika mendarat di bulan, juga mempunyai visi menggunakan satelit-satelit di luar angkasa untuk pengamatan cuaca global; tentang dua kategori satelit cuaca: geostationary (GEO) yang berputar bersamaan dengan bumi, dan low earth orbiter (LEO) yang memutari bumi secara vertikal; peluncuran satelit untuk mengukur kelembaban tanah dari angkasa.
Bab Simulation menceritakan pengalaman Blum mengunjungi institusi-institusi meteorologi di Amerika dan Eropa, yang berurusan dengan kalkulasi data cuaca untuk membuat model. Bab Preservation menceritakan kerja politisi dan diplomat dalam hubungannya dengan koordinasi data cuaca global.
===
Buku ini saya ambil dari rak perpustakaan untuk dibaca di jalan, karena kelihatannya tipis. Bacaan ringan di sela-sela tumpukan bacaan berat. Sayangnya, bacaan ringan yang saya pikir akan lumayan informatif tentang proses memprediksi cuaca ini agak mengecewakan.
Saya mengira isi bukunya akan lebih teknikal, menjelaskan seluk beluk weather forecasting. Apalagi saya baru selesai baca The Age of Cryptocurrency yang padat info. Tapi karena penulisnya bukan meteorolog melainkan jurnalis, ia lebih banyak menuliskan 'pengalamannya berinteraksi dengan mereka yang bergelut di dunia meteorologi', dengan narasi subjektif tentang sesuatu. Agak drama. Dan saya bukan penggemar genre drama ataupun memoar. Jadi (menurut saya), buku ini seperti tahu sumedang, enak sih, dan ada gizinya juga, tapi isinya kopong. Hahaha.
-dydy-
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