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Weather For Dummies (For Dummies
Weather For Dummies is probably the best book written for a general audience about the subject. ―BILL GATES
Find out what's really going on when it seems like the sky is falling with Weather For Dummies
What exactly is happening when the wind blows, the clouds roll in, lightning flashes, and rain pours down? How do hurricanes whip into a frenzy, and where do tornadoes come from? Why do seasonal conditions sometimes vary so much from one year to the next? The inner workings of the weather can be a mystery, but Dummies can help. Packed with dozens of maps, charts, and stunning photographs of weather conditions, Weather For Dummies brings the science of meteorology down to earth, covering everything from weather basics to cloud types, seasonal differences, extreme weather events, climate change, and beyond.
You'll learn how
Predict the weather and prepare a forecast Use common weather terminology like a pro Identify different types of clouds Spot weather conditions that can lead to storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, and monsoons Observe fun weather phenomena like lightning, rainbows, sundogs, and haloes Talk about what impact weather has on the global ecosystem Get a handle on smog, the greenhouse effect, global warming, and other climate issues Featuring clear explanations and fun and easy activities you can do at home, you'll be ready - rain or shine - for the ever-changing skies above with Weather For Dummies.
Find out what's really going on when it seems like the sky is falling with Weather For Dummies
What exactly is happening when the wind blows, the clouds roll in, lightning flashes, and rain pours down? How do hurricanes whip into a frenzy, and where do tornadoes come from? Why do seasonal conditions sometimes vary so much from one year to the next? The inner workings of the weather can be a mystery, but Dummies can help. Packed with dozens of maps, charts, and stunning photographs of weather conditions, Weather For Dummies brings the science of meteorology down to earth, covering everything from weather basics to cloud types, seasonal differences, extreme weather events, climate change, and beyond.
You'll learn how
Predict the weather and prepare a forecast Use common weather terminology like a pro Identify different types of clouds Spot weather conditions that can lead to storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, and monsoons Observe fun weather phenomena like lightning, rainbows, sundogs, and haloes Talk about what impact weather has on the global ecosystem Get a handle on smog, the greenhouse effect, global warming, and other climate issues Featuring clear explanations and fun and easy activities you can do at home, you'll be ready - rain or shine - for the ever-changing skies above with Weather For Dummies.
364 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 22, 2020
280 people are currently reading
2001 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
October 18, 2021
Well, Bill, I feel a little let down by your recommendation (Bill Gates touted Weather for Dummies as the best book to explain the link between climate change and current weather). While there is some good, there is also bad, and some plain ugly...
Because I'm feeling annoyed, I have to start with the bad. I really dislike the title of this whole series: "For Dummies." It seems to me that the very act of seeking out a book to learn something one doesn't know disqualifies one from being a "dummy." I get that the information is "dumbed down" to be less technical and easier for the lay audience to digest, but there are many places one can go to find that without being insulted by a title! Each chapter begins with a page that was a bit too "dumb" for me - some sort of "attention-catching" intro that I found myself skipping.
My next complaint is that this book edition, published 2021, only seems to use data from 2000 and before. Cox's temperature charts, pollution graphs and so forth end in 1999 or 2000. In a whole chapter talking about devastating hurricanes, there is no mention of Katrina (2005), the costliest storm in US history. In the chapter about climate change there is vague discussion of the increased frequency of storms and forest fires, but none of the data or specifics from the last 20 years that prove the point. Obviously this is a reprint of an earlier publication, but why on earth would a publisher create a new edition on such a timely subject, yet ignore the past two decades??? Wait, let me guess. Gates made his recommendation, and they hustled out a reprint of the old 2000 edition without updating one single thing to capitalize on his endorsement. Slick.
There is a definitely a lot of good in the book as well. Bill Gates is correct that Cox does an excellent job of helping the reader understand weather and climate. I was particularly enlightened by his discussions of ocean currents, high and low pressure systems that shift with the earth's rotations, and the formations of storms. I was surprised the chapter on man-made climate change wasn't more extensive given Gates' recommendation, but it did have excellent if at times outdated information.
And the ugly... the last few chapters are just silly. Cox goes through a bunch of weather myths (like "mare's tails and mackerel scales") and suggests what they might be based on. The worst is the chapter "Ten Crafty Critters" which throws out a bunch of folk weather forecasting based on the behavior of ants, cats, dogs, frogs, birds, and so forth, but this time without analyzing if there's any truth behind the myths. And a chapter on simple at-home weather experiments? Really?
Some of the chapters were 4.25 stars, some were terrible. And I can't get past the complete absence of the 21st century. 3 stars overall, even though I learned so much!
Because I'm feeling annoyed, I have to start with the bad. I really dislike the title of this whole series: "For Dummies." It seems to me that the very act of seeking out a book to learn something one doesn't know disqualifies one from being a "dummy." I get that the information is "dumbed down" to be less technical and easier for the lay audience to digest, but there are many places one can go to find that without being insulted by a title! Each chapter begins with a page that was a bit too "dumb" for me - some sort of "attention-catching" intro that I found myself skipping.
My next complaint is that this book edition, published 2021, only seems to use data from 2000 and before. Cox's temperature charts, pollution graphs and so forth end in 1999 or 2000. In a whole chapter talking about devastating hurricanes, there is no mention of Katrina (2005), the costliest storm in US history. In the chapter about climate change there is vague discussion of the increased frequency of storms and forest fires, but none of the data or specifics from the last 20 years that prove the point. Obviously this is a reprint of an earlier publication, but why on earth would a publisher create a new edition on such a timely subject, yet ignore the past two decades??? Wait, let me guess. Gates made his recommendation, and they hustled out a reprint of the old 2000 edition without updating one single thing to capitalize on his endorsement. Slick.
There is a definitely a lot of good in the book as well. Bill Gates is correct that Cox does an excellent job of helping the reader understand weather and climate. I was particularly enlightened by his discussions of ocean currents, high and low pressure systems that shift with the earth's rotations, and the formations of storms. I was surprised the chapter on man-made climate change wasn't more extensive given Gates' recommendation, but it did have excellent if at times outdated information.
And the ugly... the last few chapters are just silly. Cox goes through a bunch of weather myths (like "mare's tails and mackerel scales") and suggests what they might be based on. The worst is the chapter "Ten Crafty Critters" which throws out a bunch of folk weather forecasting based on the behavior of ants, cats, dogs, frogs, birds, and so forth, but this time without analyzing if there's any truth behind the myths. And a chapter on simple at-home weather experiments? Really?
Some of the chapters were 4.25 stars, some were terrible. And I can't get past the complete absence of the 21st century. 3 stars overall, even though I learned so much!
March 6, 2025
Not bad, uplifting in places.
November 12, 2022
I got this book, because my young daughter is asking me a lot of questions. Many of those are about weather phenomena like fog, clouds, the sun, the colour of clouds near the sun, etc etc.
This book was exactly what I was looking for and it fulfils this prose admirably. It explained the science without the maths, and meteorology is a very formula heavy science. The author's writing style is easy to follow and the chapters are structured in a way so that you can read any chapter you want. My personal favourites were on clouds and naming them and the chapter on the optical effects in the sky.
The only shortcoming for me personally has to do with the fact that I'm European and I would have loved to learn about the European weather patterns and the names of winds, etc. But that isn't a problem of the book, it is written with Americans in mind. Therefore, my next step will be to find a book on European weather patterns.
Great read!
This book was exactly what I was looking for and it fulfils this prose admirably. It explained the science without the maths, and meteorology is a very formula heavy science. The author's writing style is easy to follow and the chapters are structured in a way so that you can read any chapter you want. My personal favourites were on clouds and naming them and the chapter on the optical effects in the sky.
The only shortcoming for me personally has to do with the fact that I'm European and I would have loved to learn about the European weather patterns and the names of winds, etc. But that isn't a problem of the book, it is written with Americans in mind. Therefore, my next step will be to find a book on European weather patterns.
Great read!
October 22, 2021
I picked up this book to read after Bill Gates highly recommended this book for both as a primer and reference book on weather and climate-related events and phenomena (in his latest book on Climate Change that I finished a few days ago). The book explains various weather and climate related phenomena very well even for a layperson.
March 18, 2021
A really excellent resource. If it didn't have the stupid dummy comments sprinkled throughout it would be 5 stars. Searching for e-books on weather I found only children's books and academic tomes for big bucks. I just wanted to learn about weather in more detail. Good book for that.
July 29, 2023
3.5 stars
The title (and if you know the series) pretty much tells you about this one. It explains weather in a simplified way. From the front of the book: “Explore how weather is forecast; Get a close-up look at clouds, storms, and seasons; Understand how climate affects weather”.
I thought it was good, but it didn’t have as much humour as the other “For Dummies” books I’ve read; I usually really like the humour, so I missed that. In all honesty, even though it was simplified, I still had trouble fully understanding some of the explanations and had to reread a few paragraphs more than once. Even so, I definitely learned things. Did you know they always take temperature readings in the shade? Meteorology is harder than rocket science (with the latter often being held up as something you need to be super-smart to do), because “rocket scientists” study space outside Earth’s atmostphere, which is a lot calmer and doesn’t constantly change like our atmosphere and weather does closer to the ground. Those are just a couple of things that stuck in my head.
There was some repetition but that’s because it is meant to be a reference, so you don’t need to read it front to back; the repetition didn’t bother me, but I wanted to mention it for others. There is (in the 2nd edition that I have) a section of colour photos in the middle. Every so often, I’ve thought it would be so interesting to be a meteorologist; LOL! There is no way when I have a hard time understanding the simplified explanations! (As interesting as it might actually be.)
The title (and if you know the series) pretty much tells you about this one. It explains weather in a simplified way. From the front of the book: “Explore how weather is forecast; Get a close-up look at clouds, storms, and seasons; Understand how climate affects weather”.
I thought it was good, but it didn’t have as much humour as the other “For Dummies” books I’ve read; I usually really like the humour, so I missed that. In all honesty, even though it was simplified, I still had trouble fully understanding some of the explanations and had to reread a few paragraphs more than once. Even so, I definitely learned things. Did you know they always take temperature readings in the shade? Meteorology is harder than rocket science (with the latter often being held up as something you need to be super-smart to do), because “rocket scientists” study space outside Earth’s atmostphere, which is a lot calmer and doesn’t constantly change like our atmosphere and weather does closer to the ground. Those are just a couple of things that stuck in my head.
There was some repetition but that’s because it is meant to be a reference, so you don’t need to read it front to back; the repetition didn’t bother me, but I wanted to mention it for others. There is (in the 2nd edition that I have) a section of colour photos in the middle. Every so often, I’ve thought it would be so interesting to be a meteorologist; LOL! There is no way when I have a hard time understanding the simplified explanations! (As interesting as it might actually be.)
April 27, 2021
First off, any book for dummies has gotta have pictures. Weather is practically made for photography: Clouds! Storms! Rainbows! Anything to break up the charts, graphs, and diagrams... Except for the cover, the only photos in this book are grainy black & white shots🤦🏻♀️
Second, Weather for Dummies is thick, heavy, and dense (350+pages!) Do we really need a section on “experiments & activities you can do at home”?🤷♀️
Third, bad puns like “Hail of Fame”, “Putting on airs”, “Pressure-it’s a gas” don’t help. They might appeal to child readers but those of us dummies expecting the mysteries of weather to be revealed will find the wordplay lame.🙆🏽♀️
Second, Weather for Dummies is thick, heavy, and dense (350+pages!) Do we really need a section on “experiments & activities you can do at home”?🤷♀️
Third, bad puns like “Hail of Fame”, “Putting on airs”, “Pressure-it’s a gas” don’t help. They might appeal to child readers but those of us dummies expecting the mysteries of weather to be revealed will find the wordplay lame.🙆🏽♀️
July 23, 2016
Meh
I recently bought a 5-in-1 weather station and wanted to learn more.
I've enjoyed other Dummies books but found this one too sophomoric in humor and content. I wanted more info. about understanding the weather on my local news and in my backyard. Thus, rather than Top Ten Disasters and sub tropical jet streams, I would have liked more on the basics. Frankly, I considered giving it two stars.
I recently bought a 5-in-1 weather station and wanted to learn more.
I've enjoyed other Dummies books but found this one too sophomoric in humor and content. I wanted more info. about understanding the weather on my local news and in my backyard. Thus, rather than Top Ten Disasters and sub tropical jet streams, I would have liked more on the basics. Frankly, I considered giving it two stars.
Read
July 28, 2011A gift for my husband who insists on treating the Weather Channel just like every other regular channel ... I hear it droning on & on & on from every corner of the house.
March 4, 2024
Lots of good information, most of which I already knew. (My son is a climate scientist.) The narration was excellent. Very cheerful which reflected the author's intent. No formulas. Straight-forward and clear explanations. Easy to jump around to a subject that interests you, although you might find this more difficult with an audiobook. I listened to it straight through.
It got a little repetitive toward the end but I wanted to make sure the author didn't slip in anything wrong. I disagreed with the author a little bit here and there but nothing serious. Global climate change was mentioned but only to answer obvious questions that readers would ask. In fact I was impressed that the author didn't shirk his duty and also did not engage in too much propaganda. Just the facts as the author knew them... right or wrong. Sounded sincere.
I might listen to this audiobook again.
I'd recommend reading this book along with another I just read, "The Weather Machine: A Journey Inside the Forecast". That book goes into more of the history of weather forecasting and would complement what you would learn in Weather for Dummies. In fact I read it first.
It got a little repetitive toward the end but I wanted to make sure the author didn't slip in anything wrong. I disagreed with the author a little bit here and there but nothing serious. Global climate change was mentioned but only to answer obvious questions that readers would ask. In fact I was impressed that the author didn't shirk his duty and also did not engage in too much propaganda. Just the facts as the author knew them... right or wrong. Sounded sincere.
I might listen to this audiobook again.
I'd recommend reading this book along with another I just read, "The Weather Machine: A Journey Inside the Forecast". That book goes into more of the history of weather forecasting and would complement what you would learn in Weather for Dummies. In fact I read it first.
March 12, 2021
Bill Gates recommended it as the best book to explain how weather works. I thought it was OK.
Cox covers a huge amount of territory. Necessarily, as promised in the title, he is pretty superficial. He tells us what happens with ocean currents or warm fronts or El Nino or cloud formation but he is very light on the why or the science behind it. His goal seems to be to help you understand a weather report. It is a noble but limited goal.
The graphics are ok but not great. Good graphics should be a priority in this kind of books. The graphics on how wind moves around the planet or what happens when a cold front meets a warm front are confusing and don't really explain what's going on.
The problem is probably that I have a very little knowledge about weather and this book is aimed at someone who has no knowledge of weather. I am surprised about Gates' recommendation since he has a good amount of knowledge about weather. I suspect that this is what he thinks someone with no knowledge could use.
Cox covers a huge amount of territory. Necessarily, as promised in the title, he is pretty superficial. He tells us what happens with ocean currents or warm fronts or El Nino or cloud formation but he is very light on the why or the science behind it. His goal seems to be to help you understand a weather report. It is a noble but limited goal.
The graphics are ok but not great. Good graphics should be a priority in this kind of books. The graphics on how wind moves around the planet or what happens when a cold front meets a warm front are confusing and don't really explain what's going on.
The problem is probably that I have a very little knowledge about weather and this book is aimed at someone who has no knowledge of weather. I am surprised about Gates' recommendation since he has a good amount of knowledge about weather. I suspect that this is what he thinks someone with no knowledge could use.
August 15, 2021
This book is written as a reference book where the reader should just jump to whatever section they are interested in. I read it front to back, so there was (justifiably) a lot of recycled material.
The author wrote the book aiming for an American audience as 95%+ of the examples and interesting systems/phenomena were based on weather affecting the United States. There were several problems with the book... the author wrote about 75% of the book for the lowest common denominator, with quite a bit of material that I would think is somewhat general (or uninteresting) knowledge. For the remainder of the book, the parts with interesting and more complicated thoughts, he would just gloss over and not give the reasons or science behind them. When he would dive a bit deeper and get into some of the science, he would not connect the dots and did a horrendous job of explaining it.
Weather is however an amazing part of nature and thus there was still plenty of new and good information to keep the reader interested.
The author wrote the book aiming for an American audience as 95%+ of the examples and interesting systems/phenomena were based on weather affecting the United States. There were several problems with the book... the author wrote about 75% of the book for the lowest common denominator, with quite a bit of material that I would think is somewhat general (or uninteresting) knowledge. For the remainder of the book, the parts with interesting and more complicated thoughts, he would just gloss over and not give the reasons or science behind them. When he would dive a bit deeper and get into some of the science, he would not connect the dots and did a horrendous job of explaining it.
Weather is however an amazing part of nature and thus there was still plenty of new and good information to keep the reader interested.
November 16, 2021
It is undoubtedly a good encyclopedia about the weather. The word encyclopedia is crucial. It was not evident to me when I was purchasing the e-book version. Such a version is hard to follow, but I'm sure it is good on paper. Also, it is not meant to be read from front to back. You should use it as a reference guide when you are curious about some specific topic. Everything will be there—any knowledge essential for more sections will be repeated in both or more places. I don't understand why the e-book version exists. But I will not buy it on paper anyway because it is too US-centric—most of the data and explanations are for the US. It is sometimes limiting for European readers like me. Some information is not even necessary at all outside US. Anyway, it can explain some basics about weather well. I learned several useful tips and tricks alongside with facts.
March 20, 2021
This edition was published in 2000 so might have been dated in some ways but I no longer feel like a dummie when it comes to Weather! My favorite part was learning about clouds and I've been using that knowledge every day when I'm outside. I feel like I have a better grasp of things so if I watch a weather report I will now understand more about low and high pressure, winds, etc. I wish they would change the title however-you aren't a dummie if you are trying to learn! Maybe Weather for the Uninitiated....
November 13, 2021
If all you are interested in are the nuts and bolts of weather and don't mind the cute "Dummies" language, this book is ok. My problem is that the Kindle version I bought was supposedly a 2020 edition; however the material appears to be at least 20 years old. For example the climate change chapter was clearly written in about 2000 and lot's has happened on that subject in the last 21 years. In the section on hurricanes, descriptions of storms from the 1990's but not a word about Katrina, etc..
March 20, 2023
I picked up this book based on the recommendation of Bill Gates in, his book, How to Avoid A Climate Disaster. His praise for this book is justified.
Three legendary American statesmen had a thing for the weather; George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. No deductions made :)
If like me, you want to understand the rudimentary details of weather, starting from the scratch, and assuming "dummies" status, this is the book for you.
Three legendary American statesmen had a thing for the weather; George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. No deductions made :)
If like me, you want to understand the rudimentary details of weather, starting from the scratch, and assuming "dummies" status, this is the book for you.
January 16, 2023
Weather is a phenomenally complex topic and even the Dummies version takes a bit to wrap your head around.
However, Dr. Cox does a great job of making it accessible and I do feel much better equipped to understand what goes on, including the "atmospheric river" that caused havoc in California while I was reading the book.
However, Dr. Cox does a great job of making it accessible and I do feel much better equipped to understand what goes on, including the "atmospheric river" that caused havoc in California while I was reading the book.
June 13, 2025
This book was very informative. As someone who already has a solid foundation of knowledge about meteorology, I was still learning something new every chapter. I just wish it went into a little more depth on some things.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in weather and doesn’t really know where to start. This is a great foundation.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in weather and doesn’t really know where to start. This is a great foundation.
November 2, 2021
Good starter book about weather forecasting. Unfortunately it's about 20 years old thus I'm sure the information could be updated due to technological advances over that timeframe. It did give me some good basics about the weather and things I should have known already but didn't.
December 2, 2023
Read this because Bill Gates told me to.
It has a lot of interesting facts and trivia about weather...
...but is an excruciatingly slow to read. I couldn't force myself to finish it. Might read pages in between other books.
It has a lot of interesting facts and trivia about weather...
...but is an excruciatingly slow to read. I couldn't force myself to finish it. Might read pages in between other books.
April 13, 2024
I skimmed this book at my bedside for years, finally read it cover to cover. Fun and interesting overview of climate and weather, written in a --- wait for it --- somewhat breezy style. Definitely not too long-winded.
I guess my membership to the Dad’s bad pun club is still valid.
I guess my membership to the Dad’s bad pun club is still valid.
July 8, 2025
Easy read of a complex subject
Information looks well presented. Easy to read. Comprehensive. Good information of internet resources. Information is broken down into logical chapters.
Information looks well presented. Easy to read. Comprehensive. Good information of internet resources. Information is broken down into logical chapters.
October 22, 2021
Well written and good Infos, especially also very good Information about climate change. Nevertheless, at times i wished it was a little less US centric.
November 13, 2021
Great overview on the weather
November 23, 2021
Very informative. Both technical and superficial (as one would expect from a "Dummies" book). Recommended as a good overview of weather science.
April 2, 2022
Easy reading recommended to me by Bill Gates.
April 16, 2022
Weather seems to be more complex than it shows up in real life.
July 2, 2022
Suboptimal wheat to chaff ratio, but covered the basics
August 1, 2022
Interesting book, but too USA centric.
May 10, 2023
Very US centric, and hard to follow if you're used to the metric system. Parts of it is interesting though
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews