Book Description
The Information Age has blossomed and now anyone can run a weather center from their own office or home. Unfortunately, nearly all popular weather books are nothing more than essays on the science of meteorology. The Weather Forecasting Handbook breaks this mold by explaining all the latest forecasting principles, techniques, and tools.
Basic physical concepts are reviewed, and commonly-employed analysis methods are presented. Then weather systems are explained in terms of their thermal structure, dynamics, and effects. Special problems such as thunderstorms, winter weather, and tropical weather get chapters of their own. Margins are filled with forecasting facts, hard-hitting quotes, education stories, and even a few fun weather jokes. With added emphasis on analysis, visualization, and awareness of model limitations, readers learn to learn tools properly and are always a step ahead.
The Weather Forecasting Handbook is a must-have for all meteorology students, advanced weather hobbyists, professionals, weathercasters, storm chasers, sailors, and pilots. Whether you want to know how a short wave works, how to find a front, what isentropic surfaces are, how to analyze a 500-millibar chart, what type of vertical motion to expect around jet streaks, or why a high pressure area is building, the Weather Forecasting Handbook's no-nonsense approach will give you a solid foundation to understanding everyday forecasting problems.
This version adds 41 pages and 46 illustrations compared to the previous (fourth) edition. It includes expanded information on numerous topics, especially on the subject of analysis, and adds minor corrections.
192 illustrations, 7 x 10", color cover.
Customer Reviews:
Broad and Good Coverage.......2005-02-23
As the author points out, this does fill the gap between novice (not beginner) and advanced books. That said, it is probably not for someone who is not really interested in weather forecasting as a serious hobby or profession. There is a wealth of information and it is organized very well. It is something that you will certainly want to pick up many times as your knowledge grows about this subject.
The appendix has a good amount of information that will further research. At the end are a bunch of analysis charts so that you can apply your knowledge. This would also be suitable as college material and each chapter has some questions to reinforce the learning of the material.
Bridges the gap.......2003-03-28
Geez, if only something like this existed 20 years ago when I was a teenager getting started in the hobby. It's really amazing that after reading this book, I can pick up on some of the most complex weather charts on the Internet and understand quite clearly what is going on. Tim has a way of describing things quite visually and clearly, and highlighting the building blocks of forecasting. Although I'm not a meteorologist myself, my friend who is in the degree program at the University of North Carolina recognizes this title as part of her coursework. I think this really says a lot. Two thumbs up on this one, and if you are the least bit interested in forecasting, trust me, this book had better be on your bookshelf (or better yet, on your desk). It's well worth the investment.
Great book on mtetorology.......2002-09-13
I'm a meteorologist from Poland. Here we have great lack of good books on forecasting techniques. All meteo books are to high technical with equations on almost every page or written by amateurs, usually people without meteorological background. Tim's textbook is what I've looking for since graduate in atmospheric physics in mid 90s. I think it is a very good book for everyone and I'm happy I was able to by to read it.
Very good book on meteorology.......2002-09-11
I'm meteorologist from Poland. Here we have a big lack of good books: they're high technics with lot of equations on almost every page or they're very simple, written by ordinary authors not experts. I was lookig for a book like Tim's since I graduated in mid 90s. It is very good book for both, one who want to know forecasting techniques and for professionals who need textbook for fast advice. I recommended it for everyone.
Wonderful book on Forecasting!.......2002-09-09
This book is the first book to truly go into detail on exactly what goes into professional and non-professional forecasts. The author explains the fundamentals of forecasting while leaving out textbook-style boredom. This book is perfect for beginners who want to learn how to forecast and also veterans who need to brush up. This book explains somewhat hard-to-explain-topics with ease. I am a 4th year meteorology student, and I find the book riveting. Very well researched and extremely thorough, the author is a master at forecasting for the most dangerous area in the world: tornado alley. He knows what he's talking about! Do yourself a favor and buy it. This is the best book on the subject I have ever read, and I have read a lot!!
Book Description
What’s going on up there when the rain falls, when the wind blows, when the clouds roll in and the lightning flashes? How do hurricanes arise and where to tornadoes come from? Why do seasonal conditions sometimes vary so much from one year to the next? Our ways of life, our very existences depend on knowing the answers to questions like these. Economies have been wiped out, civilizations have risen and fallen, entire species have come into being or gone extinct because of a temperature shift of just a few degrees, or a brief shortage or glut of rainfall. With so much riding on the weather, it makes you wonder how you’ve lived this long without knowing more about it.
Don’t worry it’s never too late to find out about what makes the weather tick.
And there’s never been an easier or more enjoyable way to learn than Weather For Dummies. In know time, you’ll know enough of weather basics to be able to:
- Identify cloud types
- Make sense of seasonal differences in the weather
- Understand what causes hurricanes, tornadoes, and other extreme events
- Make your own weather forecasts
- Avoid danger during severe weather
- Understand the global warming debate
- Get a handle on smog, the greenhouse effect, El Niño, and more
Award-winning science writer John D. Cox brings the science of meteorology down to earth and, with the help of dozens of cool maps and charts and stunning photographs of weather conditions, he covers a wide range of fascinating subjects, including:
- What is weather and how it fits into the entire global ecosystem
- What goes into making a professional daily weather forecast
- The basic elements of weather, including air pressure, clouds, and humidity
- Storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, monsoons, and other extreme forms of weather
- Seasonal weather effects and why they vary
- Lightening, rainbows, sundogs, haloes, and other special effects
Featuring clear explanations, stunning illustrations, and fun, easy experiments and activities you can do at home , Weather For Dummies is your guide to making sense of the baffling turmoil of the ever-changing skies above.
Customer Reviews:
Weather for Dummies.......2007-01-06
It was a basic book on starting to understand weather, which is what I was looking for. I was able to read and understand more advanced books on the subject after that one. It served its purpose.
A Reader-Friendly Reference.......2004-02-23
Weather is a subject that everyone knows something about. However that's just where John Cox starts. So one knows about Doppler radar? How about polar orbiters? So one has always heard the expression "it's too cold to snow?" Is it really?
Of course this is a reader-friendly book. But I will wager that it will soon turn into a handy reference book that is frequently pulled from the shelf.
Weather for Dummies.......2000-11-10
This is a great book for those of us interested more in the weather and less in stuffy meteorology. I now have an understanding of "relative humidity" and why a "dry heat" is more comfortable than humid heat. I now know where some weather proverbs come from, such as "Red sky at night, sailor's delight." (There's actually factual basis for this proverb.)
This book makes a nice coffee table book, and it lends itself to casual reading. But if you're serious about the weather, you can get a lot from this book as well. There's a chapter on setting up your own weather instruments at home and keeping a weather diary. And the appendix lists a number of websites where you can learn even more about the weather. No more glib answers from me when someone says, "How about this weather?"
Great Book on Weather.......2000-11-02
Very good book on the topic. It gives a great description and count on how weather forms for example hurricanes like el nino. I am glad that dummies finally put out a book on weather. Nice job John D. Cox. It's good to see a new writer in this field!!
Book Description
1. Figure out which way the wind is blowing. 2. Look at the clouds overhead. 3. Match the clouds you see with one of the full-color cloud photographs in "The Weather Wizard's Cloud Book," and the caption beneath the photograph will tell you what kind of weather to expect. With amazing accuracy, this simple system can account for swiftly changing local weather developments more effectively than weather maps or official area forecasts, which are issued well in advance of weather conditions.
Customer Reviews:
Superb, portable, and incomplete.......2007-05-17
I bought this book in preparation for an advanced mariner's meteorology course, and could not have made this comment without having first gained that higher level of knowledge.
This is a suberb book with two major flaws:
1) It sticks to the two-dimensional depiction of weather that is common to the average person. Although there are a couple of illustrations showing altitude, the author could easily have put in a few pages on the rotation of the earth, the 500 mb level, and how weather on the surface cannot be understood without underestanding what is happening at the 18,000 level. As my instructor put it, the high-level troughs are the chicken that hatches the surface level (scrambled) egg.
2) It provides the pictures of the clouds, but missed the key chance to break down the names into the original latin meanings, to create a matrix of high (Cirro), medium (alto), and low (strato), with substantive meaning including layer (stratus), curly (cirrus), stacked in a vertical heap (cumulo-cumulus), and delivering rain (nimbus).
Add this little matrix above, and read "Mariner's Guide to the 500-Millibar Chart" by Joe Stenkiewicz and Lee Chesneau, and Google for
to find his web site, and you'll have all you need to move to the better three-dimensional interactive viewing of weather and weather charts.
I also recommend Understanding Weatherfax
A good little book.......2007-03-15
A very handy book for "instant" weather forcasting. Interesting to read and written with a bit of humor. The only shortcoming is the arrangment of the photographs of the different clouds, they are not in logical sequence.
for newbies to weather .......2006-06-27
OK book for newbies or beginners to this interesting hobby(uninteresting if in Michigan)
Small Gem of a Book..........2006-06-18
This small hard to find book (unless you order it online) starts with a basic premise: to predict the weather you need to do 2 things-determine the direction of the wind and identify the clouds currently in the sky. That being said, I would consider this book a great primer for anyone interested in naked eye weather forecasting.
The book includes color cloud charts, discusses weather folklore, precipitation, warm and cold fronts, and volcanic eruptions.
This a general primer. The information is not spoon fed to the reader.
The strength of this approach is Rubin's writing is entertaining and lively, and will enourage you to not only make your own weather predictions, but to also seek more information outside the scope of the book.
The weakness is that some of the material is incomplete. The book was completed by Louis Rubin's children with the help of a meteorologist after Rubin passed away (based on the Introduction), using Rubin's cloud photo collections and his collected writings.
As a result, some of the material is incomplete. For example, Rubin describes the 4 types of clouds and the 10 specific clouds most associated with weather changes. You then have to search all over the book to find those 10 clouds, and even then, you're not sure (based on the prefixed names) if you're looking at the right photographs. I suspect at the time of his passing, Rubin's cloud photo collection was far from complete.
That being said, I still liked the book, consider it a keeper, and respect Rubin's work in this area as an amateur meteorologist.
Great Book.......2005-09-13
If your into forcasting weather, or just want to know how to, this book is for you.
Book Description
Interest in our nation's weather patterns is rising -- as witnessed in the popularity of the Weather Channel -- and this guide is the most popular reference to every type of weather system, cloud formation, and atmospheric phenomenon common to North America. The 378 dramatic photographs capture cloud types, precipitation, storms, twisters, and optical phenomena such as the Northern Lights. Essays with accompanying maps and illustrations discuss the earth's atmosphere, weather systems, cloud formation, and development of tornadoes and many other weather events.
Customer Reviews:
Required Reading For All Pilots.......2005-10-04
What I find very valuable about this book is the fact that it is loaded with illustrations of different kinds of meteorological phenomena. For a pilot, it is important to understand what sort of weather you are going to be flying into. If you don't spend a lot of time studying meteorology, it can be difficult to conceptualize what kind of cloud formation is ahead of you. Some of the pilots' literature have rather weak illustrations.
This book is an excellent supplement to any pilot's training manual in providing visual aids for learning about spotting weather phenomnena.
Also, in general, it is very enjoyable to page through the book, as the quality of photography is very good.
Very Good Guide.......2005-02-05
At first, I didn't think this book would be very good. After perusing it, I changed my mind and bought a copy for myself. It has a lot of weather stuff and a good amount of different clouds and material on lightning. It is the traditional Audubon format (plates in the middle and text in the first and last sections of the book). Good enough for my dough.
Stunning photography and detail........2004-07-09
The Audubon Guide to weather is a one and only purchase for meteorologists. The photographs are simply spectacular, particularly the cumulonimbus and cumulus congestus, which are mysterious and somewhat intimidating at a distance. Since I reside in the desert, this guides causes me to long for cumulonimbus towers or even an occasional cirrocumulus formation. The content and system are convenient, as referring to the right back of the book for photo explanation is great organization. The photographs of impending thunderstorms are stunning. A very frightening and important warning cloud is the mesocyclone. This formation indicates a tornado later in the day. The guide could also assist in creating a Tornado Warning issue in a specific area. The whole Audubon series should be put into your private collection, as they are known for extremely helpful guides and environment contribution.
There a two editions which do not differ in very many respects. Economy Press, which edition is long out of print, lacks a few photos compared to the contemporary edition. The new press is superior anyway, and has very clean transfers. The very old Economy Press is not as detailed as the new edition. Since only one edition of this sensation guide is available, it should easily be purchased with an impressive price. The older version used to be hardback, and had a different illustration on the front cover, still mentioning the authors however. The new print is leatherback, which is easy to carry and not bulky. The Economy Press may last a bit longer, but the new edition is more helpful in cloud identification.
Many Audubon field guides are recommended, including their guides to butterflies, insects, and birds. Along with the Petersons, these guides should be sought out.
Very good, even if you live outside the US.......2002-08-04
I ordered this book after reading other peoples reviews. Something in particular I was looking for was information about clouds (types/formations, significance).
This book has exactly the information I was looking for (and more); detailed information about clouds - including hunderds of pictures - allow me to identify and name the different cloud types. It also explains very well how this all relates to the overall weather situation.
Although the book is targetted towards North American weather, I did not find this a major disadvantage. Weather situations in the US and Canada are mostly used as examples, and knowing the general European situation, information is easily put into context.
When ordering I was a little bit worried this was one more popular weather book with the standard stuff. No sir! This book definitely also serves the more serious weather observer.
Recommended!
Highly Recommended.......2001-09-09
I bought this book to prepare for a Meteorology course in college. It prepared me well giving great detail that even a beginner could understand. Contains Stunningly Beautiful pictures.
Book Description
The most complete guide to marine weather analysis, tactics, and storm avoidance. Teaches traditional forecasting based on current observed conditions, as well as the latest tools including facsimile charts and the Internet. An easy-to-use tool for sailors, power boaters, professional seamen, and anyone interested in the weather.
Customer Reviews:
Horrendous amount of errors.......2003-07-16
I purchased this book several years ago and atempted to read it. There were so many spelling errors that in many cases I couldn't figure out what the author(s) were trying to say. After straining my brain for about 75 pages I gave up the effort. It was the first edition and I hope they've put some effort into corrections.
At Last!.......2000-04-29
Mariner's weather Handbook is the first book about marine weather I've found (in more than 20 years of reading about and struggling with the subject) that has actually allowed me to (finally!) understand the constantly changing three-dimensional relationships between differing air masses and their fronts. Steve Dashew explains the world's weather in a systematic and logical progression that kept me firmly on a heretofore slippery learning curve.
With quotes and examples from leading meteorologists as well as his own experiences (over 100,000 miles under sail), Mr. Dashew explains the mechanics of the weather and the tools available to forcast it. More importantly for mariners, he details what the real concerns are during voyage planning and 'at sea'.
The book also focuses on the rules-of-thumb, routines and on-board equipment that enables one to sail prudently and safely - if warily - across the world's oceans. He details several of his own voyages, with copious log excerpts, available weatherfax charts and satellite images to cover the developing situation day by day.
The only reason for not giving the book the highest marks is the poor editing and occasional indifferent and innacurate illustrations. It's possible that the occasional misstatements and errors in the text and my subsequent backpedeling and rechecking to identify the descrepencies and 'gett it straight in my head again' are actually resposible for my finally 'getting' the weather. In that case, I owe the editor - or lack thereof - some serious gratitude. In any case, the book made me feel that I could understand it and - by golly! - I finally did! The plentiful weather charts, photographs and diagrams more than make up for the few confusing illustrations.
The book finishes with valuable internet addresses that enable one to begin to gather current and historic weather data, charts and satellite images on the internet. Personally, I'm buying a barometer and hope to begin what will be a life long understanding, study and forcast of the weather, possibly in preperation for my own ocean crossings - thanks to Steve Dashew's very good book.
Average customer rating:
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Ocean Weather Forecasting : An Integrated View of Oceanography
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The field of physical oceanography has matured to a point where it is now conceivable to combine numerical models and observations via data assimilation in order to provide ocean prediction products on various spatial and time scales. As a result, many nations have begun large-scale efforts to provide routine products to the oceanographic community and started to develop operational oceanography systems. The Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment (GODAE) provides a framework for these efforts, i.e. a global system of observations, communications, modeling, and assimilation that will deliver regular, comprehensive information on the state of the oceans, in a way that will promote and engender wide utility and availability of this resource for maximum benefit to the community. The societal benefit of this experiment will be an increased knowledge of the marine environment and ocean climate, predictive skills for societal, industrial, and commercial benefit and tactical and strategic advantage, as well as the provision of a comprehensive and integrated approach to the oceans. The chapters collected in this volume cover a wide range of topics and summarize our present knowledge in ocean modeling, ocean observing systems, and data assimilation.
Average customer rating:
- A great book for budding scientists
- This book makes learning about weather easier for children!
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What Will the Weather Be? (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2)
Lynda Dewitt
Manufacturer: HarperTrophy
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ASIN: 0064451135 |
Book Description
Weather
Will it be warm or cold? Should we wear shorts or pants? Shoes or boots? Read and find out why the weather is so difficult to predict.
Customer Reviews:
A great book for budding scientists.......2007-09-02
This is another great book in the Let's Read and Find Out Science series. Younger children (like my son who was age 4 when we first began with this book) and older children (who are reading on their own) will be delighted and educated with this book. Whimsical illustrations demonstrate complex scientific information in a very approachable manner.
In this book children will learn overarching concepts of meteorolgy and actual scientific terminology in a progressive manner. Children will learn about:
1. Fronts (Cold and Warm) and their affect on weather.
2. How air pressure is determined and what happens in Low Pressure vs. High Pressure. They learn about barometers.
3. Wind speed and direction, including names of instruments (wind vane and anemometer).
The colorful illustrations and simple diagrams reinforce the infomration contained in the book and help children understand the basic concepts of a weather formation.
Diagrams include:
1. Fronts & Front Formations
2. Water Vapor
3. Weather Maps
4. High & Low Pressure Systems
This book is an excellent addition to your science library. Perfect for budding scientists...or to generate a budding scientist by feeding their minds with sound teaching about the world around us rather than empty stories.
This book makes learning about weather easier for children!.......2001-02-10
This is an excellent book for children learning about weather. It provides a great look at many aspects of weather that children can understand and enjoy. This book is a great supplemental tool to use in the classroom. The information and wonderful illustrations enable children to receive a clear understanding of the many aspects of weather.
Book Description
If, like many Americans, you believe the ongoing tragedy of Hurricane Katrina was a once-in-a-lifetime fluke, you need to read this book. In the coming years and decades, the safety of your region, your town, your home may depend on the warnings you'll encounter on these pages. That's because the exact same conditions that created the Katrina catastrophe and destroyed New Orleans are being replicated right now along virtually every inch of U.S. coastline.
In The Ravaging Tide, Mike Tidwell, a renowned advocate for the environment and an award-winning journalist, issues a call to arms and confronts us with some unsettling facts. Consider:
- In the next seventy-five years, much of the Florida peninsula could lie under ocean water.
- So could much of Lower Manhattan, including all of the hallowed ground zero area.
- Major hurricanes like Katrina, scientists say, are becoming much more frequent and more powerful.
- Glacier National Park in Montana will have to change its name, as it is rapidly losing all of its thirty-five remaining glaciers.
- The snows atop Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa, so memorably evoked in the Hemingway story, have already disappeared.
The fault, Tidwell argues, lies mostly with the U.S. government and the energy choices it has encouraged Americans to make over the decades. Those policies are now actively bringing rising seas and gigantic hurricanes -- the lethal forces that killed the Big Easy -- crashing into every coastal city in the country and indeed the world. The Bush administration's own reports and studies (some of which it has tried to suppress) explicitly predict more intense storms and up to three feet of sea-level rise by 2100 due to planetary warming. The danger is clear: Whether the land sinks three feet per century (as in New Orleans over the past 100 years) or sea levels rise three feet per century (as in the rest of the world over the next 100 years), the resulting calamity is the same.
Although Mike Tidwell sounds the clarion in The Ravaging Tide, this is ultimately an optimistic book, one that offers a clear path to a healthier and safer world for us and our descendants. He writes of trend-setting U.S. states like New York and California that are actively cutting greenhouse gases. And he heeds his own words: In one delightful personal chapter, he takes us on a tour of his suburban Washington, D.C., home and demonstrates how he and many of his neighbors have weaned themselves from the fossil-fuel lifestyle. Even when the government is slow to change, there are steps we as families can take to, yes, change the world.
Customer Reviews:
Climate Change is Real .......2007-02-21
The flooding of New Orleans resulted from a combination of effects: subsiding land, sea level increase, destruction of protecting wetlands, and of course a violent storm. Tidwell's thesis is that sea level will continue to rise and tropical storms and hurricanes will increase in intensity, all as a result of climate change. The entire East Coast of the United States will be as vulnerable as was New Orleans. Most of Miami and the rest of Florida average just a few feet above sea level. While New York City is mostly on higher ground, the author observes that the infrastructure, the subways system for example, is well below ground.
As world temperatures rise, melting or collapsing glaciers will add water to the ocean. Higher world temperatures will also mean that the water already in the ocean will expand and cause an additional rise in the sea level. Thus, land that is today at or slightly above sea level will become land that is below sea level. Certainly, whether or not storms grow more intense (this is still being debated in the scientific community), global warming will increase the level of the ocean. All of our coastal cities may go the way of New Orleans.
Recently, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued a report in which it stated that the Earth is warming and that most of the warming is a result of human activity. This is also the overwhelming view of the scientific community. My first encounter with the effects of global warming was a hike in the 1980s to the foot of the Paradise Glacier on Mt. Ranier to visit the ice caves. I was disappointed to find that the famous caves were mostly gone. The caves had disappeared because the glacier itself was retreating. We now know that glaciers all over the world are melting. A recent headline caught my eye; "Iceberg off New Zealand becomes tourist mecca," AP, November 21, 2006. The residents of New Zealand could look out their windows to see pieces of Antarctica floating by.
It is not clear what it will take to get our US government to take steps to limit the emission of greenhouse gases. We have already lost one major city. Will we have to see a few more go before we take action? Tidwell does a good job of presenting the need for individual and governmental action.
I also recommend "With Speed and Violence" by Fred Pearce. a book about recent scientific investigations and their implications for global warming.
A Great, must-read book.......2006-12-30
I loved this book so much that I've read the first chapter aloud to three appreciative people on the phone, and I'm also planning to buy a copy for every Maryland state legislator. (Let me know if you do the same in your state.)
Mike Tidwell writes beautifully. Even though I've seen An Inconvenient Truth, and heard Bill McKibbon speak, I learned plenty from The Ravaging Tide that I hadn't already heard before. Tidwell shares history, science, policy, despair (when we don't act on clean energy policy), and promise (when we do).
Yes, it may be odd, but I was walking (not driving!) down sidewalks while reading this book. I couldn't put it down, until the very last page.
Mike Tidwell is a former journalist and travel writer for the Washington Post and the National Geographic Traveler.
Not the Best Book on the Subject.......2006-12-09
When I ordered this book, I had great hopes for its contents. I was looking for a good "summer project" book that dealt with global warming and alternative energy. It was to be used by a high school environmental class.
What I wound up with was a book that dealt with both subjects, as well as with the Hurricane Katrina disaster, but it was so poorly written and biased that I would not be able to use it in a classroom setting. The writing in the book was extremely redundant; repeating the same information over and over again. I think the book could have been written without the redundancy in about half the number of pages. And, that change would have made the book much more readable and enjoyable.
In addition, the author clearly has an agenda and, while he may think he is presenting his case objectively, he falls far short. It is easy to agree, for the most part, with much of the science presented. It is his premise that falls short. I am a dedicated environmentalist, and found many of his solutions to be totally unworkable.
He describes his work with his own home to reduce his carbon footprint. One method he used was to heat his home with a corn burning stove. It sounds good, but how many Americans, who drive three blocks to a store, will put up with hauling 5 gallon buckets of corn to their stoves on a regular basis. Not many I would propose, unless they have a lot of free time. Some of his other suggestions, as well, are equally unworkable on a large scale.
Finally, I have a problem with his bashing Bush constantly. I am no fan of Bush, but he is not the sole reason that the US has done little to nothing about its carbon footprint and global warming. Bush is a part of the problem, but lets put the blame where it needs to go. Clinton did little during his term and the same can be said for the elder Bush. Also, the Congress has been woefully inept at dealing with the issue.
There are a number of books about this subject that are well written and objective. This is neither. I would suggest you save your money and buy one of the more comprehensive books available.
Hard to Believe.......2006-11-27
Sorry ... this book is neither a parable nor a polemic - it's just another eco-manipulator at work. Tidwell says that Katrina destroyed New Orleans. Of course it did not. It was the levee failures, not the surge tide, that doomed the city. This point is apparently far too subtle for Tidwell to understand, and yet it is crucial. Perhaps we need to change the world to prevent future surge tides, but we definitely need to improve the levees - and the disasterously corrupt local political atmosphere that allowed the city to drown - if we want to save New Orleans.
And of course, this is one of the many examples of Tidwell's raging hypocracy. He never asks the basic question, why save New Orleans at all? If Tidwell is right, it makes no sense to repopulate it. If the city has subsided to the point where it basically replaces the marshes it once drained in a move that accelerated the Katrina disaster, why not simply let nature take its course and allow the flooded land to become the new buffer? We are not lessening any human tragedy by helping people move right back onto the "landing strip" (Tidwell, demonstrating his utter lack of imagination, uses this metaphor a dozen times in the book) for the next Katrina.
And by the way, where was the 2006 Katrina? Tidwell virtually guarantees a cycle of doom, with each year bringing more and more devastation caused by global warming. And yet, why wasn't New Orleans swamped in 2006? Why weren't Miami and Savanah and New York destroyed too? What's that? You can't use climate changes to predict the weather? But that's virtually the entire basis for Tidwell's book.
That and, as noted above, his shameless hypocracy. Another small example (there are too many to count) - throughout the book, he cites reports by insurance companies that say the cost and impact of bad weather are increasing because of global warming. But then, when he wants to have a corn granery built in his town to make his life easier, he discovers that insurance companies won't cover the risk without a huge premium. This decision - shared, Tidwell tells us, by every company he contacted - threatens his green goodness.
What would a hypocrite do? Of course - when the insurance companies agrees with Tidwell's premise, they are right - in fact, they are unimpeachable proof of his agrument. But when they don't do what he wants, the very same paragons of truth suddenly become idiots.
If you want to know how Tidwell ultimately prevailed (by having his fellow-citizens assume the cost of the risk that he, in his eco-purity, could not possibly be expected to pay), you will have to slog through the book on your own.
Good luck. But that's not all you will live through, in all liklihood.
In just the last 30 years, we have survived so much that the eco-manipulators have claimed would kill us - global cooling, nuclear power, nuclear winter, nuclear war, nuclear waste, the loss of the ozone layer, DDT, swine flu, avian flu, the Ebola virus, "hot spot" viruses, "Frankenstein" foods, and mercury in tuna, in tooth fillings and in vaccines, to name just a few - that either global warming will be the BIG ONE, as we were assured very positively that all the others were as well, or we'll use our inventiveness and imagination to find a solution that doesn't kill us ... as Tidwell and his kind move onto the next disaster waiting to be uncovered and sold to a gullible public.
Alarming Yet Hopeful.......2006-09-20
This is a highly emotional work. Mike Tidwell predicted the disasters of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita several years before they happened, and he is justifiably angry that his warnings were not heeded. In The Ravaging Tide Tidwell expands on his earlier work to explain why human activities such as building levees actually increased the destruction at New Orleans, and to warn that other coastal areas now face the same sort of threat.
At times Tidwell waxes somewhat repetitive, making the same point over and over again, but this stems from the overwhelming frustration he feels over public and government inaction. He also relies heavily on secondary sources such as Jared Diamond's Collapse (to which he refers repeatedly) so that those of us who have read that work feel Tidwell's own work is little more than a condensed version of other books.
Tidwell is strongest when he concentrates on explaining how so much of what we face from climate change can be alleviated or even avoided through common sense measures, such as using more energy efficient appliances or requiring energy using companies to upgrade to already existing and far more environment friendly technology. He is also at his most eloquent when condemning the fecklessness of the Bush Administration on energy policy and climate change.
Tidwell's work, like those of Jared Diamond, Tim Flannery, Eugene Linden, and Elizabeth Kolbert, should be read by everyone concerned for the future of our world.
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Will I need my umbrella?
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Download Description
This comprehensive text and reference work on numerical weather prediction covers for the first time, not only methods for numerical modeling, but also the important related areas of data assimilation and predictability. It incorporates all aspects of environmental computer modeling including an historical overview of the subject, equations of motion and their approximations, a modern and clear description of numerical methods, and the determination of initial conditions using weather observations (an important new science known as data assimilation). Finally, this book provides a clear discussion of the problems of predictability and chaos in dynamical systems and how they can be applied to atmospheric and oceanic systems. Professors and students in meteorology, atmospheric science, oceanography, hydrology and environmental science will find much to interest them in this book, which can also form the basis of one or more graduate-level courses.
Customer Reviews:
lacks coherence and the flow of a quality textbook.......2005-01-25
I had this book for courses in numerical weather prediction and in data assimilation (DA), and was far from impressed.
While the historical overview in Chapter 1 is a pleasant read, the litany of errors in equations begins quickly in Chapter 2. Terms as simple as in the equations of motion are incorrect. Some things are unforgiveable in a textbook, and an error in a sophomore-level equation is one of them.
I can manage the mess of linear algebra in the text. However, Kalnay's writing style is more of one suited for lecture notes; she jumps around from topic to topic, and provides very little transition in some spots. Other locations in the notes that need further explanation (and probably would get it, if students could stop the author and ask questions), are left too vague. This is not the way to write a very good textbook, and I do not believe this book is anywhere near "very good."
I give it two stars, however, because it's the most current book in the field; there aren't many other places to turn for discussions on Kalman filters, etc. That said, if you are looking for a practical discussion of NWP or DA, or how to implement a DA scheme, you'll have a difficult time weeding it out of this book.
Essential Guide for Data Assimilation.......2004-09-11
This is a textbook for graduate atmospheric science students, but I found it useful even as an undergraduate. Lots of clear explanations along with historical background, written by one the leaders of the numerical weather prediction field. She was involved in the implementation at NCEP. There is heavy-duty linear algebra in some chapters but overall this is not a math-intensive book. Good reference and extensive bibliography.
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