Series: Spotter's Guides Series.
Subject Areas: Science, Weather.
Ages: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16.
Type: Guide books, Pocket books

Can you look at the sky and tell the difference between high level, medium level and low level clouds? How about rain, snow, hail, and sleet -- do you know how each is formed and what the differences are? What's an anticyclone? What exactly are tornadoes, and their lookalikes -- dust devils, waterspouts and funnel clouds? The Weather Spotter's Guide answers all these questions (and many others) with loads of photos and drawings mixed in. The reader will look for and learn to identify 24 different cloud formations, identify various forms of dew, frost, and rime (I never even knew this existed), learn about thermometers and hygrometers, barometric pressure, thunder and lightning, wind and its effect on weather, air masses, jet streams, depressions, frontal weather and tropical storms. Several pages explain weather forecasting and how to read weather maps and weather symbols.

Just like the guide I reviewed yesterday, The Night Sky, this one has circles where you add your mark once you've seen the weather phenomenon firsthand. And of course this book has Internet-Links also -- links for weather forecasts, links for satellite images, maps, activities, information about how weather forecasters predict what's coming, links to find out more about cloud identification. One of the websites is an interactive way to "make" your own hurricane, earthquake, tornado or volcano in various parts of the world. Very interesting. On this same website we watched a terrifying up-close video taken by tornado chasers. This storm was WAY too close to the cameraman. On another website is a list of weather disasters (hurricanes, sandstorms, fires, etc) from 1960 to the present -- choose one and see the satellite images taken. Once again we realized how massive Hurricane Katrina was. A glossary and index complete this book.

Purchase

There are lots of other Spotter's Guides available from Usborne. We've enjoyed all of them. They are very inexpensive and loaded with information. After using this guidebook, if your student wants more about weather, try Weather and Climate Changes.

Of Interest To: Librarians and Media Specialists, Parents, Teachers

My husband, who is a Meteorology professor, is interested in seeing this spotter guide. He may use it in his Weather camps this summer. Go Usborne!! Nancy W.