Prentice Hall presents fast, easy links to our favorite Web sites.
The following list contains links to many of the most interesting and informative Web sites related to topics explored in the chapter. Check them out, but make sure you come back to do more investigating when you're done.
Our Web Resource "Exploring Key Terms" can help you search, too.
- Air Masses and Fronts
- A discussion of air masses and fronts from the University of Wisconsin.
- Air Masses: Online Guide
- An excellent tutorial on the air masses that commonly influence weather in the United States from the University of Illinois.
- California Regional Weather Server
- An excellent site for satellite images, weather radar, jet stream information, regional weather maps, etc.
- Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms (CAPS)
- The Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms' (CAPS) mission is to demonstrate the practicability of small-scale numerical weather prediction with an emphasis on deep convection.
- CRWS Jet Stream Map Menu
- Jet stream analyses and forecasts.
- Current Weather Data (University of Illinois)
- An excellent source for current weather data, including printable maps.
- Extreme Weather Source Book (University of Colorado)
- The goal of this site is to provide resources regarding the societal impacts of weather in the United States, including economic losses due to tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, and lightning. Losses for these hazards are ranked by state.
- FAQ: Hurricanes, Typhoons, and Tropical Cyclones
- Frequently asked questions (FAQ) about hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones, and other meteorology-related information.
- Fronts: Online Guide
- An excellent tutorial on several types of weather fronts from the University of Illinois.
- Hurricane Information (USA Today)
- An excellent site with widespread and in-depth hurricane coverage.
- Hurricanes: Online Guide
- An excellent tutorial on various aspects of hurricanes from the University of Illinois.
- Hurricane Storm Warning Center
- An information packed site with several links to hurricane and other storm-related pages.
- Hurricane/Tropical Data
- This page provides access to a wealth of hurricane information including satellite images and charts on the track of the storm plus a text-based table of tracking information. The table includes position in latitude and longitude, maximum sustained winds in knots, and central pressure in millibars.
- International Hurricane Center
- The International Hurricane Center is an interdisciplinary research center focused on the mitigation of hurricane damage to people, the economy, and the built and natural environments.
- Lightning Detection: A Lightning Primer
- Excellent information on the cause and behavior of lightning.
- Lightning Strike Map
- This map features actual lightning information from the National Lightning Detection Network and gives you a view of all lightning activity in the continental United States. The screen reflects two hours of lightning activity delayed by 30 minutes, with fresh data available every 30 minutes.
- Middle-Latitude Cyclones: Online Guide
- An excellent tutorial on mid-latitude cyclones, including associated air masses, upper air features, and satellite images, from the University of Illinois.
- National Hurricane Center
- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Hurricane Center (NHC) maintains a continuous watch on tropical cyclones over the Atlantic, Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and the Eastern Pacific from 15 May through November 30. The Center prepares and distributes hurricane watches and warnings for the general public, and also prepares and distributes marine and military advisories for other users.
- National Severe Storms Laboratory (NOAA)
- The National Severe Storms Laboratory is one of NOAA's internationally known Environmental Research Laboratories, leading the way in investigations of all aspects of severe weather.
- Sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald
- Weather events related to the sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior on November 10, 1975.
- Storm Prediction Center (SPC)
- NOAA's Storm Prediction Center monitors and forecasts severe and non-severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, and other hazardous weather phenomena across the conterminous U.S.—24 hours a day, every day of the year.
- Storm Spotter's Guide (NOAA)
- An excellent site for information on supercells, tornadoes, and other related hazards hosted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
- Storm Track Homepage
- The Storm Track megasite is a combination of two entities: Storm Track Online, the official Web site of Tim Marshall's 25-year magazine that is scheduled to end in 2001, and Storm Chaser Homepage, the massive chasing resource created by Gilbert Sebenste in 1995.
- Thunderstorms (University of Wisconsin)
- A good, general discussion of thunderstorms from the University of Wisconsin.
- Thunderstorms (USA Today)
- A good place to start when researching thunderstorms, this site contains a lot of general information and links.
- Tornado Information (NOAA)
- This National Oceanic and Atmospheric (NOAA) site offers a lot of background and links to information on tornadoes.
- Tornado: Oakfield, Wisconsin Exercise
- The purpose of this University of Wisconsin site is to analyze a severe weather event using many general scientific applications used by meteorologists. It can also be viewed as a hands-on exercise to forecasting the weather, as it focuses on the events and data that spawned a devastating tornado that struck Oakfield, Wisconsin, on July 18th, 1996. Analyzing satellite images, Doppler radar, and contoured surface/upper-air data will give a thorough understanding of what conditions led to the severe thunderstorms that roared across the upper Midwest (clicking on any weather-related terms will link to a meteorological dictionary).
- Tornado Project Online!
- A good source for tornado information and links to other related sites.
- Tornadoes: Online Guide
- An excellent tutorial on tornadoes from the University of Illinois.
- Tornadoes (Scientific American)
- A good source for general information with several links to tornado-related photographs.
- Tornadoes (USA Today)
- Just about everything you want to know about tornadoes. This site features answers from National Weather Service meteorologists to readers' questions.
- Upper Air Data
- Current upper air data from Unisys Corporation.
- Unisys Weather
- A good source for satellite images and forecasts using several different models.
- Weather Data and Imagery, Current (American Meteorological Society)
- An excellent source for current surface, satellite, upper air, and forecast information from the American Meteorological Society (AMS).
- Weather Disasters (NOAA)
- An excellent source for information on major (billion dollar plus) weather disasters from 1980 to 2001.
- Weather Glossary for Storm Spotters
- A comprehensive glossary of weather terms.
- Weather Maps
- An online guide to reading weather maps presented by the University of Illinois.
- Weather Maps, Current Surface Data
- Current surface weather data maps from Unisys Corporation.
- Weather Topic Index (USA Today)
- Information on just about every weather topic you can imagine from USA Today.
- Weather Underground
- An excellent, comprehensive source of weather information.
