Synoptic Meteorology

Synoptic Meteorology: A Global Approach is a comprehensive and in-depth textbook that delves into the problems of diagnosing and forecasting daily weather. It provides an overview of the space and time scales of atmospheric patterns in terms of key variables. It integrates the core knowledge of ‘capstone’ practical application to the continually changing conditions in the atmosphere, serving to address their societal impact. With atmospheric science becoming increasingly global and interdisciplinary, this textbook takes on an international scope and is cognizant of multi-scale interactions, climatic and geographic factors. While the focus remains on weather within the troposphere, there is an intentional effort to break down traditional boundaries between mid-latitude and tropical meteorology.

The initial chapters explain the basic three-dimensional structure of the lower atmosphere and consider the purposes, scope, and applications of synoptic meteorology. They look at the fundamental principles of dynamics, thermodynamics, and mathematics and four-dimensional variations that encompass and characterize atmospheric systems. From this, the book pivots to the major baroclinic weather systems seen outside of the tropics as well as tropical and subtropical weather systems before surveying processes near the tropopause and surface influences. The final chapters expand on the dynamical and thermodynamic processes that contribute to the evolution of rotating storm systems, numerical forecasting tools, and the research approaches of using field campaign data and numerical modeling.

This textbook is an important resource for upper-level undergraduate students and graduate students in meteorology, atmospheric sciences, and climate sciences. Additionally, it would also be useful for researchers and professionals working in weather forecasting, environmental monitoring, and aviation. This textbook contains weather charts, animations, and code as additional resources for students and instructors.