Skip to main content

The Origin and Rise of Numerical Weather Prediction

  • Chapter
Historical Essays on Meteorology 1919–1995

Abstract

The first known effort to compute atmospheric changes by physical methods was recorded by Felix M. Exner (1908). Exner was a professor of geophysics at the University of Vienna and the author of a widely circulated book on dynamic meteorology. His first calculations of this type were made at a time when very little was known about atmospheric circulations above the ground and they were restricted to low levels and a small area. Exner’s computations, previously almost completely unknown, are still being investigated in Germany and, it is hoped, may be reviewed and published in detail again within the next few years.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 36.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Ashford, O.M., 1985: Prophet or Professor? The Life and Work of Lewis Fry Richardson. Adam Hilger Ltd., 304 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aspray, W., 1990: John von Neumann and The Origins of Modern Computing. The MIT Press, 376 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bedient, H.A., and G.P. Cressman, 1957: An experiment in automatic data processing. Mon. Wea. Rev., 85, 333–340.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bergthorsson, P., B.R. Doos, S. Frylkund, O. Haug, and R. Lindquist, 1955: Routine forecasting with the barotropic model. Tellus, 7, 272–274.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bolin, B., 1956: An improved barotropic model and some aspects of using the balance equation for three-dimensional flow. Tellus, 8, 61–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brunt, D., 1939: Physical and Dynamical Meteorology Cambridge University Press, 428 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Charney, J.G., 1949: On a physical basis for numerical prediction of the large scale motions in the atmosphere. J. Meteor., 6, 371–385.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Charney, J.G., 1954: Numerical prediction of cyclogenesis, 1950. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 40, 99–110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Charney, J.G., R. Fjörtoft, and J. von Neumann, 1950: Numerical integration of the barotropic vorticity equation. Tellus, 6, 309–318.

    Google Scholar 

  • Courant, R., K. Friedrichs, and H. Lewy, 1928: Uber die partiellen differenzen Gleichungen der mathematischen Physik. Math Ann., 100, 32–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cressman, G.P., 1948: On the forecasting of the long waves in the westerlies. J. Meteor., 5, 12–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cressman, G.P., 1958: Barotropic divergence and very long atmospheric waves. Mon. Wea. Rev., 86, 367–374.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cressman, G.P., 1959: An operational objective analysis system. Mon. Wea. Rev., 87, 367–374.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cressman, G.P., 1961: A diagnostic study of midtropospheric development. Mon. Wea. Rev., 89, 74–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cressman, G.P., and W.E. Hubert, 1957: A study of numerical forecasting errors. Mon. Wea. Rev., 85, 235.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eliassen, A., 1956: A procedure for numerical integration of the primitive equations of the two-parameter model of the atmosphere. Sci. Rep. 4, Meteorology Department, University of California, Los Angeles.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ertel, H., and C.-G. Rossby, 1949: A new conservation—Theorem of hydrodynamics. Geofis. Pura Appl., XIV, 3–4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Exner, F.M., 1908: Uber eine erste Annaherung zur Vorausberechnung synoptischer Wetterkarten. Meteor. Z., 25, 57–67.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fjörtoft, R., 1952: On a numerical method of integrating the barotropic vorticity equation. Tellus, 4, 179–194.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Friedman, R.M., 1989: Appropriating the Weather, Vilhelm Bjerknes and the Construction of a Modern Meteorology. Cornell University Press, 251 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hinkelmann, K., 1959: Ein numerisches experiment mit den primitiven Gleichungen. The Atmosphere and Sea in Motion, B. Bolin, Ed., Rockefeller Institute Press, 486–500.

    Google Scholar 

  • Namias, J., and P.F. Clapp, 1944: Studies of the motion and development of long waves in the westerlies. J. Meteor., 1, 57–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, N.A., 1989: The Emergence of Quasi-Geostrophic Theory. Historical Monograph Series, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 321 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Platzman, G.W., 1979: The ENIAC computations of 1950—Gateway to numerical weather prediction. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 60, 302–312.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richardson, L.F., 1922 (1965): Weather Prediction by Numerical Process. Dover Publications, 236 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robert, A.J., F.G. Shuman, and J.P. Gerrity Jr., 1970: On partial difference equations in mathematical physics. Mon. Wea. Rev., 98, 1–6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rossby, C.-G., 1940: Planetary flow patterns in the atmosphere. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 66, 68–77.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rossby, C.-G., 1945: On the propagation of frequencies and energy in certain types of oceanic and atmospheric waves. J. Mar. Res., 2, 38–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shuman, F.G., 1957: Predictive consequences of certain physical inconsistencies in the geostrophic barotropic model. Mon. Wea. Rev., 85, 229–234.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shuman, F.G., 1978: Numerical weather prediction. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 59, 5–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shuman, F.G., 1989: History of numerical weather prediction at the National Meteorological Center. Wea. Forecasting, 4, 289–296.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shuman, F.G., and J.B. Hovermale, 1968: An operational six-layer primitive equation model. J. Appl. Meteor., 7, 525–557.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taba, H., 1988: The Bulletin Interviews. World Meteorological Organization, 405 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, P.D., and W.L. Gates, 1956: A test of numerical prediction methods based on the barotropic and two-parameter baroclinic models. J. Meteor., 13, 127–141.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wiener, N., 1956: Nonlinear prediction and dynamics. Procedings of the Third Berkley Symposium, J. Neyman, Ed., University of California Press, 247–252.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolff, P.M., 1958: The error in numerical forecasts due to retrogression of ultra-long waves. Mon. Wea. Rev., 86, 1–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yeh, T.-C., 1949: On energy dispersion in the atmosphere. J. Meteor., 6, 1–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Editor information

James Rodger Fleming

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1996 American Meteorological Society

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Cressman, G.P. (1996). The Origin and Rise of Numerical Weather Prediction. In: Fleming, J.R. (eds) Historical Essays on Meteorology 1919–1995. American Meteorological Society, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-940033-84-6_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-940033-84-6_2

  • Publisher Name: American Meteorological Society, Boston, MA

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-940033-84-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics