A major component of the atmospheric sciences, weather is defined as a state or condition of the atmosphere at any particular place and time. A broad, integrated weather picture is known as a weather system. Weather is specifically distinguished from climate, which represents a regional or global synthesis of weather extended through time on the scale of years, rather than minutes or hours. Weather involves measurement of multiple parameters, so-called weather elements: temperature, pressure, wind, cloud condition, visibility, humidity, precipitation, and other hydrometeors (dew, rain, hail, snow). In relation to humans, weather often conditions personal comfort or economy and goes further to embrace meterologically related factors such as sea state, tidal hazards, avalanche liability, and river flooding. Additionally, weather study also includes optical phenomena, such as lightning, aurora, and solar phenomena.
Weather also has a special geological meaning....
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References
Battan, L. J., 1983. Weather in Your Life, San Francisco: W. H. Freeman.
Cole, F. W., 1980. Introduction to Meteorology, 3rd ed. New York: Wiley.
Gedzelman, S. D., 1980. The Science and Wonders of the Atmosphere. New York: Wiley.
Malone, T. F. (ed.), 1951. Compendium of Meteorology. Boston: American Meteorological Society.
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© 1987 Van Nostrand Reinhold
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Fairbridge, R.W. (1987). Weather. In: Climatology. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30749-4_196
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30749-4_196
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