Visualization of the weather - Past and present

Abstract

All consumers of the media are seeking information. The weather forecast is merely one part of this media. Initially, an artist's visual interpretation of weather conditions (real or imagined), the weather forecast has now evolved into the all-encompassing visual and audio experience viewed through television today, although weather images continue to illicit emotions from viewers similar to those found when viewing other works of art. This paper examines how the weather has been visualized in times past, and how these techniques have been employed, culminating in the television weather forecast of today. © 2010 Royal Meteorological Society.