Instant Weather Forecasting

Instant Weather Forecasting's winning formula of 24 clear colour photographs of cloud formations and accompanying explanatory text enables the reader to study the sky and use clues to predict what the weather will do next.

A perennial bestseller since it was first published over 50 years ago, this revised and updated sixth edition takes into account the new ways users can receive professional weather forecasts, factor them into their own cloud observations, and develop an even better understanding of how the weather will change.

This bestselling gem of a book has sold over a million copies worldwide and continues to be invaluable to anyone participating in outdoor activities, from farming, gardening and walking to riding, golfing, flying, sailing, fishing - and of course holidaymakers.

About the Author

Dr Simon Keeling PhD, MSc, FRMetS is founder of Weather Consultancy Services, Weather School and Weatherweb.net. His passion is in communicating the weather and, having worked in broadcasting in both the UK and Europe, his aim is to bring great weather information to a wider audience. He has an MSc and PhD in Meteorology from the University of Birmingham.

Alan Watts, one-time professional meteorologist, spent considerable time studying wind changes and short-term alterations in the weather. This, combined with his enthusiasm for sailing which began with the sea scouts, enabled him to assist people to read the weather from the signs in the sky. He died in May 2020.

Table of Contents

• Preface to the Sixth Edition
• How to use this book
• General note to the reader
• The Crossed Winds Rules
• Explanation of terms used in the text
• Facts about clouds
• Beaufort Scale of wind force
• 1 Jet stream cirrus
• 2 Cirrus and cirrostratus
• 3 Warm front or occlusion approaching
• 4 Altostratus ahead of a warm front or occlusion
• 5 Imminent rain or snow
• 6 A front passes
• 7 Thundery sky
• 8 Thunderstorm
• 9 Warm sector weather
• 10 Sea and coastal fog
• 11 Showers
• 12 Air mass trough
• 13 Cumulonimbus
• 14 Quiet evening
• 15 Red sky at night
• 16 Cirrus foretelling improvement
• 17 Will it thunder?
• 18 Will it rain?
• 19 Fair weather cumulus
• 20 Cirrus revealing no change
• 21 Stratocumulus
• 22 Stratus
• 23 Altocumulus and cirrocumulus
• 24 Coastline clouds