The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Weather
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Weather – Review
I’ve always been particularly fascinated by weather and its changes. However, having subsequently spent my entire life on the West Coast (and almost all of it in California), I can’t say I’m that much of a "weather expert." I consider perhaps living in San Diego in the late 1970s and having a weatherman describe a fixing storm front as a series of "squall lines." I always wondered what exactly that originally meant. While this book may not define "squall lines" specifically, it does get a long way in possibly explaining our weather. And after simply reading this book I still may not be a weather expert, but I’m definitely much more knowledgeable about it. I like the Idiot books because they explain a subject in some depth without originally going overboard, but at the same time don’t "dumb down" to the end of simply telling cutesy jokes to get a point across. This book is no exception. Taking on weather topics from wind and rain, how fierce storms (thunderstorms, tornadoes and hurricanes) develop, how air pollution disturbs us, "global warming," even how a day to day forecast is simply put together and how to become a TV weatherman are done in a light but still educational style. There’s also some outstanding reference material (weather glossary, weather maps, etc.) at the back of the book too. An excellent early book about weather and one that I can refer to time and time again.