Some Really Excellent Books

I am frequently asked about a good text on Meteorology. Many times it is a parent or grand parent of a school age child who has a fanatical interest in weather(I can relate to that!)

A few years ago the number of books with good info and not a lot of math and physics were hard to find. Remember too that another name for Meteorology is Atmospheric Physics..in other words a good background of math and physics is ESSENTIAL to really understanding weather processes.

When I was in school I always tried to learn dificuly concepts both ways..the mathematical proof, so to speak, of what was happening and then I demanded of my professors the "real world explanation"

I am happy to say that there are now a few excellent books with real world explanations and just enough math to give students (and anyone else interested) a real world view of how the atmosphere works.

So here they are:
For students at 6th grade level or below:
The USA Today Weather Book by Jack Williams
available on amazon.com and other sites

I met Jack in the state dining room at the White House(really!),he is a great guy and a good explainer of weather.

For those over 12 there are 2 books:
THE ATMOSPHERE by Lutgens and Tarbuck (9th edition)
SEVERE AND UNUSUAL WEATHER by Joe R. Eagleman

Both are available on Amazon (click the title of today's post).
The Lutgens book ain't cheap but is really good.

The Eagleman book has some very simplified sections but also has an excellent chapter on thunderstorm dynamics and the currently accepted theories on updraft rotation...you know MESOCYCLONES...if you want to know what really causes a tornado..this book is for you.

Ok, a long winded post to talk about 3 books but some famous scientist (or another down in the trenches weather dude like me) may very well get his start by your gift of one!

Dan sends at 4 am Saturday morning (I gotta get to bed!)