A very brief introduction to meteorology for those to whom the field is new

• Published in: Weather 1997-07, Vol.52 (7), p.223-224
• Main Author: Vonnegut, Bernard
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0043-1656; 1477-8696
• DOI: 10.1002/j.1477-8696.1997.tb06315.x

Almost every field of human endeavour has its own special concepts and ways of using language. During the past five decades, as my activities have gradually drifted from physical chemistry to meteorology, I have acquired a smattering of this science and its nomenclature. The transition has been pleasant, involving an easy extension of concepts with which I was already familiar. There have been a few surprises, however. The author highlights these surprises in the form of a list of descriptions of basic nomenclature and concepts. The list is intended to help scientists from other scientific disciplines in their first encounters with meteorology. It may also be useful to let meteorologists know something of common misconceptions held by their scientific brethren. Among others, the meanings of ``horizontal'' vs. ``vertical shear'', ``snowflake'' vs. ``snow crystal'', and ``lightning event or flash'' vs. ``lightning stroke'' are listed and briefly explained.