America has some of the most varied and dynamic weather in the world.
Every year, the Gulf Coast is battered by hurricanes, the Great Plains
are ravaged by tornados, the Midwest is pummeled by blizzards, and the
temperature in the Southwest reaches a sweltering 120 degrees. Extreme
weather can be a matter of life and death, but even when it is
pleasant--72 degrees and sunny--weather is still central to the lives of
all Americans. Indeed, it's hard to imagine a topic of greater
collective interest. Whether we want to know if we should close the
storm shutters or just carry an umbrella to work, we turn to forecasts.
But few of us really understand the science behind them.
All that changes with The AMS Weather Book. The most comprehensive and
up-to-date guide to our weather and our atmosphere, it is the ultimate
resource for anyone who wants to understand how hurricanes form, why
tornados twirl, or even why the sky is cerulean blue. Written by
esteemed science journalist and former USA Today weather editor Jack
Williams, The AMS Weather Book, copublished with the American
Meteorological Society, covers everything from daily weather patterns,
air pollution, and global warming to the stories of people coping with
severe weather and those who devote their lives to understanding the
atmosphere, oceans, and climate. Words alone, of course, are not
adequate to explain many meteorological concepts, so The AMS Weather
Book is filled with engaging full-color graphics that explain such
concepts as why winds blow in a particular direction, how Doppler
weather radar works, what happens inside hurricanes, how clouds create
wind and snow, and what's really affecting the earth's climate.
For Weather Channel junkies, amateur meteorologists, and storm chasers
alike, The AMS Weather Book is an invaluable tool for anyone who wants
to better understand how weather works and how it affects our lives.
