History of Meteorology

Antiquity

 3000 BC – Meteorology in India can be traced back to around 3000 BC, with writings
such as the Upanishads, containing discussions about the processes of cloud formation
and rain and the seasonal cycles caused by the movement of earth round the sun.
 600 BC – Thales may qualify as the first Greek meteorologist. He reputedly issues the
first seasonal crop forecast.
 400 BC – There is some evidence that Democritus predicted changes in the weather,
and that he used this ability to convince people that he could predict other future events.
 400 BC – Hippocrates writes a treatise called Airs, Waters and Places, the earliest
known work to include a discussion of weather. More generally, he wrote about common
diseases that occur in particular locations, seasons, winds and air. [2]
 350 BC – The Greek philosopher Aristotle writes Meteorology, a work which represents
the sum of knowledge of the time about earth sciences, including weather and climate. It
is the first known work that attempts to treat a broad range of meteorological topics. [3] For
the first time, precipitation and the clouds from which precipitation falls are called
meteors, which originate from the Greek word meteoros, meaning 'high in the sky'. From
that word comes the modern term meteorology, the study of clouds and weather.
Although the term meteorology is used today to describe a subdiscipline of the atmospheric
sciences, Aristotle's work is more general. Meteorologica is based on intuition and simple
observation, but not on what is now considered the scientific method. In his own words:
...all the affections we may call common to air and water, and the kinds and parts of the
earth and the affections of its parts.[4]
The magazine De Mundo (attributed to Pseudo-Aristotle) notes:[5]
Cloud is a vaporous mass, concentrated and producing water. Rain is produced from the
compression of a closely condensed cloud, varying according to the pressure exerted on the
cloud; when the pressure is slight it scatters gentle drops; when it is great it produces a more
violent fall, and we call this a shower, being heavier than ordinary rain, and forming
continuous masses of water falling over earth. Snow is produced by the breaking up of
condensed clouds, the cleavage taking place before the change into water; it is the process
of cleavage which causes its resemblance to foam and its intense whiteness, while the
cause of its coldness is the congelation of the moisture in it before it is dispersed or rarefied.
When snow is violent and falls heavily we call it a blizzard. Hail is produced when snow
becomes densified and acquires impetus for a swifter fall from its close mass; the weight
becomes greater and the fall more violent in proportion to the size of the broken fragments of
cloud. Such then are the phenomena which occur as the result of moist exhalation.
One of the most impressive achievements in Meteorology is his description of what is now
known as the hydrologic cycle:
Now the sun, moving as it does, sets up processes of change and becoming and decay, and
by its agency the finest and sweetest water is every day carried up and is dissolved into
vapour and rises to the upper region, where it is condensed again by the cold and so returns
to the earth.[4]
 Aristotle

 Several years after Aristotle's book, his pupil Theophrastus puts together a

book on weather forecasting called The Book of Signs. Various indicators
such as solar and lunar halos formed by high clouds are presented as ways
to forecast the weather. The combined works of Aristotle and Theophrastus
have such authority they become the main influence in the study of clouds,
weather and weather forecasting for nearly 2000 years.[3]
 250 BC – Archimedes studies the concepts of buoyancy and the hydrostatic
principle. Positive buoyancy is necessary for the formation of convective
clouds (cumulus, cumulus congestus and cumulonimbus).[2]
 25 AD – Pomponius Mela, a geographer for the Roman empire, formalizes
the climatic zone system.[6]
 c. 80 AD – In his Lunheng (論衡; Critical Essays), the Han dynasty Chinese
philosopher Wang Chong (27–97 AD) dispels the Chinese myth of rain
coming from the heavens, and states that rain is evaporated from water on
the earth into the air and forms clouds, stating that clouds condense into
rain and also form dew, and says when the clothes of people in high
mountains are moistened, this is because of the air-suspended rain water.
[7]
 However, Wang Chong supports his theory by quoting a similar one of
Gongyang Gao's,[7] the latter's commentary on the Spring and Autumn
Annals, the Gongyang Zhuan, compiled in the 2nd century BC,[7] showing
that the Chinese conception of rain evaporating and rising to form clouds
goes back much farther than Wang Chong. Wang Chong wrote:
As to this coming of rain from the mountains, some hold that the clouds carry the rain with
them, dispersing as it is precipitated (and they are right). Clouds and rain are really the same
thing. Water evaporating upwards becomes clouds, which condense into rain, or still further
into dew.[7]

Middle Ages[edit]
 500 AD – In around 500 AD, the Indian astronomer, mathematician, and
astrologer: Varāhamihira published his work Brihat-Samhita's, which
provides clear evidence that a deep knowledge of atmospheric
processes existed in the Indian region. [1]
 7th century – The poet Kalidasa in his epic Meghaduta, mentions the
date of onset of the south-west Monsoon over central India and traces
the path of the monsoon clouds.[1]
 7th century – St. Isidore of Seville,in his work De Rerum Natura, writes
about astronomy, cosmology and meteorology. In the chapter dedicated
to Meteorology, he discusses the thunder, clouds, rainbows and wind.[2]
 9th century – Al-Kindi (Alkindus), an Arab naturalist, writes a treatise on
meteorology entitled Risala fi l-Illa al-Failali l-Madd wa l-Fazr (Treatise
on the Efficient Cause of the Flow and Ebb), in which he presents an
argument on tides which "depends on the changes which take place in
bodies owing to the rise and fall of temperature."[8]
 9th century – Al-Dinawari, a Kurdish naturalist, writes the Kitab al-
Nabat (Book of Plants), in which he deals with the application of
meteorology to agriculture during the Muslim Agricultural Revolution. He
describes the meteorological character of the sky, the planets
and constellations, the Sun and Moon, the lunar phases indicating
seasons and rain, the anwa (heavenly bodies of rain), and atmospheric
phenomena such as winds, thunder, lightning, snow, floods, valleys,
rivers, lakes, wells and other sources of water.[9]
 10th century – Ibn Wahshiyya's Nabatean Agriculture discusses
the weather forecasting of atmospheric changes and signs from the
planetary astral alterations; signs of rain based on observation of
the lunar phases, nature of thunder and lightning, direction of sunrise,
behaviour of certain plants and animals, and weather forecasts based
on the movement of winds; pollenized air and winds; and formation of
winds and vapours.[10]
 1021 – Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) writes on the atmospheric refraction of
light, the cause of morning and evening twilight.[11] He endeavored by
use of hyperbola and geometric optics to chart and formulate basic laws
on atmospheric refraction.[12] He provides the first correct definition of
the twilight, discusses atmospheric refraction, shows that the twilight is
due to atmospheric refraction and only begins when the Sun is 19
degrees below the horizon, and uses a complex geometric
demonstration to measure the height of the Earth's atmosphere as
52,000 passuum (49 miles),[13][14] which is very close to the modern
measurement of 50 miles.
 1020s – Ibn al-Haytham publishes his Risala fi l-Daw’ (Treatise on Light)
as a supplement to his Book of Optics. He discusses the meteorology of
the rainbow, the density of the atmosphere, and
various celestial phenomena, including the eclipse, twilight and
moonlight.[15]
 1027 – Avicenna publishes The Book of Healing, in which Part 2,
Section 5, contains his essay on mineralogy and meteorology in six
chapters: formation of mountains; the advantages of mountains in the
formation of clouds; sources of water; origin of earthquakes; formation
of minerals; and the diversity of earth's terrain.[16] He also describes the
structure of a meteor, and his theory on the formation of metals
combined the alchemical sulfur-mercury theory of metals (although he
was critical of alchemy) with the mineralogical theories
of Aristotle and Theophrastus.[17] His scientific methodology of field
observation was also original in the Earth sciences.
 Late 11th century – Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Ma'udh, who lived
in Al-Andalus, wrote a work on optics later translated into Latin as Liber
de crepisculis, which was mistakenly attributed to Alhazen. This was a
short work containing an estimation of the angle of depression of the
sun at the beginning of the morning twilight and at the end of the
evening twilight, and an attempt to calculate on the basis of this and
other data the height of the atmospheric moisture responsible for the
 refraction of the sun's rays. Through his experiments, he obtained the
accurate value of 18°, which comes close to the modern value. [18]
 1088 – In his Dream Pool Essays (夢溪筆談), the Chinese
scientist Shen Kuo wrote vivid descriptions of tornadoes,
that rainbows were formed by the shadow of the sun in rain, occurring
when the sun would shine upon it, and the curious common phenomena
of the effect of lightning that, when striking a house, would merely
scorch the walls a bit but completely melt to liquid all metal objects
inside.
 1121 – Al-Khazini, a Muslim scientist of Byzantine Greek descent,
publishes The Book of the Balance of Wisdom, the first study on
the hydrostatic balance.[19]
 13th century-St. Albert the Great is the first to propose that each drop of
falling rain had the form of a small sphere, and that this form meant that
the rainbow was produced by light interacting with each raindrop. [2]
 1267 – Roger Bacon was the first to calculate the angular size of the
rainbow. He stated that the rainbow summit can not appear higher than
42 degrees above the horizon.[20]
 1337 – William Merle, rector of Driby, starts recording his weather diary,
the oldest existing in print. The endeavour ended 1344. [21]
 Late 13th century – Theodoric of Freiberg and Kamāl al-Dīn al-
Fārisī give the first accurate explanations of the primary rainbow,
simultaneously but independently. Theoderic also gives the explanation
for the secondary rainbow.[citation needed]
 1441 – King Sejongs son, Prince Munjong, invented the first
standardized rain gauge. These were sent throughout the Joseon
Dynasty of Korea as an official tool to assess land taxes based upon a
farmer's potential harvest.

Anemometers

 1450 – Leone Battista Alberti developed a swinging-

plate anemometer, and is known as the first anemometer.[22]
– Nicolas Cryfts, (Nicolas of Cusa), described the first hair hygrometer to measure humidity.
The design was drawn by Leonardo da Vinci, referencing Cryfts design in da Vinci's Codex
Atlanticus.[22]

 1483 − Yuriy Drohobych publishes Prognostic Estimation of the

year 1483 in Rome, where he reflects upon weather forecasting and
that climatic conditions depended on the latitude.[23]
 1488 – Johannes Lichtenberger publishes the first version of
his Prognosticatio linking weather forecasting with astrology. The
paradigm was only challenged centuries later.[24]
 1494 – During his second voyage Christopher
Columbus experiences a tropical cyclone in the Atlantic Ocean,
which leads to the first written European account of a hurricane. [25][26]
  1510 – Leonhard Reynmann, astronomer of Nuremberg, publishes
″Wetterbüchlein Von warer erkanntnus des wetters″, a collection
of weather lore.[27][28]
 1547 − Antonio Mizauld publishes "Le miroueer du temps,
autrement dit, éphémérides perpétuelles de l'air par lesquelles sont
tous les jours donez vrais signes de touts changements de temps,
seulement par choses qui à tous apparoissent au cien, en l'air, sur
terre & en l'eau. Le tout par petits aphorismes, & breves sentences
diligemment compris" in Paris, with detail on forecasting weather,
comets and earthquakes.[29]

17th century[edit]

Galileo.

 1607 – Galileo Galilei constructs a thermoscope. Not only did this

device measure temperature, but it represented a paradigm shift.
Up to this point, heat and cold were believed to be qualities of
Aristotle's elements (fire, water, air, and earth). Note: There is some
controversy about who actually built this first thermoscope. There is
some evidence for this device being independently built at several
different times. This is the era of the first recorded meteorological
observations. As there was no standard measurement, they were of
little use until the work of Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit and Anders
Celsius in the 18th century.

Sir Francis Bacon

 1611 – Johannes Kepler writes the first scientific treatise on snow

crystals: "Strena Seu de Nive Sexangula (A New Year's Gift of
Hexagonal Snow)".[30]
 1620 – Francis Bacon (philosopher) analyzes the scientific
method in his philosophical work; Novum Organum.[31]
 1643 – Evangelista Torricelli invents the mercury barometer.[22]
 Blaise Pascal.

 1648 – Blaise Pascal rediscovers that atmospheric

pressure decreases with height, and deduces that there is a
vacuum above the atmosphere. [32]
 1654 – Ferdinando II de Medici sponsors the first weather
observing network, that consisted of meteorological stations
in Florence, Cutigliano, Vallombrosa, Bologna, Parma, Milan, Innsbr
uck, Osnabrück, Paris and Warsaw. Collected data was centrally
sent to Accademia del Cimento in Florence at regular time intervals.
[33]

 1662 – Sir Christopher Wren invented the mechanical, self-

emptying, tipping bucket rain gauge.[34]
 1667 – Robert Hooke builds another type of anemometer, called
a pressure-plate anemometer.[22]
 1686 – Edmund Halley presents a systematic study of the trade
winds and monsoons and identifies solar heating as the cause of
atmospheric motions.
– Edmund Halley establishes the relationship between barometric pressure and height
above sea level.[35]

18th century[edit]
 1716 – Edmund Halley suggests that aurorae are caused by
"magnetic effluvia" moving along the Earth's magnetic
field lines.

Global circulation as described by Hadley.

 1724 – Gabriel Fahrenheit creates reliable scale for measuring

temperature with a mercury-type thermometer.[36]
 1735 – The first ideal explanation of global circulation was the
study of the Trade winds by George Hadley.[37]
 1738 – Daniel Bernoulli publishes Hydrodynamics, initiating
the kinetic theory of gases. He gave a poorly detailed equation
of state, but also the basic laws for the theory of gases.[38]
  1742 – Anders Celsius, a Swedish astronomer, proposed the
Celsius temperature scale which led to the
current Celsius scale.[39]
 1743 – Benjamin Franklin is prevented from seeing a lunar
eclipse by a hurricane, he decides that cyclones move in a
contrary manner to the winds at their periphery.[40]
 1761 – Joseph Black discovers that ice absorbs heat without
changing its temperature when melting.
 1772 – Black's student Daniel Rutherford discovers nitrogen,
which he calls phlogisticated air, and together they explain the
results in terms of the phlogiston theory.[41]
 1774 – Louis Cotte is put in charge of a "medico-
meteorological" network of French veterinarians and country
doctors to investigate the relationship between plague and
weather. The project continued until 1794.[42]
- Royal Society begins twice daily observations compiled by Samuel Horsley testing for the
influence of winds and of the moon on the barometer readings. [43]

 1777 – Antoine Lavoisier discovers oxygen and develops

an explanation for combustion. [44]
 1780 – Charles Theodor charters the first international
network of meteorological observers known as "Societas
Meteorologica Palatina". The project collapses in 1795. [43]
 1780 – James Six invents the Six's thermometer, a
thermometer that records minimum and maximum
temperatures. See (Six's thermometer)
 1783 – In Lavoisier's article "Reflexions sur le phlogistique",
he deprecates the phlogiston theory[45] and proposes
a caloric theory of heat.[46][47]
– First hair hygrometer demonstrated. The inventor was Horace-Bénédict de Saussure.

19th century[edit]

Isothermal chart of the world created 1823 by William Channing

Woodbridge using the work of Alexander von Humboldt.

 1800 – The Voltaic pile was the first modern electric

battery, invented by Alessandro Volta, which led to later
inventions like the telegraph.
  1802–1803 – Luke Howard writes On the Modification
of Clouds in which he assigns cloud types Latin names.
Howard's system establishes three physical categories
or forms based on appearance and process of
formation: cirriform (mainly detached and
wispy), cumuliform or convective (mostly detached and
heaped, rolled, or rippled), and non-
convective stratiform (mainly continuous layers in
sheets). These are cross-classified
into lower and upper levels or étages. Cumuliform
clouds forming in the lower level are given the genus
name cumulus from the Latin word for heap,[48] while low
stratiform clouds are given the genus
name stratus from the Latin word for a flattened or
spread out sheet. Cirriform clouds are identified as
always upper level and given the genus
name cirrus from the Latin for hair. From this genus
name, the prefix cirro- is derived and attached to the
names of upper level cumulus and stratus, yielding the
names cirrocumulus, and cirrostratus.[49] In addition to
these individual cloud types; Howard adds two names
to designate cloud systems consisting of more than one
form joined together or located in very close proximity.
Cumulostratus describes large cumulus clouds blended
with stratiform layers in the lower or upper levels.[50] The
term nimbus, taken from the Latin word for rain cloud,
[49]
 is given to complex systems of cirriform, cumuliform,
and stratiform clouds with sufficient vertical
development to produce significant precipitation, [51]
[52]
 and it comes to be identified as a
distinct nimbiform physical category.[53]

Classific
ation of
Stratifo Cirrif Cumulostra Cumulif Nimbif
major
rm orm tiform orm orm
types:
1803

Upper- Cirrostr Cirrocum

Cirrus
level atus ulus

Lower-
Stratus Cumulus
level

Multi-
Cumulostrat
level/ Nimbus
us
vertical
  1804 – Sir John Leslie observes that a matte black
surface radiates heat more effectively than a polished
surface, suggesting the importance of black-body
radiation.
 1806 – Francis Beaufort introduces his system for
classifying wind speeds.
 1808 – John Dalton defends caloric theory in A New
System of Chemistry and describes how it combines
with matter, especially gases; he proposes that the heat
capacity of gases varies inversely with atomic weight.
 1810 – Sir John Leslie freezes water to ice artificially.
 1817 – Alexander von Humboldt publishes a global
map of average temperature, the first global climate
analysis.
 1819 – Pierre Louis Dulong and Alexis Thérèse
Petit give the Dulong-Petit law for the specific heat
capacity of a crystal.
 1820 – Heinrich Wilhelm Brandes publishes the first
synoptic weather maps.
– John Herapath develops some ideas in the kinetic theory of gases but mistakenly
associates temperature with molecular momentum rather than kinetic energy; his work
receives little attention other than from Joule.

 1822 – Joseph Fourier formally introduces the use

of dimensions for physical quantities in his Theorie
Analytique de la Chaleur.
 1824 – Sadi Carnot analyzes the efficiency
of steam engines using caloric theory; he develops
the notion of a reversible process and, in
postulating that no such thing exists in nature, lays
the foundation for the second law of
thermodynamics.
 1827 – Robert Brown discovers the Brownian
motion of pollen and dye particles in water.
 1832 – An electromagnetic telegraph was created
by Baron Schilling.
 1834 – Émile Clapeyron popularises Carnot's work
through a graphical and analytic formulation.
 1835 – Gaspard-Gustave Coriolis publishes
theoretical discussions of machines with revolving
parts and their efficiency, for example the efficiency
of waterwheels.[54] At the end of the 19th century,
meteorologists recognized that the way the
Earth's rotation is taken into account in
meteorology is analogous to what Coriolis
discussed: an example of Coriolis Effect.
 1836 – An American scientist, Dr. David Alter,
invented the first known American electric
telegraph in Elderton, Pennsylvania, one year
before the much more popular Morse telegraph
was invented.
  1837 – Samuel Morse independently developed
an electrical telegraph, an alternative design that
was capable of transmitting over long distances
using poor quality wire. His assistant, Alfred Vail,
developed the Morse code signaling alphabet with
Morse. The first electric telegram using this device
was sent by Morse on May 24, 1844, from the U.S.
Capitol in Washington, D.C. to the B&O Railroad
"outer depot" in Baltimore and sent the message:
What hath God wrought[55]

 1839 – The first commercial electrical

telegraph was constructed by Sir William
Fothergill Cooke and entered use on the Great
Western Railway. Cooke and Wheatstone
patented it in May 1837 as an alarm system.
 1840 – Elias Loomis becomes the first person
known to attempt to devise a theory on frontal
zones. The idea of fronts do not catch on until
expanded upon by the Norwegians in the years
following World War I.[56]
– German meteorologist Ludwig Kaemtz adds stratocumulus to Howard's canon as a mostly
detached low-étage genus of limited convection.[57] It is defined as having cumuliform and
stratiform characteristics integrated into a single layer (in contrast to cumulostratus which is
deemed to be composite in nature and can be structured into more than one layer). [51] This
eventually leads to the formal recognition of a stratocumuliform[58] physical category that
includes rolled and rippled clouds classified separately from the more freely convective
heaped cumuliform clouds.

 1843 – John James Waterston fully

expounds the kinetic theory of gases, but is
ridiculed and ignored.
– James Prescott Joule experimentally finds the mechanical equivalent of heat.

 1844 – Lucien Vidi invented the

aneroid, from Greek meaning without
liquid, barometer.[59]
 1845 – Francis Ronalds invented the
first successful camera for continuous
recording of the variations in
meteorological parameters over time[60]
 1845 – Francis Ronalds invented and
named the storm clock, used to
monitor rapid changes in
meteorological parameters during
extreme events[61]
 1846 – Cup anemometer invented by
Dr. John Thomas Romney Robinson.
 1847 – Francis Ronalds and William
Radcliffe Birt described a stable kite to
make observations at altitude using
self-recording instruments
 1847 – Hermann von

Helmholtz publishes a definitive
statement of the conservation of
energy, the first law of
thermodynamics.
– The Manchester Examiner newspaper organises the first weather reports collected by
electrical means.[62]

1848 – William Thomson extends


the concept of absolute zero from
gases to all substances.
 1849 – Smithsonian
Institution begins to establish an
observation network across the
United States, with 150 observers
via telegraph, under the leadership
of Joseph Henry.[63]
– William John Macquorn Rankine calculates the correct relationship between saturated
vapour pressure and temperature using his hypothesis of molecular vortices.

 1850 – Rankine uses

his vortex theory to establish
accurate relationships
between the
temperature, pressure,
and density of gases, and
expressions for the latent
heat of evaporation of a liquid;
he accurately predicts the
surprising fact that the
apparent specific
heat of saturated steam will be
negative.
– Rudolf Clausius gives the first clear joint statement of the first and second law of
thermodynamics, abandoning the caloric theory, but preserving Carnot's principle.

 1852 – Joule and

Thomson demonstrate
that a rapidly expanding
gas cools, later named
the Joule-Thomson effect.
 1853 – The first
International
Meteorological
Conference was held in
Brussels at the initiative
of Matthew Fontaine
Maury, U.S. Navy,
recommending standard
observing times, methods
of observation and logging
 format for weather reports
from ships at sea.[64]
 1854 – The French
astronomer Leverrier sho
wed that a storm in
the Black Sea could be
followed across Europe
and would have been
predictable if the telegraph
had been used. A service
of storm forecasts was
established a year later by
the Paris Observatory.
– Rankine introduces his thermodynamic function, later identified as entropy.

 Mid 1850s – Emilien

Renou, director of the
Parc Saint-Maur and
Montsouris
observatories, begins
work on an
elaboration of
Howard's
classifications that
would lead to the
introduction during the
1870s of a newly
defined middle étage .
[51]
 Clouds in this
altitude range are
given the
prefix alto- derived
from the Latin
word altum pertaining
to height above the
low-level clouds. This
resultes in the genus
name altocumulus for
mid-level cumuliform
and stratocumuliform
types
and altostratus for
stratiform types in the
same altitude range.[49]
 1856 – William
Ferrel publishes
his essay on the
winds and the
currents of the
oceans.
 1859 – James Clerk
Maxwell discovers
 the distribution law of
molecular velocities.
 1860 – Robert
FitzRoy uses the new
telegraph system to
gather daily
observations from
across England and
produces the first
synoptic charts. He
also coined the term
"weather forecast" and
his were the first ever
daily weather
forecasts to be
published in this year.
– After establishment in 1849, 500 U.S. telegraph stations are now making weather
observations and submitting them back to the Smithsonian Institution. The observations are
later interrupted by the American Civil War.

 1865 – Josef
Loschmidt applies
Maxwell's theory
to estimate the
number-density of
molecules in
gases, given
observed gas
viscosities.
– Manila Observatory founded in the Philippines. [40]

 1869
– Joseph
Lockyer starts
the scientific
journal Nature
.
 1869 –
The New York
Meteorologica
l
Observatory o
pens, and
begins to
record wind,
precipitation
and
temperature
data.
 1870 –
The US
Weather
 Bureau is
founded. Data
recorded in
several
Midwestern
cities such as
Chicago
begins.
 1870 – Benito
Viñes
becomes the
head of the
Meteorologica
l Observatory
at Belen in
Havana,
Cuba. He
develops the
first observing
network in
Cuba and
creates some
of the first
hurricane-
related
forecasts.[40]
 1872 – The
"Oficina
Meteorológica
Argentina"
(today
"Argentinean
National
Weather
Service") is
founded.
 1872
– Ludwig
Boltzmann sta
tes
the Boltzmann
equation for
the temporal
development
of distribution
functions in p
hase space,
and publishes
his H-
theorem.
 1873
– International
Meteorologica
 l
Organization f
ormed
in Vienna.
– United States Army Signal Corp, forerunner of the National Weather Service, issues its first
hurricane warning.[40]

Synoptic chart from

1874.

 1875 –
The India
Meteorolo
gical
Departme
nt is
establishe
d, after a
tropical
cyclone
struck
Calcutta
in 1864
and
monsoon
failures
during
1866 and
1871.[1]
 1876
– Josiah
Willard
Gibbs pub
lishes the
first of two
papers
(the
second
appears
in 1878)
which
 discuss
phase
equilibria, 
statistical
ensemble
s, the free
energy as
the
driving
force
behind ch
emical
reactions,
and chem
ical
thermody
namics in
general.
 1880
– Philip
Weilbach,
secretary
and
librarian
at the Art
Academy
in
Copenha
gen
proposes
and has
accepted
by the
permanen
t
committe
e of
the Intern
ational
Meteorolo
gical
Organizati
on (IMO),
a
forerunne
r of the
present-
day World
Meteorolo
gical
Organizati
on (WMO
), the
designatio
n of a
new free-
convectiv
e vertical
or multi-
étage
genus
type, cum
ulonimbus 
(heaped
rain
cloud). It
would be
distinct
from
cumulus
and
nimbus
and
identifiabl
e by its
often very
complex
structure
(frequentl
y
including
a cirriform
top and
what are
now
recognize
d as
multiple
accessory
clouds),
and its
ability to
produce
thunder.
With this
addition,
a canon
of ten
troposphe
ric
cloud gen
era is
establishe
d that
comes to
be
 officially
and
universall
y
accepted.
[51]
 Howard
's
cumulostr
atus is not
included
as a
distinct
type,
having
effectively
been
reclassifie
d into its
compone
nt
cumulifor
m and
stratiform
genus
types
already
included
in the new
canon.
 1881 –
Finnish
Meteorolo
gical
Central
Office
was
formed
from part
of
Magnetic
Observat
ory
of Helsink
i
University
.
 1890 –
US Weath
er
Bureau is
created
as a
civilian
 operation
under
the U.S.
Departme
nt of
Agricultur
e.
– Otto Jesse reveals the discovery and identification of the first clouds known to form above
the troposphere. He proposes the name noctilucent which is Latin for night shining. Because
of the extremely high altitudes of these clouds in what is now known to be the mesosphere,
they can become illuminated by the sun's rays when the sky is nearly dark after sunset and
before sunrise.[65]

 1892
– Willi
am
Henry
Dines 
invent
ed
anoth
er
kind
of an
emo
meter
,
called
the pr
essur
e-
tube
(Dine
s)
anem
omet
er.
His
devic
e
meas
ured
the
differ
ence
in
press
ure
arisin
g
from
wind
blowi
 ng in
a
tube
versu
s that
blowi
ng
acros
s the
tube.
[22]

– The first mention of the term "El Niño" to refer to climate occurs when Captain Camilo
Carrilo told the Geographical society congress in Lima that Peruvian sailors named the warm
northerly current "El Niño" because it was most noticeable around Christmas.

 1
8
9
3
– 
H
e
nr
ik
M
o
h
n 
re
v
e
al
s
a
di
s
c
o
v
er
y
of 
n
a
cr
e
o
u
s 
cl
o
u
d
 s
in
w
h
at
is
n
o
w
c
o
n
si
d
er
e
d
th
e
st
ra
to
s
p
h
er
e.
[66]

 1
8
9
6
– 
I
M
O 
p
u
bl
is
h
e
s
th
e
fir
st 
In
te
rn
at
io
n
 al
cl
o
u
d
at
la
s.
[67]

– Svante Arrhenius proposes carbon dioxide as a key factor to explain the ice ages.

– H.H. Clayton proposes formalizing the division of clouds by their physical structures into
cirriform, stratiform, "flocciform" (stratocumuliform)[68] and cumuliform. With the later addition
of cumulonimbiform, the idea eventually finds favor as an aid in the analysis of satellite cloud
images.[58]

 1
8
9
8
–
U
S
W
e
a
t
h
e
r
B
u
r
e
a
u
e
st
a
bl
is
h
e
d
a 
h
u
rr
ic
a
n
e 
w
a
 r
ni
n
g
n
e
t
w
o
r
k
a
t
K
in
g
st
o
n
,
J
a
m
ai
c
a
.
[40]

20th
centu
ry[edit]
 1
9
0
2
– 
R
ic
h
a
r
d
A
s
s
m
a
n
n 
a
n
d 
L
é
o
n
T
ei
s
s
e
r
e
n
c
d
e
B
o
rt
,
t
w
o
E
u
r
o
p
e
a
n
s
ci
e
n
ti
st
s,
in
d
e
p
e
n
d
e
n
tl
y
di
s
 c
o
v
e
r
e
d
t
h
e 
st
r
a
t
o
s
p
h
e
r
e
.
[69]

- The Marconi Company issues the first routine weather forecast by means of radio to ships
on sea. Weather reports from ships started 1905. [70]

 19
03
– 
M
ax
M
ar
gu
le
s 
pu
bli
sh
es
„Ü
be
r
di
e
En
er
gi
e
de
r
St
ür
 m
e",
an
es
sa
y
on
th
e
at
m
os
ph
er
e
as
a
thr
ee
-
di
m
en
si
on
al
th
er
m
od
yn
a
mi
ca
l
m
ac
hi
ne
.[71]
 19
04
– 
Vil
he
lm
Bj
er
kn
es 
pr
es
en
 ts
th
e
vis
io
n
th
at
for
ec
as
tin
g
th
e
w
ea
th
er
is
fe
as
ibl
e
ba
se
d
on
m
at
he
m
ati
ca
l
m
et
ho
ds
.
 19
05
– 
Au
str
ali
an
Bu
re
au
of
M
et
 eo
rol
og
y 
es
ta
bli
sh
ed
by
a
M
et
eo
rol
og
y
Ac
t
to
un
ify
ex
isti
ng
st
at
e
m
et
eo
rol
og
ic
al
se
rvi
ce
s.
 19
19
– 
N
or
w
eg
ia
n
cy
cl
on
e
m
od
el 
int
ro
du
ce
d
for
th
e
fir
st
ti
m
e
in
m
et
eo
rol
og
ic
al
lit
er
at
ur
e.
M
ar
ks
a
re
vo
lut
io
n
in
th
e
w
ay
th
e
at
m
os
ph
er
e
is
co
nc
 ei
ve
d
an
d
im
m
ed
iat
el
y
st
art
s
le
ad
in
g
to
im
pr
ov
ed
for
ec
as
ts.
[72]

- Sakuhei Fujiwhara is the first to note that hurricanes move with the larger scale flow, and
later publishes a paper on the Fujiwhara effect in 1921.[40]

 19
20
– 
Mil
uti
n
Mil
an
ko
vić 
pr
op
os
es
th
at
lon
g
ter
m
cli
m
 ati
c c
ycl
es 
m
ay
be
du
e
to
ch
an
ge
s
in
th
e
ec
ce
ntr
icit
y
of
th
e
Ea
rth'
s
or
bit
an
d
ch
an
ge
s
in
th
e
Ea
rth'
s
obl
iqu
ity.
 19
22
– 
Le
wi
s
Fr
y
 Ri
ch
ar
ds
on 
or
ga
nis
es
th
e
firs
t
nu
m
eri
cal
we
at
he
r
pr
edi
cti
on
ex
pe
ri
m
en
t.
 19
23
–
Th
e
os
cill
ati
on
eff
ect
s
of 
E
N
S
O 
we
re
firs
t e
rro
ne
ou
sly 
de
scr
ibe
d
by 
Sir
Gil
be
rt
Th
o
m
as
W
alk
er 
fro
m
wh
o
m
th
e 
W
alk
er
cir
cul
ati
on 
tak
es
its
na
m
e;
no
w
an
im
po
rta
nt
as
pe
ct
of
th
e 
Pa
 cifi
c
E
N
S
O 
ph
en
o
m
en
on
.
 19
24
– 
Gil
be
rt
W
alk
er 
firs
t
coi
ne
d
th
e
ter
m
"S
ou
th
er
n
Os
cill
ati
on
".
 19
30
,
Ja
nu
ar
y
30
– 
Pa
vel
M
olc
ha
no
v i
nv
en
ts
an
d
lau
nc
he
s
th
e
firs
t r
adi
os
on
de
.
Na
m
ed
"2
71
12
0",
it
wa
s
rel
ea
se
d
13
:4
4 
M
os
co
w
Ti
m
e i
n 
Pa
vlo
vs
k, 
U
SS
R f
ro
m
th
e
M
ain
Ge
op
hy
sic
al
Ob
se
rv
at
or
y,
re
ac
he
d
a
hei
gh
t
of
7.
8
kil
o
m
et
er
s
m
ea
su
rin
g
te
m
pe
rat
ur
e
th
er
e
(−
40
.7 
°C
 )
an
d
se
nt
th
e
firs
t
ae
rol
ogi
cal
m
es
sa
ge
to
th
e
Le
nin
gr
ad
W
ea
th
er
Bu
re
au
an
d
M
os
co
w
Ce
ntr
al
Fo
re
ca
st
Ins
titu
te.
[73]

 19
32
–
A
fur
th
er
m
odi
fic
ati
on
of
Lu
ke
Ho
wa
rd'
s
clo
ud
cla
ssi
fic
ati
on
sy
ste
m
co
m
es
wh
en
an
IM
C
co
m
mi
ssi
on
for
th
e
stu
dy
of
clo
ud
s
pu
ts
for
wa
rd
a
ref
ine
d
an
d
m
or
e
re
stri
cte
d
de
fini
tio
n
of
th
e
ge
nu
s
ni
m
bu
s
wh
ich
is
eff
ect
ive
ly
re
cla
ssi
fie
d
as
a
str
atif
or
m
clo
ud
typ
e.
It
is
re
na
m
ed 
ni
m
bo
str
at
us 
(fl
att
en
ed
or
sp
re
ad
ou
t
rai
n
clo
ud
)
an
d
pu
bli
sh
ed
wit
h
th
e
ne
w
na
m
e
in
th
e
19
32
edi
tio
n
of
th
e I
nt
er
na
tio
na
l
Atl
as
of
Cl
ou
ds
an
d
of
St
at
es
of
th
e
Sk
y.
[51]
 
Th
is
lea
ve
s
cu
m
ulo
ni
m
bu
s
as
th
e
onl
y
ni
m
bif
or
m
typ
e
as
ind
ica
te
d
by
its
ro
ot-
na
 m
e.
 19
33
– 
Vi
cto
r
Sc
ha
ub
er
ge
r p
ubl
ish
es
his
th
eo
rie
s
on
th
e
ca
rb
on
cy
cle
an
d
its
rel
ati
on
shi
p
to
th
e
we
at
he
r
in 
O
ur
Se
ns
el
es
s
 To
il
 19
35
– I
M
O 
de
cid
es
on
th
e
30
ye
ar
s
no
rm
al
pe
rio
d
(1
90
0–
19
30
)
to
de
scr
ibe
th
e c
lim
at
e.
 19
37
–
Th
e
U.
S.
Ar
my
Air
Fo
rc
es
W
ea
 th
er
Se
rvi
ce
wa
s
est
abl
ish
ed
(re
de
sig
na
te
d
in
19
46
as 
A
W
S-
Air
W
ea
th
er
Se
rvi
ce
).
 19
38
– 
Gu
y
St
ew
art
Ca
lle
nd
ar 
firs
t
to
pr
op
os
e 
glo
 bal
wa
rm
ing 
fro
m 
ca
rb
on
dio
xid
e 
e
mi
ssi
on
s.
 19
39
– 
Ro
ss
by
wa
ve
s 
we
re
firs
t
ide
ntif
ied
in
th
e
at
m
os
ph
er
e
by 
Ca
rl-
Gu
sta
f
Ar
vid
Ro
ss
by 
 wh
o
ex
pla
ine
d
th
eir
m
oti
on
.
Ro
ss
by
wa
ve
s
ar
e
a
su
bs
et
of i
ne
rti
al
wa
ve
s.
 19
41
–
Pu
lse
d r
ad
ar 
ne
tw
or
k
is
im
ple
m
en
te
d
in
En
gla
nd
du
rin
g
W
orl
d
W
ar
II.
Ge
ne
rall
y
du
rin
g
th
e
wa
r,
op
er
at
or
s
sta
rte
d
no
tici
ng
ec
ho
es
fro
m
we
at
he
r
ele
m
en
ts
su
ch
as
rai
n
an
d
sn
 ow
.
 19
43
–
10
ye
ar
s
aft
er
flyi
ng
int
o
th
e 
W
as
hin
gt
on
Ho
ov
er
Air
po
rt 
on
m
ain
ly
ins
tru
m
en
ts
du
rin
g
th
e
Au
gu
st
19
33
Ch
es
ap
ea
ke
-
Po
to
m
ac
hu
rri
ca
ne
,[74] 
J.
B.
Du
ck
wo
rth
flie
s
his
air
pla
ne
int
o
a
Gu
lf
hu
rri
ca
ne
off
th
e
co
ast
of
Te
xa
s,
pr
ovi
ng
to
th
e
mil
ita
ry
an
d
m
et
eo
 rol
ogi
cal
co
m
m
uni
ty
th
e
util
ity
of
we
at
he
r
re
co
nn
ais
sa
nc
e.
[40]

 19
44
–
Th
e 
Gr
ea
t
Atl
an
tic
Hu
rri
ca
ne 
is
ca
ug
ht
on
ra
da
r
ne
ar
th
e
Mi
 d-
Atl
an
tic
co
ast
,
th
e
firs
t
su
ch
pic
tur
e
no
te
d
fro
m
th
e
Un
ite
d
St
at
es.
[40]

 19
47
–
Th
e
So
vie
t
Un
ion
lau
nc
he
d
its
firs
t
Lo
ng
Ra
ng
e
Ba
llis
tic
Ro
ck
et
Oc
to
be
r
18
,
ba
se
d
on
th
e
Ge
rm
an
ro
ck
et
A4
(V-
2).
Th
e
ph
ot
og
ra
ph
s
de
m
on
str
at
ed
th
e
im
m
en
se
po
te
nti
al
of
ob
se
 rvi
ng
we
at
he
r
fro
m
sp
ac
e.
[75]

 19
48
–
Fir
st
co
rre
ct
tor
na
do
pr
edi
cti
on
by 
Ro
be
rt
C.
Mil
ler 
an
d
E.
J.
Fa
wb
us
h
for
tor
na
do
in
Ok
lah
o
m
a.
– Erik Palmén publishes his findings that hurricanes require surface water temperatures of at
least 26°C (80°F) in order to form.

 1950 –
First
succes
sful
numeri
cal
weath
er
predict
ion
experi
ment. 
Princet
on
Univer
sity,
group
of Jule
Gregor
y
Charn
ey on 
ENIAC
.
– Hurricanes begin to be named alphabetically with the radio alphabet.
– WMO World Meteorological Organization replaces IMO under the auspice of the United
Nations.

 1953
– National
Hurricane
Center
(NOAA) cr
eates a
system for
naming
hurricanes
using
alphabetic
al lists of
women's
names.
 1954 –
First
routine
real-time
numerical
weather
forecasting
 .
The Royal
Swedish
Air
Force Wea
ther
Service.
– A United States Navy rocket captures a picture of an inland tropical depression near the
Texas/Mexico border, which leads to a surprise flood event in New Mexico. This convinces
the government to set up a weather satellite program. [40]

 1955
– Norman
Phillips at
the Institute
Advanced
Study in
Princeton, N
Jersey, runs
first
Atmospheric
General
Circulation
Model.
– NSSP National Severe Storms Project and NHRP National Hurricane Research Projects
established. The Miami office of the United States Weather Bureau is designated the main
hurricane warning center for the Atlantic Basin.[40]

 1957–1958
– Internation
Geophysica
Year coordin
research eff
eleven scien
focused on p
areas during
the solar
maximum.
The first
television image
of Earth from
space from the
TIROS-1
weather satellite.

 1959 – The
weather
satellite, Van
2, was launc
February 17
designed to
measure clo
cover, but a
axis of rotati
it from collec
notable amo
useful data.
 1960 – The
successful w
satellite, TIR
Television In
Observation
Satellite), is
launched on
from Cape
Canaveral, F
by the Natio
Aeronautics
Space
Administratio
SA) with the
participation
US Army Sig
Research an
Developmen
Lab, RCA, th
Weather Bu
and the US
Photographi
Center. Duri
78-day miss
relays thous
pictures sho
the structure
large-scale c
regimes, and
proves that
satellites can
 provide usef
surveillance
global weath
conditions fr
space.[76] TIR
paves the w
the Nimbus
program, wh
technology a
findings are
heritage of m
the Earth-
observing
satellites NA
d NOAA hav
launched sin
then.[40]
 1961 – Edw
Lorenz accid
discovers Ch
theory when
working
on numerica
weather pre
 1962 – Keith
Browning an
k Ludlam pu
first detailed
of
a supercell s
(over Wokin
UK). Project
STORMFUR
begins its 10
project of se
hurricanes w
silver iodide
attempting to
weaken the
cyclones.[40]
 1968 – A hu
database for
Atlantic hurr
is created fo
NASA by Ch
Newmann
and John Ho
named HUR
 1969 – Saffi
Simpson Hu
Scale create
used to desc
hurricane str
 on a categor
range of 1 to
Popularized
Hurricane G
1985 by med
– Jacob Bjerknes described ENSO by suggesting that an anomalously warm spot in the
eastern Pacific can weaken the east-west temperature difference, causing weakening in
the Walker circulation and trade wind flows, which push warm water to the west.

 1970s Weat
radars are b
more standa
organized in
networks. Th
of scanned a
increased to
three-dimen
of the precip
which allowe
of thunderst
Experiments
the Doppler
effect begin.
 1970 – NOA
Oceanic and
Atmospheric
Administratio
established.
Bureau is re
the National
Service.
 1971 – Ted
Fujita introdu
the Fujita sc
rating tornad
 1974
– AMeDAS 
developed b
Meteorologic
Agency used
gathering re
weather data
verifying fore
performance
operation on
1, the system
of about 1,3
with automa
observation
These statio
which more
are unmann
 located at an
interval of 17
throughout J
 1975 – The
first Geostat
Operational
Environmen
Satellite, GO
launched int
Their role an
to aid in hurr
tracking. Als
Vern Dvorak
a scheme to
tropical cyclo
intensity from
imagery.[40]
– The first use of a General Circulation Model to study the effects of carbon dioxide
doubling. Syukuro Manabe and Richard Wetherald at Princeton University.

 1976 – The
Kingdom De
Industry pub
modification
international
classification
adapted for
observations
sponsored b
showes a di
into stratiform
stratocumuli
cumuliform,
cumulonimb
last of these
change in na
earlier nimbi
although this
and original
pertaining to
can still be f
classification
Major types sho
here include the
tropospheric gen
that are detectab
not always ident
by satellite, and
several addition
major types abo
troposphere tha
not included with
original modifica
The cumulus ge
includes four sp
that indicate ver
size and structu

 1980s onwa
of weather r
further expa
the develope
Doppler wea
becoming gr
 common, ad
information.
 1982 – The
Flow experim
around Hurr
help define t
atmospheric
steer the sto
 1988 – WSR
weather rad
in the United
Weather sur
that uses se
detect sever
conditions.
 1992 – Com
used in the U
draw surface
 1997 – The 
Oscillation w
by a team
studying sal
patterns at t
Washington
 1998 – Impr
technology a
finally allows
underlying o
imagery, rad
model data,
observations
quality of Un
Surface Ana
– CAMEX3, a NASA experiment run in conjunction with NOAA's Hurricane Field Program
collects detailed data sets on Hurricanes Bonnie, Danielle, and Georges.

 1999 – Hurr
induces frigh
coastal State
massive eva
coastal zone
Florida to th
comes asho
and results i
and $4.5 bill
mostly due t
flooding.

21st centu
 2001 – Natio
Service beg
Unified Surfa
ending dupli
the Tropical
Center, Oce
Center, Hyd
Prediction C
the National
Service offic
AK and Hon
 2003 – NOA
experts issu
Eastern Pac
Outlook.
 2004 – A rec
hurricanes s
year, Charle
and Jeanne.
 2005 – A rec
storms occu
Atlantic. Nat
Center runs
its standard
alphabet for
 2006 – Wea
by adding co
to it such as
and snow m
the first time
 2007 – The 
replaced wit
Fujita Scale 
Weather
Service torn
 2010s – We
dramatically
more detaile