John D. Cox is a professional science writer. He studied biological and physical sciences at Harvard and MIT as a fellow of the Knight Science Journalism Fellowship Program at MIT.

What in the world is going on up there?
Look up! It's a bird; it's a plane; it's a Polar mesospheric cloud! When you look to the sky, do you wonder why the Sun is so bright or why the clouds are white or why the sky is blue? Then, Weather For Dummies is your resource to fuel your curiosity about the weather. It takes you on an exciting journey through the Earth's atmosphere and the ways it behaves. You'll get an overview of rain, Sun, clouds, storms and other phenomena.
With helpful photographs and illustrations, you can easily visualize different weather types and relate them into the world around you. The scientific words and phrases are explained in detail (what is barometric pressure?), your curious questions are answered (why do we have seasons?), and the roots of weather myths, proverbs, and sayings are revealed ("early thunder, early spring").
* Discover how weather forecasts are made, and what constitutes a weather emergency
* Find out what causes change in weather, such as how air pressure drives winds
* Learn how climate change is affecting today's weather
* Discover how light plays tricks on our eyes to create effects like rainbows, sun dogs, and halos
* Have fun with at-home weather experiments, including setting up your own weather station
Perfect for any weather amateur, you can have your head in the clouds while your feet are on the ground. Next time you're outside, take Weather For Dummies along with you, look at the sky, and discover something new about the environment you live in.

Introduction 1
Part 1: What's Going On Up There? 5
Chapter 1: What in the World Is Weather? 7
Chapter 2: Forecasts and Forecasting 13
Chapter 3: Behind the Air Wars 35
Chapter 4: Land, Sea, and Precipitation: Is This Any Way to Run a Planet? 59
Part 2: Braving the Elements 77
Chapter 5: Blowing in the Winds 79
Chapter 6: Getting Cirrus 101
Chapter 7: The Greatest Storms on Earth 123
Part 3: Some Seasonable Explanations 145
Chapter 8: The Ways of Winter 147
Chapter 9: Twists and Turns of Spring 177
Chapter 10: Extremely Summer 209
Chapter 11: Falling for Autumn 231
Part 4: The Long Run 239
Chapter 12: Climate Is What You Expect; Weather Is What You Get 241
Chapter 13: Weathering Our Changing Atmosphere 265
Chapter 14: Taking Care of the Air 277
Part 5: The Special Effects 293
Chapter 15: Up in the Sky! Look! 295
Chapter 16: Tools of the Trade 311
Chapter 17: Try This at Home 327
Part 6: The Part of Tens 337
Chapter 18: Ten (or So) Most Deadly World Weather Disasters 339
Chapter 19: Ten Weatherwise Critters 345
Chapter 20: Ten Grand Old Weather Proverbs 351
Appendix: Internet Resource Directory 357
Index 365