Meteorology - A brief history

• Meteorology - the study of the atmosphere and it's phenomena

• First discussed by Aristotle, 340 B.C.

  • wrote a book entitled Meteorologica - summarized meteorological knowledge to date

• 17th-18th centuries - meteorology came into being with the advent of met instrumentation such as thermometers and barometers

• 19th century - met observations were being made routinely - transmitted with the telegraph

•   1920's - Concept of airmasses and fronts was formulated in by Norwegian meteorologists

  • They developed a theory for the evolution of mid-latitude cyclones - still used today!!

• After WWII - meteorological radars were implemented

• 1950's - computers ran first models of the atmsophere

• 1960's - first meteorological satellites were launched (Tiros I )

• 1990's - National Weather Service was modernized

We are now able to observe meteorological phenomena on most all spatial scales!!!