The art of weather forecasting

Some may think it’s one of those jobs which anyone might turn their hand to, but the difficulties of weather forecasting are hugely underrated.

After all, there aren’t many jobs where you’re expected to predict the future. Economists are also required to make forecasts, but at least they have some control over the system they are foretelling. When it comes to weather, meteorologists have no such influence.

The best weather forecasting is a mixture of science, geography, and experience.

2022 is one for the record books

With 2022 coming to an end, we thought it’d be timely to look back at the year of weather. Two words come to mind, wet and warm. Low pressure systems from the northern Tasman Sea were frequent around Aotearoa and brought a rise in both the temperature and the amount of rain that fell. Read on to find out more about MetService’s notable weather of 2022.

At Home Meteorological Experiments

If you are trying to entertain the kids at home or are just looking for a meteorological experiment then you've come to the right place!

First up we have the Cloud in a Bottle experiment:

Equipment:
• 1 large clear-plastic bottle with a screw-on top (e.g. a 3-litre juice bottle)
• 1 match
• 1 cup of water

Instructions:
Step 1. Pour the water into the bottle, put the top on and shake it around. Leave it for a few hours so that the air in the bottle gets very humid. (You can do the word find below while you wait)

The Physics of Fog

While the weather conditions that lead to the formation of fog are usually quite benign, fog itself can be very disruptive. In particular the aviation and marine industries are often interested in how fog or mist will affect the visibility for their journeys, though fog also affects road-users.