Weather Map

天気図 / 1851– / Style / Diagrammatic Expression

The atmosphere drawn on one sheet with isobars, front symbols and weather signs. Making invisible pressure fields visible through the density of curves became the public's scientific graphic, from newspapers to television.

Weather Map — Surface weather map 1947 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain — Surface weather map 1947 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

Weather Map — Analysis chart of the Perfect Storm 1991 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain — Analysis chart of the Perfect Storm 1991 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

Weather Map — Francis Galton, Synchronous weather chart of England 1861 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain — Francis Galton, Synchronous weather chart of England 1861 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

At a glance

Visual cues

The density of isobars
Cold and warm front symbols
The weather-symbol system
Highs and lows labeled

Best used for

Putting an invisible field on one sheet as a continuous quantity
Designing a daily forecast graphic read the same way every time

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Dictionary entry

Type: Values break into the isobar, set turned along the line
Composition: Isobars at one fixed interval, centers of high and low named
Material: The base map held pale, only lines and symbols brought forward
Caution: Changing the isobar interval from day to day destroys the cue that lets a reader judge wind strength from how crowded the lines are.
Further study: FitzRoy's charts / international weather symbols / the design history of TV weather maps

Related entries

Celestial Atlas (星図の様式)Same Diagrammatic Expression lineage.Compare Weather Map and Celestial Atlas
Schematic Transit Diagram (スキーマティック路線図)Shared effects: Trust / Technique / Calm.Compare Weather Map and Schematic Transit Diagram

Cite this entry

The dictionary is meant to be linked to. Take whichever form fits where you are writing.

Link: https://indexstyle.org/styles/weather-map
Markdown: [Weather Map — IndexStyle](https://indexstyle.org/styles/weather-map)
HTML: <a href="https://indexstyle.org/styles/weather-map">Weather Map — IndexStyle</a>

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