Guides and References

Weather

• Interactive Weather Information Network (IWIN)
  One screen provides nationwide weather information: satellite views of the United States, ocean temperatures, state weather warnings, and radar images of precipitation and clouds. Active warnings are given by category, with states listed under each category. Clicking on the state gives the actual NWS warning. The page reloads frequently for up-to-the-minute information.
• National Weather Service
  The NWS provides weather forecasts, long-range forecasts, and warnings for the protection of life and property in the United States and its territories, adjacent waters and ocean areas.
  • The NWS's Office of Hydrology offers river forecasts and flood warnings.
  • The River Forecast System covers the contiguous United States. Soil moisture drought and wetness are shown on a map.
  • The Integrated Flood Observing and Warning System (IFLOWS) offers rainfall data.
• National Hurricane Center Tropical Prediction Center
  This site provides latest forecasts, satellite imagery, aircraft reconnaisance, storm names, historical data and general information for cyclones and hurricanes.
• Storm Prediction Center
  This Center monitors and forecasts severe and non-severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, winter storms, extreme winds, heavy rains, and other hazardous weather.
• National Severe Storms Laboratory
  This site investigates all aspects of severe weather. It offers general, scientific, and educational information.
• Climate Diagnostics Center
  The CDC identifies the nature and causes of climate variations, using time scales that range from a month to centuries, in order to be able to predict important climate variations. The page features El Niño/La Niña sea temperature animations. Historical climate data are available for the entire United States and by state.
• Climate Prediction Center
  The CPC monitors short-term climate fluctuations, in order to predict them. It features current weather anomalies, like the Southeastern drought and La Niña. The site includes color maps of sea temperature and forecast maps of temperature and precipitation for the continental United States.
• National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service
  NESDIS is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NESDIS operates a number of centers involved with weather or meteorological data:
  • National Climatic Data Center
    The NCDC is responsible for data management activities in support of scientific and technical programs involving remotely sensed and in situ retrospective meteorological data and climatological information.
  • The NOAA El Niño site
    Includes explanations of El Niño weather patterns in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
• National Geophysical Data Center
  The NGDC manages environmental data in the fields of marine geology and geophysics, paleoclimatology, solar-terrestrial physics, solid earth geophysics, and glaciology (snow and ice). NGDC's data holdings currently contain more than 300 digital and analog databases, such as the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program.
• The NOAA Data Set Directory, is a forms-based tool that allows users to search for publicly available environmental data held by public and private sources throughout the world. NOAA's NOAAServer offers cross-disciplinary data searches from various NOAA data centers.
• Glossary of Select Meteorological, Climatological, and Hydrological Terms
  was developed to to provide definitions of National Weather Service terminology, both technical and nontechnical. Users include the media, educators, emergency preparedness managers and the general public.
• Operational Significant Event Imagery (OSEI)
  This site offers images of current weather events. At the homepage is a brief discussion of each image available. It is also possible to go to an easy-to-use directory for images grouped by subject.
• Space Environment Center
  This site provides real-time monitoring and forecasting of solar and geophysical events, developing techniques for forecasting solar and geophysical disturbances. It offers materials for teachers and students as well as the latest space weather.
  • GOES offers satellite images of the United States with frequent updates. Loops are available for viewing current weather and are archived for 21 days.
• United States Department of Agriculture
  The USDA has maps for the contiguous U.S. showing the average dates of the first autumn freeze and the last spring freeze. It features wide-ranging information about El Niño, because of its effect on crops.
  • The National Arboretum features the USDA's Plant Hardiness Zone Map.
  • Joint Agricultural Weather Facility (JAWF) is jointly operated by the USDA and NOAA. JAWF publishes the Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin.
• National Aeronautical and Space Administration
  NASA works with other agencies and international partners to discover patterns in climate, which would allow weather prediction well in advance.
  • Global Hydrology and Climate Center studies the water cycles on Earth to obtain useful information for government, industry and the public.
  • Interactive Global Geostationary Weather Satellite Data gives thumbnail images of views from space. For children, there is an explanation of El Niño.
• Federal Emergency Management Agency
  This independent agency of the federal government works to reduce loss of life and property and to protect the nation's infrastructure from hazards, including severe weather.
  • Stormwatch gives weather outlooks and advice preparing for severe weather and cleaning up after it.
    
• Also, check out the list of government information products on
  Weather
  available from the U.S. G.P.O.

This Webliography was created by:
Anita Daniel, Montclair State University in cooperation with the Government Printing Office.