John D. Cox 
Storm Watchers 
The Turbulent History of Weather Prediction from Franklin’s Kite to El Niño

A lively, inspiring account of the pioneers who sought toaccurately predict the weather

Benjamin Franklin . . . James P. Espy . . . Cleveland Abbe . . .Carl-Gustaf Rossby . . . Jule G. Charney . . . just a few of theremarkable individuals who struggled against formidable odds tounderstand the atmosphere and predict the weather. Where they sawpatterns and processes, others saw randomness and tumult-and yetthey strove to make their voices heard, often saving lives in theprocess.

Storm Watchers takes you on a fascinating journey through time thatcaptures the evolution of weather forecasting. From the age whenmeteorology was considered one step removed from sorcery to themodern-day wizardry of supercomputers, John Cox introduces you tothe pioneering scientists whose work fulfilled an ancient dream andmade it possible to foretell the future. He tells the little-knownstories of these weathermen, such as Ptolemy’s weather predictionsbased on astrology, John Finley’s breakthrough research inidentifying tornadoes, and Tor Bergeron’s new techniques of weatherforecasting, which contributed to its final worldwideacceptance.

Filled with extraordinary tales of bravery and sacrifice, Storm Watchers will make you think twice the next time you turn on thelocal news to catch the weather report.

Tabela de Conteúdo

Introduction.

PART I: A Newborn Babe.

1. Benjamin Franklin: Chasing the Wind.

2. Luke Howard: Naming the Clouds.

3. James Glaisher: Taking to the Air.

PART II: American Storms.

4. William C. Redfield: Walking the Path of Destruction.

5. James P. Espy: ‘The Storm Breeder’.

6. Elias Loomis: Mapping the Storm.

7. Joseph Henry: Setting the Stage.

8. Matthew Fontaine Maury: A Storm of Controversy.

9. William Ferrel: A Shy Genius.

PART III: The Main Artery.

10. Robert Fitz Roy: Prophet Without Honor.

11. Urbain J. J. Le Verrier: Clouds over Crimea.

12. Cleveland Abbe: ‘Ol’ Probabilities’.

13. John P. Finley: Down Tornado Alley.

14. Mark W. Harrington: Civilian Casualty.

15. Isaac Monroe Cline: Taking Galveston by Storm.

16. Gilbert Walker: The Southern Oscillation.

17. C. Le Roy Meisinger: Death by Daring.

PART IV: Together at the Front.

18. Vilhelm Bjerknes: The Bergen Schoolmaster.

19. Lewis Fry Richardson: The Forecasting Factory.

20. Jacob Bjerknes: From Polar Front to El Ni?o.

21. Tor Bergeron: A Gifted Vision.

22. Carl-Gustaf Rossby: Conquering the Weather Bureau.

23. Sverre Petterssen: Forecasting for D-Day.

PART V: Suddenly New Science.

24. Jule Gregory Charney: Mastering the Math.

25. Jerome Namias: The Long Ranger.

26. Edward N. Lorenz: Calculating Chaos.

27. Tetsuya Theodore Fujita: Divining the Downburst.

28. Ants Leetmaa: Out on a Limb.

Bibliography.

Index.

Sobre o autor

JOHN D. COX, a veteran science writer, is also the author of Weather for Dummies, which the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society called ‘extraordinary.’ His journalism experience includes work at the Sacramento Bee, Reuter Ltd., and United Press International. In 1995, Cox was awarded a Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he studied oceanography and atmospheric science.