Junior Cycle Geography CYCLONE How Weather Data Is Gathered and Broadcast
1. Weather satellites hosting various instruments orbit the earth, scanning the earth’s atmosphere, gathering data and forming images.
2. The data gathered by satellites, along with the data collected by weather stations, is measured and ‘read’ by experts working at Met Éireann, Ireland’s national meteorological service. They use this information to create weather maps and predict the weather.
3. The weather forecast is then broadcast by meteorologists (weather forecasters) from Met Éireann live on television and radio, published in newspapers, and made available in apps and online via sites such as Twitter.
Met Éireann, based in Dublin
What Data Is Gathered? Weather stations gather data on:
1 Atmospheric pressure 2 Temperature 3 Precipitation (e.g. rain, hail, sleet, snow) 4 Wind direction and speed 5 Humidity 6 Sunshine
We will look at how gathered data for each of these conditions is measured and read to forecast the weather.
Question Time
1. Name the five layers of the atmosphere. 2. Explain why weather forecasting is important. 3. Describe each stage involved in gathering data to create a weather forecast.