Weather by the Numbers: The Genesis of Modern Meteorology (Transformations: Studies in the History of Science and Technology)

The history of the growth and professionalization of American meteorology and its transformation into a physics- and mathematics-based scientific discipline.For much of the first half of the twentieth century, meteorology was more art than science, dependent on an individual forecaster's lifetime of local experience. In Weather by the Numbers, Kristine Harper tells the story of the transformation of meteorology from a “guessing science” into a sophisticated scientific discipline based on physics and mathematics. What made this possible was the development of the electronic digital computer; earlier attempts at numerical weather prediction had foundered on the human inability to solve nonlinear equations quickly enough for timely forecasting. After World War II, the combination of an expanded observation network developed for military purposes, newly trained meteorologists, savvy about math and physics, and the nascent digital computer created a new way of approaching atmospheric theory and weather forecasting.This transformation of a discipline, Harper writes, was the most important intellectual achievement of twentieth-century meteorology, and paved the way for the growth of computer-assisted modeling in all the sciences. For much of the first half of the twentieth century, meteorology was more art thanscience, dependent on an individual forecaster's lifetime of local experience. In Weatherby the Numbers , Kristine Harper tells the story of the transformation of meteorology froma "guessing science" into a sophisticated scientific discipline based on physics andmathematics. What made this possible was the development of the electronic digital computer; earlierattempts at numerical weather prediction had foundered on the human inability to solve nonlinearequations quickly enough for timely forecasting. After World War II, the combination of an expandedobservation network developed for military purposes, newly trained meteorologists, savvy about mathand physics, and the nascent digital computer created a new way of approaching atmospheric theoryand weather forecasting. This transformation of a discipline, Harper writes, was the most importantintellectual achievement of twentieth-century meteorology, and paved the way for the growth ofcomputer-assisted modeling in all the sciences. Acknowledgements......Page 8 Introduction......Page 14 1 A Stagnant Atmosphere: The Weather Services before World War II......Page 24 2 Toward a More Dynamic Atmosphere: Discipline Development in the Interwar Period (1919–1938)......Page 62 3 An Expanding Atmosphere: The War Years (1939–1945)......Page 82 4 Initial Atmospheric Conditions: Scientific Goals, Civilian Manpower, and Military Funding (1944–1948)......Page 104 5 An International Atmosphere: Carl-Gustav Rossby and the Scandinavian Connection (1948–1950)......Page 134 6 Creating a Realistic Atmosphere (1950–1952)......Page 164 7 A Changing Atmosphere: From Developmental to Operational Numerical Weather Prediction (1952–1955)......Page 200 8 A New Atmosphere......Page 238 Notes......Page 254 Bibliography......Page 292 Index......Page 312 A stagnant atmosphere : the weather services before World War II -- Toward a more dynamic atmosphere : discipline development in the interwar period (1919-1938) -- An expanding atmosphere : the war years (1939-1945) -- Initial atmospheric conditions : scientific goals, civilian manpower, and military funding (1944-1948) -- An international atmosphere : Carl-Gustav Rossby and the Scandinavian connection (1948-1950) -- Creating a realistic atmosphere (1950-1952) -- A changing atmosphere : from developmental to operational numerical weather prediction (1952-1955) -- A new atmosphere. - Includes bibliographical references (p. [279]-298) and index. - Formerly CIP