Meteorology

This section covers:

See also Climate change.

International standards and resources

The World Meteorological Organization is the United Nations’s authoritative voice on the state and behaviour of Earth’s atmosphere, its interaction with the oceans, the climate it produces and the resulting distribution of water resources.

Australian conventions and resources

The Bureau of Meteorology is Australia’s national weather, climate and water agency.

Terms to watch out for:

climate, weather

See all terms

Meteorological terms and phenomena

Use initial capitals for formal names of influences on climate:

El Niño     La Niña     El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO)     North Atlantic Oscillation     Subtropical Ridge (STR)     Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD)     Southern Annular Mode (SAM) [related to wind]     East Coast Low (ECL)     Madden–Julian Oscillation     East Australian Current     Intertropical Convergence Zone

When referring to El Niño and La Niña, be sure to include the diacritical tilde on the second n.

How to insert the ñ character:
In Windows, use Ctrl+Shift+~, followed by N (after releasing the other 3 keys); use Alt+0241 on the numerical keypad; or insert from the symbol set (special characters). On a Mac, use Option+N, followed by N (after releasing the other 2 keys).

Other weather terms and systems are in lower case:

low-pressure system     cold front     depression     trough

Use lower case when referring to meteorological phenomena:

aurora borealis     northern lights     aurora australis     southern lights     meteor shower     geomagnetic storm

Latin terms such as ‘aurora borealis’ and ‘aurora australis’ are not italicised.

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Clouds

International standards and resources

For a full listing of cloud types and nomenclature, see the World Meteorological Office (WMO) International cloud atlas.

Around 100 names can be applied to clouds. Cloud names are formed from Latin words; they are in roman and the first letter is capitalised:

Cumulonimbus

Clouds are named and classified under a 3-tier system of genera, species and varieties. Ten genera are recognised, based on the height above the ground at which they form and their basic appearance (cirrus/cirro – wispy; cumulus/cumulo – heaped up or puffy; nimbus/nimbo – rain bearing; stratus/strato – flat/layered and smooth):

  • high – Cirrus, Cirrocumulus, Cirrostratus
  • middle – Altocumulus, Altostratus, Nimbostratus
  • low – Stratocumulus, Stratus, Cumulus, Cumulonimbus.

The genera are subdivived into species, based on shape or internal structure (eg Altocumulus translucidus), and the species into varieties, based on arrangement and transparency of the cloud (eg Altocumulus lenticularis duplicatus).

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Winds

Tradewind names and other wind features are written in lower case:

southeasterly tradewinds     doldrums

Use initial capitals for the names of local winds:

Fremantle Doctor     Southerly Buster     Roaring Forties

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Storms

Australian conventions and resources

The names of tropical cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons are set by regional bodies of the WMO. In Australia, the list of names is maintained by the Bureau of Meteorology.

Cyclone names are selected alphabetically from the list maintained by the Bureau of Meteorology, and alternate between male and female names. The name for the first cyclone of the year is the next name on the list from the previous year (ie the list does not restart from ‘A’ each year). Use initial capitals for cyclone names:

Tropical Cyclone Larry     Hurricane Andrew

Refer to a named storm as it, not he or she.

Use lower case when referring to the strength of a storm, and put a nonbreaking space before the number:

a category 1 storm

How to insert a nonbreaking space:

Use Ctrl+Shift+Space (Windows), or Space+Option (Mac).

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