Customer Reviews

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Weather

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I've always been fascinated by weather and its changes. However, having spent my whole life on the West Coast (and almost all of it in California), I can't say I'm that much of a "weather expert." I remember living in San Diego in the late 1970s and having a weatherman describe a passing storm front as a series of "squall lines." I always wondered what exactly that meant. While this book may not define "squall lines" specifically, it does go a long way in explaining our weather. And after reading this book I still may not be a weather expert, but I'm definitely much more knowledgeable about it.

I like the Idiot books because they explain a subject in some depth without going overboard, but at the same time don't "dumb down" to the point of telling cutesy jokes to get a point across. This book is no exception. Taking on weather topics from wind and rain, how violent storms (thunderstorms, tornadoes and hurricanes) develop, how air pollution affects us, "global warming," even how a day to day forecast is put together and how to become a TV weatherman are done in a light but still informative style. There's also some excellent reference material (weather glossary, weather maps, etc.) at the back of the book too.

An excellent introductory book about weather and one that I can refer to time and time again.

This book was very interesting. It is great for people of all ages. It answers any question you ever had about the weather, and you don't even have to be a scientist to understand it! It would make a great gift too!

I had no idea Weather or Meteorology or Atmospheric Science would be so difficult but this has helped explain what I am watching and listening to with the "Teaching Company" lectures on "Meteorology: An Introduction to the Wonders of the Weather". I wanted a companion book but nothing can compare to the course with the graphics and charts on the lectures. I had the Dummies book on Weather but didn't like it in the least. Maybe it was outdated as I couldn't find most of the terminology Dr. Fovell used in the lectures. This is a better but still not as good as some CIG books and I have read most of them on all topics over the years.

I was looking for a book that would offer a detailed explanation of the science of weather in terms that even an idiot such as myself could understand. Then I found this 400-plus page book called The Complete Idiot's Guide to WEATHER! Just what the doctor ordered!

But here's the thing: Out of the 400-plus pages, only a mere 20 percent of them are dedicated to explaining the weather. The bulk of the book -- chapter after endless chapter -- is about global warming, climate changes, pollution, how to control pollution, ozone layer depletion, seasonal allergies and other health issues, political debates regarding weather, in-depth descriptions of a few hurricanes over the past few years, an entire chapter dedicated to El Nino, blah, blah, blah.

As for that tiny 1/5 of the book that deals with actually explaining the basics of weather? Don't waste your time with it. Most of it is filled with Dr. Mel Goldstein baby-talking his way around inconsequential pieces of information. Until, that is, he reaches a crucial and complicated point. Only then does he generally pare down his words into a couple of brief sentences (that tend not to make a lick of sense to the layman), whereas he should have dedicated an entire chapter to the topic! But there are always the helpful graphics to assist in understanding these issues, e.g. the stick figure (literally!) with a few arrows pointing to it. Examining that did me a world of good. Not.

To be honest, I ultimately became so annoyed and frustrated in dealing with it that tore this book in two and threw it away, namely to insure that no one else would have the misfortune of falling prey to its implied promises of explaining the weather to complete idiots.