Index
Page numbers in italic refer to the illustrations
Aberdeen 240–1
Aborigines 296
accessory clouds 96, 103
adders 286
advection fog 136–7, 139–41, 142
Africa 174, 190
agriculture see farming
air: foehn winds 103
and frost formation 87–8
heat convection 17–19
humidity 35
latent heat 23–5
pollution in cities 265
thermals 18–20, 35–9, 69
visibility 142, 143
water content 21
see also atmosphere
air masses 42–4
humidity 43
and snow 128
wind direction 61–3
see also fronts
air pressure: and fungi spores 246
tree fans 11–12, 11, 216
see also high-pressure systems; low-pressure systems
aircraft: contrails 157–9
distrails 159–60
fallstreak holes 160
in thunderstorms 312
and turbulence 18
airlight 78
airports 108
Ajman, Emirate of 174
Alaska 333
alder trees 213
algae 111, 217
Algeria 180
Alps 15, 17, 64, 103, 166, 189, 206, 221
altitude: effects of 8
and snow 128
summit winds 197
temperatures and 303–4
trees and 218–19
altocumulus clouds 160, 161–2, 309
altrostratus clouds 40–1, 49, 51, 55
American Medical Association 199
anabatic winds 205
Anagallis arvensis 231–2
Andes 103, 151–2
animals 285–301
dependable signs 287–90
and snow line 133
tracks 80–1, 95, 113
warning of rain 285–6, 289–91
in woodlands 209
see also individual species
annuals 238–9
Antarctica 36, 61, 132
Antares 328
anthocyanins 228–9
ants 17, 295–7
anvil crawlers 317
anvils, storm clouds 304, 306, 310–11, 320
aphids 59
Apollonius of Rhodes 191, 205
apple trees 225
apples 229–30
Arabia 170–83, 235
Arabs 329
architecture 206, 267–9, 269
Arctic 61, 168, 268
‘Arctic sea smoke’ 142
arcus clouds 311–12
Argentina 150–2
Argonauts 191
Aristotle 205
Arnica montana 243
Arundel 138
ash trees 85, 227
Asia 174
aspect, and showers 107, 107
Asperitas cloud 306n.
Assyrians 333–4
Atacama desert 140, 204
Atlantic 5, 151, 186–7, 321, 322
Atlas mountains 234
atmosphere: boundary layer 167–8
glass ceiling 26, 33, 84, 121, 304, 306
stability 25, 35, 38
stratosphere 303–4
tropopause 303–4, 306
twinkling stars 326
weather lore 286–7
see also air
Australia 45, 174, 206, 296
Aztecs 333–4
Babylonians 333–4
backing wind 64, 67, 197
Bacon, Francis 63, 294
bacteria 199–200
badgers 112, 291
Baja California desert 140
ball lightning 317
balls, in humid air 271
Banff 250–2, 259
banner clouds 164, 166–7, 278
bark, trees 133, 217, 222
barley 249
barometers 46
bats 294
BBC Gardener’s Question Time 297
beaches 70, 124–5, 174
bears 250–2, 253–4, 259–60
Bedouin 181–2
beds, squeaking 270
beech trees 115, 218, 225, 240, 285
as compass 110–11
copper beeches 229
light and 112
rain and 213, 214, 215
sounds of 94, 227–8
bees 295, 299
beetles 295, 332
Belt of Venus 330
Białowieża Forest 133
Bible 63
Bindii flower 176
bindweed 236
birch trees 133, 213
birds 285
identifying 225, 226
and rain 94–5
and thermals 19, 265
tracks 80–1
and weather signs 290–4
and wind 269–70, 292–3, 301
Biscay, Bay of 189
black ice 83, 89
Black Pine 233
blackberries 228, 248–9
blackbirds 285
blanket clouds 169
blanket rain 97–100, 102, 104
blanket snow 128
blocking highs 9–10, 12
bluebells 241
boats: and hurricanes 321
lake breezes 204–5
long-distance sailing 186–7
windvanes 313–14
body temperature 17
Bora wind 206
Botswana 231, 291
boundary layer 167–8
bracken 93, 116, 238, 240
brain 112, 316
brambles 93, 116, 229
branches, and shelter from rain 214
breezes 59–60, 69
canopy breeze 114–15, 115
city breezes 266, 267
lake breezes 204–5
land breezes 202, 203
mountain breezes 204
sea breezes 198–202, 201
and smoke 119
tree fans 11, 11
valley breezes 203–4
in woodlands 114–15, 115
Breva wind 205
bridges, and snow 129–30
Brittany 267–8
broadleaf trees 212, 213, 218, 221, 223, 225
Buenos Aires 150–1
buildings: shaped by weather 267–9, 269
solar heating 265–6
splitting weather 267
urban-canyon effect 263–5
and wind 272–4, 273
bulbs 239
buttercups 133, 236
butterflies 234, 240, 295, 297–8, 299
‘butterfly effect’ 194
Buy’s Ballot’s Law 207
buzzards 265, 301
Cairn Gorm 197
calendar, lunar 329
Calgary 252
Calhoun, Tennessee 134–5
Calidas, Tamsin 332–3
California 190, 198, 235
‘call-boys’ 143
‘calm before a storm’ 315
Cambridge Botanic Garden 302
camels 174, 177, 181, 183
Canada 174, 250–60, 298–9
Canary Islands 7, 187
canopies, trees 212–13
canopy breeze 114–15, 115
capping inversion 168
car crashes 134–5
car exhausts 265, 265
Caribbean 187, 321, 323
Carline thistles 236
Carrizo Plain grasslands 235
cats 286
cedar trees 177, 214, 225
celandine, lesser 241
Central Forecasting Station, Dunstable 4
Central Park, New York 262
Cevennes 189
chaffinches 291
chairs, squeaking 270
chalk 93
Channel Islands 140
channel winds 190–1, 204, 263
chaos theory 194
cherry trees 332
chestnut trees 213, 228
Chichester 265
Chile 150–1, 204, 206
Chilterns 88
China 333–4
chinook wind 103, 299
cirrocumulus clouds 161–2
cirrostratus clouds 40, 49, 50, 55, 157, 329
cirrus clouds 32, 33, 34, 39, 57
above nimbostratus 157
cirrus commas 147–9, 149, 154
cold front cirrus 155–6
cross-hatching 155
cross-winds rule 208
fallstreaks 148–9, 149, 150
formation of 155–6
fronts 49, 50
jet stream ropes 153–4, 157
mares’ tails 150, 157
signs in 147–57
speed 154
‘tall tell’ 156–7
cities and towns 261–74
breezes 202, 266, 267
buildings 267–70
clouds and 146
fog 136
heat islands 265–6, 267
population 270
showers 106–7, 107
splitting weather 266–7
urban-canyon effect 263–5
weather lore 270–1
winds 70, 271–4, 273
Claridge, John 324–5
cliffs 107–9, 191, 195, 282–3, 292
clouds: bases 30, 31, 35, 96, 111, 280–1
boundary layer of atmosphere 168
cloud families 31–3, 34, 40–1
cloud streets 162–3
colours 27–8, 280–1
contrails 157–9
cross-winds rule 207, 208
distrails 159–60
formation of 21, 24–5, 38–9, 96, 104
and fronts 48–9, 50–5
gaps between 28
glass ceiling 26, 33, 304, 306
hail 123–6
and humidity of atmosphere 35
lightning 316
mackerel skies 160–2
moving in differing directions 66–7, 67
over islands 278–82
rain 96, 97–9, 101–2, 105
sea breeze heads 201–2
Seven Golden Patterns 28–31
shapes 25, 27–30
signs in 145–69
snow 126
and stability of atmosphere 25, 35
and time of day 37–8
trains of clouds 280
virga 97, 103
weather forecasting 27, 29–31
see also individual types of cloud
clover 236
coasts 275–84
beaches 70, 124–5, 174
microclimates 284
monsoon 277–8
and rain 107–9
winds 282–3
see also islands; seas and oceans
cock’s-foot grass 237
cold fronts 46, 47, 48–9, 52–4, 143, 155–6, 309
Colorado 92–3
colours: clouds 27–8, 280–1
in dewdrops 76
Earth’s shadow 330
hail 124
haze 142
lightning 319
red 228–30
sky 54–5
trees 111
commas, cirrus 147–9, 149, 150, 154
Como, Lake 205
compasses 71
termite mounds as 296
see also navigation
computers, weather forecasts 5–7
condensation 21–2, 25, 74–5, 96, 271
conduction, heat 16–17
conifers 225
and altitude 218, 253
flagging 221
rain and 93, 94, 213, 214
temperatures 211
as weather indicator 212
wind bulge 216, 223
coning smoke 119, 120
continental weather 44
contrails 157–9
convection 17–20, 69
coral 275
Coriolis effect 61, 202, 323
cornel, dwarf 240
Cornus suecica 240
Cornwall 241
County Mayo 5
Covid-19 pandemic 182n., 270n., 331
cows 286
crickets 295
crocuses 236
crops see farming
cross-hatching 155
cross-winds rule 206–8
crows 95, 285, 293, 301
Cumbria 103
cumulonimbus clouds (storm clouds) 41, 303, 304–7, 310–12
cold front cirrus 155–6
distance away 304, 305
energy 315
formation of 304, 306, 307, 310
and fronts 49
hail 123–6
life cycle 305–7
movement 304–5, 305, 315
rain 105, 307, 308
shapes 306, 310–11
snow 127
tops and bottoms 310–12, 315
tornadoes 319–20
up- and downdraughts 310, 311, 312, 315, 320
cumulus clouds 33–9, 34, 36, 44, 56
bases 96, 168
cloud streets 162–3
in deserts 177–8, 178, 180
formation of 33
and fronts 50, 50, 53
and gusts 69
island clouds 278, 279
land breezes 202, 203
over towns 266
rain 96, 97–8, 100, 102, 105, 108
rotor clouds 166
and sea breezes 201–2
snow 126
and towns 146
valley breezes 204
winter sea cumulus 283–4
currents, oceans 45, 140, 151
cyclones 320
daisies 236
Dallas Fort Worth airport 312
Dalmatia 206
dandelions 234, 236, 241
Dartmoor 232–3
Darwin, Charles 18
Datoo wind 206
dead-reckoning, navigation 151, 152
deciduous trees 93, 211, 218
deer 97, 110, 113, 115–17, 121, 287
Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre, East Leake 145–6
Delta Airlines 312
dendrites, snowflakes 127
Denmark 332
Denver, Colorado 43
depressions 46
deserts 170–83
flash floods 180, 181
‘fog deserts’ 140
plants 80, 175–6, 235
rain 172, 175–83, 235
scents 117–18
winds 182
dew 74–6, 78–82, 87
colours 76
dew point 21–2, 25, 38, 74–5, 96
dew ponds 80
and fog 137
formation of 75
Gideon’s fleece 79–80
halos 76–7
hoar frost 82
and temperatures 74–6
tracks in 80–2
in woodlands 211–12
diseases 331–2
distrails 159–60
dogs 117–18, 119, 121, 287
donkeys 290
Douglas Fir 194, 211, 214
Dove, Heinrich 65
dragonflies 19, 59, 298, 299
drifts, snow 130–1, 131, 132
drizzle 97, 105
drought 62, 217, 238
Drury, Bob 37
Dubai 172, 173–4
dunes 130–1, 174, 177
Earth: Coriolis effect 61, 202, 323
shadow 330
earthquakes 177
earthworms 290
Eberhardt, Isabelle 180
eddies 193–5, 222, 223, 265, 283
Edinburgh 45
Edith’s Checkerspot butterfly 234
Egypt 333–4
El Ain, Emirate of 175
El Niño 45
elfin wood 219
elk 254–5
Empire State Building, New York 318
Empty Quarter, Arabia 181
energy: and change of state 23–4
cumulonimbus clouds 315
epiphytes 217, 222
erosion, hoodoos 252
Everest, Mount 167, 304
evergreens 239
eyebrow clouds 280
eyesight 288
Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel 259
fallow deer 98, 110, 115–16
fallstreak holes 160
fallstreaks 148–9, 149, 150
fanning smoke 119, 120, 121
farming: crop circles 222
crop damage 222
rain and 231, 249
waves in crops 249
wind damage 222
fences, snow drifts 131, 131, 174
ferns 116
fir trees 194, 211, 214, 225
fires 104
fish 147
FitzRoy, Robert 4, 64
flag clouds 278
flagging, trees 220–1, 284
flags 269
flash floods 180, 181, 291
floodplains, and fog 138
floods 180, 181, 291, 302
Florida 232, 233, 333
flowers: on ant mounds 297
in deserts 175–6, 235
predicting rain 231–2
scents 236
and sun 233–4
superblooms 235
and weather changes 236
foehn winds 103–4, 299
fog 22, 134–43
advection fog 136–7, 139–41, 142
car crashes in 134–5
fog banks 138, 140
‘fog deserts’ 140
‘fog drip’ 140
formation of 21, 75, 136, 137
haze 142
and lichens 247
radiation fog 136–9, 143
and sea breezes 202
steam fog 141–2
trees and 141
upslope fog 141
and visibility 136
as weather forecast 138
forecasts see weather forecasts
forests see woodlands and forests
fossils 96
foxes 22, 291
foxgloves 244
France 189, 206, 221, 267–8
Fremantle Doctor 206
frogs 290
fronts 46–55, 48–9
cirrocumulus clouds 161
cities and 266
cold front cirrus 155–6
cold fronts 46, 47, 48–9, 52–4, 143, 155–6, 309
cross-winds rule 207
and snow 129
thunderstorms 309
and visibility 142–4
warm fronts 46, 47, 48–9, 50–2, 155, 158, 159
frost 82–91
‘frost bounce’ 87
frost lines 238, 240
frost pockets (hollows) 87–90, 89, 139, 224, 240
and height 86
hoar frost 82, 83–90, 309–10
and landscape 87–90, 89
mountain breezes 204
rime ice 82–3
thawing 90–1
twinkling stars and 326
in woodlands 211–12
fruit trees 84
fruits: blackberries 248–9
colours 229–30
Fujairah, Emirate of 172
fumigating smoke 120, 121
fungi 214, 245–6
funnels, storm clouds 311, 320
gales 5, 196, 221, 222
gap winds 186–90, 188, 263–4
Garda, Lake 204, 205
Geminid meteor showers 327
gentians 236
George II, King 308
germ-warfare tests 199–200
Germany 219
ghibli wind 103
Gibbs, Peter 297
Gibraltar 190, 206
Gideon’s fleece 78–80, 89
Gilbert Islands 328
glacier buttercup 133
glaciers 132
glass ceiling 26, 33, 84, 121, 304, 306
glazed ice 83, 89
granite 93
grapes 228, 234
grasses 129, 236–7, 241, 242, 244
grasshoppers 242
grasslands 8, 37, 86
Great Plains 305n., 306n., 319
Greece 92, 191, 205
Grimble, Arthur 328
ground winds 57–8, 68
grouse 133
Gulf Stream 140
gulls 293, 332
haar 140
Haggard, William H. 200
hail 123–6, 157
Hales, Dr 85–6
Halnaker Windmill, Sussex 109, 282
halos 40, 50, 76–7, 329
Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome 332
hardiness, plants 239–40
Hardy, Thomas 206–7, 224–5, 288
hares 133
hart’s tongue fern 116
harvest bugs 300
Havaiki 276
Hawaii 205
hawthorn trees 213, 220, 241
Hayling Island 104
haze 142
Heart Eddies 222, 223
heart rate, wind and 333
heat: and cloud formation 24–5, 39
conduction 16–17, 79–80
convection 17–20, 69
and fog 137
heat islands 265–6, 267
heatwaves 302–3, 308
hoar frost 84
latent heat 23–5
ocean currents 45
sun pockets 13–15, 15
thermals 35–9, 69
and wind direction 61
see also temperatures
‘heat lightning’ 317
heath rush 242
heather 8, 238, 240
heathland 8, 16, 86
heatwaves 9–10, 143
Hebrides 332–3
hedges: shelter belts 222
snow drifts 131, 174
and winds 73, 73, 292–3, 293
heiligenschein 76–7
helm wind 103
herd animals 289
herons 80–1
high-pressure systems 43, 44
blocking highs 9–10, 12
cross-winds rule 207
fog 137
hoar frost 84
local winds 205
sea breezes 200
and snow 129
wind direction and 61–2
hills: and cloud-base colours 281
foehn winds 103
and frost 87–8, 89
and rain 100–1, 102–3
split winds 192, 193
summit winds 197
see also mountains
Himalayan Balsam 239
hoar frost 82, 83–90, 309–10
Hodgkinson, W. P. 83
holly oak 212
holm oak 212
Homer 191, 207
honeyeater bird 291
hoodoos 252, 255–6, 255
horses 209, 287, 288–9
House of Wild Truth 112, 113–14
houses, and winds 195, 206
humans, scent 116–18, 119, 121, 253
humidity: air masses 43
and clouds 35
‘humid blanket’ 25
lichens and 247–8
and scents 235–6
signs of 270–1
and snowflakes 127
summer storms 308
winds and 59–60
woodland hygrometers 216–18
Hunt, Nick 189
hurricanes 320–3, 322
Hyderabad 268
hygrometers, woodland 216–18
ice: anatomy of raindrops 105
cirrostratus clouds 40
cirrus clouds 148, 155–6
cumulonimbus clouds 306
energy 23
fallstreak holes 160
fallstreaks 148–9, 149
frost 82–91
glaciers 132
glazed ice 83, 89
hail 123–4
on ponds 133
rime ice 82–3
snowflakes 126–7
virga 97, 103
Iceland 205, 220
Inca 333–4
India 62, 268, 317, 321
Indian Ocean 62, 277–8, 329
indigenous wisdom 172–3, 183
indigo, wild 236
infrared energy 16
insects 59, 147, 209, 249, 285, 295–300
International Cloud Atlas 31
Inverness 84–5, 88
inversion, temperature 26, 50, 84, 119–21, 142, 168, 198
Ireland 5, 151, 249
islands 7, 44
clouds 278–82
frost 88
gap winds 187
Pacific Ocean navigation 185
split winds 191–2
temperatures 45
Isle of Wight 104, 282, 313
isophenes 241
Italy 206
ivy 94, 133, 227
jackdaws 294
Japan 140, 141, 225, 249
Jason 191
Jebel Hafeet 173
Jefferies, Richard 28, 248, 293, 300
jet stream 150–5, 157
jigsaws 225–6
jizz, identifying trees 225
Juncus effusus 235
juniper 8, 213, 214
Jura mountains 7–8
kampf zone 218
Kapalilua wind 205
katabatic winds 205, 220, 221, 313
Kazakhstan 229
kestrels 292
Kiribati 275
Kiruna 268
kite, red 291
Kootenai Plains 299
krummholz 218
Kuroshio current 140
Labrador current 140
Lake District 42
lakes: and fog 138, 142
ice on 133
lake breezes 204–5
laminar flow 68
land: and cirrus clouds 147–8, 150
effects on winds 73
and frost 87–90, 89
ground winds 57–8
heat from the sun 18
land breezes 202, 203
local winds 184–98, 188, 193, 196, 203–8
radiation fog 136–9
and rain 93, 100–3, 104, 109
sea breezes 200–1, 201
shaping weather 6–9
temperatures 44
and weather forecasting 6–7
landspouts 320
Lanzarote 187
Lapland 132
larch trees 213, 214
latent heat 23–5
Latin America 248–9
leaves: animal tracks 113
and drought 217
microclimates 242–4, 244
and rain 93–5, 213
red colours 228–9
shapes 244
size of 243
sounds of trees 225
texture 244
and wind 59, 223–4
Lee, Simon 291
lens clouds 163–5, 164, 198, 278
levant wind 64, 185
Levanter wind 185
Libya 103
lichens 80, 111, 133, 217, 222, 227, 246–8
light: brightness 77–8
butterflies and 298
from stars 326
and frost 91
fungi and 245
halos 76–7
red colours 228–30
lightning 125, 180, 303, 315–19
Liu Chi 225
local winds 184–208, 188, 193, 201
lofting smoke 120, 121
London 268, 308
looping smoke 119, 120, 121
Loughborough 146
Love Lakes, Dubai 174
low-pressure systems 46, 48–9
cirrus clouds and 150, 155
cross-winds rule 207–8
hurricanes 321
jet stream and 153
wind direction and 61–2, 67
lunar calendar 329
mackerel skies 160–2
Maldives 276–7
Malus sieversii 229
mamma, storm clouds 311, 320
Manhattan 261–3, 269, 271–2
mares’ tails 150, 157
marigolds 236
Massenerhebung effect 219
matgrass 237, 237
Matterhorn 167
Maya 333–4
Mediterranean 64, 185, 189
Melanesia 275
Mendip Hills 101
metal, heat conduction 16–17
meteorological instruments 90
meteors 326–7
Mexico 231
Miami 105, 233
micro-seasons 241
microclimates 7–9
coastal 284
leaves 242–4, 244
snow 132
trees 210, 229
woodlands 224
Micronesia 27, 275
microplastics, in rain 93
Middle East 268
midges 295, 299
Milky Way 327
mist 26, 136, 324–5
see also fog
mistral 189
Molière 206
Monroe, Marilyn 263
Monroe Effect 263, 272
monsoon 62, 277–8
Montana 104
moon: full moon 77, 175
halos 40, 50, 329
weather lore 324–5
moschatel 241–2
Moscow 45
mosquitoes 299
mosses 133, 214, 215, 217, 224, 247, 248
mountains 7–8
banner clouds 164, 166–7
birds and 292–3
cirrus clouds 148
foehn winds 103–4
fog 141
gap winds 189–90
land breezes 202
lens clouds 163–5, 164, 198
mountain breezes 204
mountain wave winds 163, 164, 198
plants 242
rain 102, 103
rain in deserts 178–83
rotor clouds 164, 165–6
rotor winds 166, 195–6, 283
size of leaves 243
snow 128, 132
summit winds 197
temperatures 303–4
tree line 219, 242
wind eddies 195
mud, marks of rain 95
Munster, George FitzClarence, Earl of 278
Museum of Modern Art, New York 171
mushrooms see fungi
Muslims 329
Namib desert 140
Nardus stricta 237, 237
Navajo people 331–2
navigation 186
clouds and 27, 149, 281–2
dead-reckoning 151, 152
Pacific Islanders 184–5
plants and 116, 233–4, 237, 237
trees and wind direction 220–2
in woodlands 110–12
needles, conifers 213–15
needles, snowflakes 127
Ness, river 84
Netherlands 247
Nevin, Edward 199–200
New York 261–3, 269, 271–2
Newfoundland 140
Nietzsche, Friedrich 257
Nikunau 275
nimbostratus clouds 41, 49, 51, 157
nitrogen 222
North America 54, 103, 234
Norway Spruce 215
Nova Scotia 284
oak trees 7, 11, 212–15, 218, 225
oases 173, 176
occluded fronts 54
oceans see seas and oceans
Okavango Delta 231
Oman 173, 175
Ora wind 204
orchids 244
Orion constellation 327, 328
overpasses, and snow 129–30
owls 294
Oyashi current 140
Pacific Islands 27, 184–5, 275–6, 279–82, 296, 326, 328
palm trees 212, 232, 249
Palmdale mountain wave 198
pannus clouds 96, 103
Papua New Guinea 43, 90, 231, 291
Park, Sooyong 332
Parmelia olivacea 133
patterns 171–2
pavements, and snow 130
Peak District 302
peat bogs 86
pebbles, in riverbed 258
Pelèr wind 204
peninsulas 195, 202, 283
Pennines 103, 190–1
Pennsylvania 81–2, 292–3
pennycress, Alpine 7
perennials 238–9
Peru 45
petrichor 93
Petworth Park, West Sussex 297
pheasants 292
phenology 240–2
Phoenicians 333–4
photosynthesis 245
pigeons 94–5, 293
pigs 17, 287
pile d’assiettes 165
pileus, storm clouds 310
pimpernel, scarlet 231–2
pine nuts 332
pine trees 8, 202, 232, 233
cones 218
and dew 80
rain and 213, 214
and snow 132
sounds 225, 228, 253
temperature differences 213
Pinney, Gavin Pretor 306n.
plane trees 220
planetary boundary layer 167–8
plants 231–44
annuals and perennials 238–9
in deserts 175–6, 235
and dew 80
and frost 90
hardiness 239–40
and navigation 233–4, 237, 237
phenology 240–2
and rain 231–2, 235–6
salt and 284
and snow 132, 133
superblooms 235
and temperatures 241–2
see also flowers, leaves, trees and individual species
Pleiades constellation 328
plums 228
poker tells 156
Poland 133
polar air 43
polar jet 152
pollination, blackberries 249
Pollock, Jackson 171
pollution, microplastics 93
Pollution Effect 264, 265
Polynesia 275, 282
ponds 133, 142, 185
pooling smoke 120, 121
poplar trees 214, 222, 228
prey animals 288–9
puddles 8, 16, 56–7, 93
puffballs 245
Quercus ilex 212
rabbits 22, 287
radar, weather 101
radiation 16
radiation fog 136–9, 143
ragwort 20
railways 138
rain 92–109
anatomy of raindrops 105–6
animals warn of 285–6, 289–91
blanket rain 97–100, 102, 104
clouds 96, 97–9, 101–2, 105
in deserts 172, 175–83, 235
differences between land and sea 104
drizzle 97, 105
flash floods 180, 181, 291
and fog 137
forecasting 6, 30–1, 96
formation of 105
fronts 46–52, 48–9
landscape and 100–3, 109
and meteors 326–7
monsoon 62, 277–8
nimbostratus clouds 41, 157
plants and 231–2, 235–6
and puffball spores 245
rain ghosts 97
rain shadows 103
rainbirds 94–5
relief rain 100–3
seasonal differences 104–5
shelter under trees 212–15
size of raindrops 106
sounds of 93–4
speed of raindrops 106, 126
storm clouds 105, 307, 308
taste 92–3
virga 97, 103
and visibility 143
woodlands 7
see also showers
rainbows 76, 334
Ramadan 170, 175
Ras Al Khaimah 179
rebel dunes 131, 131, 174
rebel winds 193–6, 196, 222
red: skies 54–5, 181
trees and fruits 228–30
Red Sea 278
reed beds 86
Regent’s Park, London 220
relief rain 100–3
Rhyder, John 110–22
Rickmansworth 88
ridges, summit winds 197
rime ice 82–3
ripples, in ponds 185
Rise of Northwood 71–3
rivers: and fog 138, 142
and frost 88
pebbles in riverbed 258
and snow 129–30
roads: black ice 83
fog 134–5
and snow 130
rocks: heat conduction 17
hoodoos 252, 255–6, 255
patterns in 171–2
and snow 133
sounds of rain 93
Rocky Mountains 92–3, 103, 253, 254, 298–9
roofs: sun pockets 15
and weather 268–9, 269
and winds 273–4
rooks 287
rotor clouds 164, 165–6
rotor winds 166, 195–6, 283
Royal Horticultural Society 239
Royal Navy 4
Royal Society 4
Rubus glaucus 248–9
Rundle, Mount 256–7
rush, soft 235
Russia 332
safety, lightning 317–18
Sahara 180
sailing see boats
salt 222, 247, 271, 284, 334
San Bernardino mountains 190
San Francisco 199–200
San Gabriel mountains 190
sand: airborne particles 70
dunes 130–1, 177
heat conduction 17, 37
marks of rain 95
windbreaks 174
sand spurrey, red 236
sandflies 299
Santa Ana winds 190
Santiago 150–1, 152
saturation 20–2
Scandinavia 254
scarps 195
scents: of humans 116–18, 121, 253
humidity and 235–6
land breezes 202
of predators 288–9
scent-tracking dogs 117–18, 119, 121
of smoke 118
Schäffer, Mary 298–9
Scorpion constellation 328
Scotch mist 97
Scotland 77, 84–5, 100, 196, 197, 295
Scots Pine trees 213, 214, 233
search-and-rescue dogs 117–18, 119, 121
seas and oceans: advection fog 136–7, 139–41
channel winds 191
currents 45, 140, 151
land breezes 202, 203
local winds 198–202
navigation 151, 184–5
rain 104
sea breezes 198–202, 201
and seasons 277–8
steam fog 141–2
temperatures 44–5
water vapour 43
winter sea cumulus 283–4
Seasonal Affective Disorder 333
seasons: and climate 232–3
and fog 139
gap winds 189
micro-seasons 241
phenology 240–2
rain 104–5
seas and 277–8
snow 128
stars and 328–9
storms 308–9
Seattle 105
seaweed 284
seeds 19–20, 59, 223, 231
Serratia marcescens 199–200
The Seven Year Itch (film) 263
shadows: Earth’s 330
halos 76–7
snow shadow patterns 259, 260
Sharjah desert 170–83
sheep 80, 288, 289, 332
sheet lightning 317
shelf clouds 311–12
shelter belts 222
Shepherd, Nan 332
showers 97–100, 106–9, 108
after heatwaves 143
aspect and 107
cliff showers 107–9
forecasting 6
on hills 102–3
plants and 235–6
seasonal differences 104
secondary showers 94–5
snow showers 126, 127, 128
towns and 106–7, 107
woodlands and 106, 107
Shrewsbury Museum 96
Siberia 332
Sierra Nevada 103
Silene 236
singing, to deter bears 254
‘six degrees of separation’ 172–3
sky: colours 54–5
see also air; atmosphere
Slocum, Joshua 219–20
slugs 288, 289–90, 297
smoke 118, 119–21, 120, 194
snow 126–33, 257–8
animal tracks 80
drifts 130–1, 131, 132
falling from blue sky 126
forecasting 128
katabatic winds 205
in mountains 132
seasons 128
settlement patterns 129–32, 131
shadow patterns 259, 260
snow line 132–3
snowflakes 126–7, 130
temperatures 128, 129
and wind 130–2, 131
windbreaks 174
in woodlands 224
snowdrops 241
soil 17, 79, 129
Solent 282
sorrel, wood 236
sounds: bird calls 291–2, 294
thunder 315–16
of trees 224–8, 253
South America 248–9
South Downs 3, 80, 110–22, 281
Spain 163, 190, 232
spiders 18–19, 59, 182–3
spiders’ webs 76, 287–8
split winds 191–2, 193
spores, fungi 245, 246
spring flowers 241–2
spruce trees 194, 213, 214, 215, 225, 301
stability 22–3, 25, 35, 38
staking trees 71
Stanford University Hospital 199–200
Star Dust (airliner) 150–2
stars: brightness 327
navigation by 181, 182
and seasons 328–9
twinkling 326
steam 21–2, 24, 84, 262–3, 262
steam fog 141–2
stone, heat conduction 270–1
storm bugs 300
storm clouds see cumulonimbus clouds
storms 302–23
birds warn of 291
‘calm before a storm’ 315
cold fronts 53
hail 124–5
hurricanes 320–3, 322
lightning 315–19
storm systems 319
in summer 308
tornadoes 311, 319–20, 323
trees and 221
warning signs 309
in winter 308–9
see also cumulonimbus clouds; thunderstorms
Strabo 189
stratocumulus clouds 169
stratosphere 303–4
stratus clouds 32, 33, 34, 39, 97–8, 101–2, 105, 126, 146
streets, Venturi Effect 264
sublimation, snow 259
subtropical jet 152
summit winds 197
sun: and blackberries 248
and fog 138–9
halos round 40, 50, 329
heat from 18
sun-loving plants 233–4
sun pockets 13–15, 15
sunrises and sunsets 161
see also light
superblooms, flowers 235
Sussex 71, 100, 104, 143, 174, 303
swallows 300
sweating 289
Sweden 268
swifts 59
Switzerland 7–8, 167
sword grass 231
sycamore trees 248
Tarifa 163, 190
tarmac, snow on 129
Teisserenc de Bort, Léon 303
tells, cirrus clouds 156–7
temperatures: air masses 43, 44
and altitude 303–4
and civilisations 333–4
condensation 96
in deserts 173
dew 74–6, 78–9
dew point 21–2, 25, 38, 74–5
and fog 139
and fronts 47
frost 86–8, 139
and fungi 246
insects and 295
land and 44
lightning 315–16
plants and 241–2
seas 44–5
snow 126–7, 128, 129
sun pockets 14–15, 15
temperature inversions 26, 50, 84, 119–21, 142, 168, 198
temperature swings 104
water 23–4
in woodlands 210–11
see also heat
termites 296
Theophrastus of Eresos 60–1, 92, 138, 188, 193, 205
thermals 18–20, 35–9, 69, 200–1, 265, 280, 291
thistles 223, 236
Thompson, Hannah 71–2
thrips 300
thunder 316
thunderstorms 143, 157
causes 24, 25, 41, 303
hail 124
hills and 102
lightning 125, 180, 303, 315–19
movement 313–15
thrips and 300
warning signs 309
winds 312–15
Tierra del Fuego 220
tiger, Siberian 332
Tiger Beetles 332
Tivano wind 205
Tlaxcala 231
toads 287, 290
tornadoes 311, 319–20, 323
towns see cities and towns
tracks: animals 80–1, 95, 113
scent-tracking dogs 117–18, 119, 121
tramontane wind 64, 206
Travis, Merle 254
trees 209–30
channel winds 191
coastal microclimates 284
as compasses 111–12
in deserts 177, 180
and drought 217
flagging 220–1, 284
and fog 140, 141
Heart Eddies 222, 223
height 218
lichens 247
microclimates 210, 229
missing trees 218–20
and rain 93–5
rebel winds 194, 196, 196
red colours 228–9
scents 202
shelter from rain 212–15
and snow 132–4
sounds of 224–8, 253
storm damage 221
tree blanket 210–12
tree line 219, 242
wind bulge 215, 216, 223
and winds 11–12, 11, 71–3, 72, 220–2
see also woodlands and individual species
Tribulus terrestris 176
tropics: air masses 43
clouds 36
elfin wood 218–19
hurricanes 320
rainy season 105
snow 132
stars and seasons 329
tree line 219
tropopause 303–4, 306
tuba, storm clouds 311, 320
tulips 236, 239
turbulence 68–70, 164, 165–6, 167, 193–5, 282–3
Turner, J. M. W. 226
TV weather forecasts 5–6
twinkling 326
typhoons 320
umbrella trees 212–15
United Arab Emirates 170–83
United Nations 31
United States of America 62–3, 174, 261–3
disease and weather 331–2
fog 134–5, 140
germ-warfare tests 199–200
hurricanes 323
microplastic pollution in rain 92–3
snow 129
temperatures 104
tornadoes 311, 319
winds 263, 271–2
upslope fog 141
urban-canyon effect 263–5
urban heat islands 107
valleys: channel winds 190–1, 204
fog 138–9
and frost 87–90, 89, 91
snow 132
valley breezes 203–4
veering wind 64, 197
Venturi Effect 264
Venus 330
vineyards 334
Virazon wind 205–6
virga 97, 103
Virgil 285–6
visibility 136, 142–3
volcanic islands 276, 278–9
vortices 159, 166, 193, 272, 319
‘Walkie-Talkie’ building, London 268
walking speed, and wind 333
warm fronts 46, 47, 48–9, 50–2, 155, 158, 159
warm sector 48–9, 52
Washington, George 62–3
water: in deserts 173–4
dew 74–6, 78–82
drought 62, 217, 238
hail 123–4
harvested by lichens 246
heat conduction 17
latent heat 23–5
rainbows 76
temperatures 23–4
waves 164–5
see also ice; oceans and seas; rain
water vapour: condensation 21–2, 25, 74–5, 96, 271
contrails 157–9
dew point 96
energy 23
fog 136, 137–8
frost 82
source of 43
waterspouts 320
waves 164–5, 185
Weald and Downland outdoor museum 45–6
weather forecasts 4–9
accuracy 4, 5
by clouds 27, 29–31
computers 5–7
fallstreaks and 150
fog as 138
fronts 46
Pacific Islands 275–6
rain 96
snow 128
weather radar 101
Wesley, Charles 53
Whaley Bridge 302
wheat 249
White, Gilbert 18, 85–6
Wigman, Luke 145–6
wildfires 104
williwaw wind 220
willow trees 58, 133, 213, 214, 234
winds 56–73
air masses and 44
animals and 288–9
backing and veering 64, 67, 197
birds and 292–3, 301
blackberries and 248–9
and buildings 272–4, 273
changes with height 67, 67
channel winds 190–1, 204, 263
in cities 267, 269–70, 271–4, 273
and cliffs 107–9
coastline winds 282–3
crop waves 249
and cross-hatching 155
cross-winds rule 206–8
in deserts 182
direction 10, 57, 60–6
eddies 193–5, 222, 223, 265, 283
effects of landscape 73
foehn winds 103–4, 299
and fronts 51, 52, 54
gales 196, 221, 222
gap winds 186–90, 188, 263–4
gender differences and 333
and grasses 236–7
ground winds 57–8, 68
gusts 68–70, 283
and hedges 292–3, 293
high-pressure systems 10
and humidity 59–60
hurricanes 320–3, 322
insects and 298–300
jet stream 150–5, 157
laminar flow 68
and lichens 247
local winds 184–208, 188, 193, 201
main winds 57
Monroe Effect 263, 272
monsoon 277–8
mountain waves 163, 164, 198
named winds 205–6
picking up particles 69–70
rebel winds 193–6, 196, 222
rime ice 83
rotor winds 166, 195–6, 283
sailing boats 313–14
and smoke 119–21, 120
and snow 130–2, 131
sounds of 57–8, 224–8
split winds 191–2, 193
summit winds 197
thunderstorms 312–15
tornadoes 319–20
tree fans 11–12, 11, 216
and trees 71–3, 72, 219, 220–2
turbulence 68, 193–5
urban-canyon effect 263–5
Venturi Effect 264
and walking speed 333
wind bulge 215, 216, 223
wind dance 59
wind shear 150, 162
wind towers 268
windbreaks 174
in woodlands 111–12, 114–16, 115, 223–4
see also breezes
windsnap 221
windthrow 221
winter sea cumulus 283–4
wisdom, indigenous 172–3, 183
Wola people 43, 90, 231
wolf’s bane 243
Wolsieffer, Glen and Betty 81–2
women, and winds 333
wood, heat conduction 16–17
wood anemone 236
woodlands and forests: birds 291–2
cloud formation 36–7, 36
and fog 140–1
forest floor 215
insects 209
microclimates 224
and rain 7, 94, 106, 107
red colours in 228–9
sounds in 94, 224–8
spring flowers 241–2
sun pockets 14–15, 15
tree blanket 210–12
wedge effect 222
and winds 71–3, 72, 111–12, 114–16, 115, 223–4
woodland hygrometers 216–18
see also trees
woodpeckers 95, 287, 294
wool, Gideon’s fleece 79–80
World Meteorological Organisation 31
‘X-ray fogs’ 143
yew trees 93, 114, 115
Yorkshire 291
Yorkshire Dales 190–1
yucca plant 231
zonda wind 103