Books and Podcasts

Books: club top picks 📚

Introductory Textbooks:

• Practical Meteorology (Stull): Free Access

This book is an algebra-based survey of atmospheric science. This book is designed for students and professionals who want to understand and apply basic meteorological concepts, but who do not need to derive equations. The equation and could serve the fields of Atmospheric Science, Meteorology, Environmental Science, Engineering, Air Quality, Climatology, and Geography. The text involve primarily algebra to allow the physical meaning of each term and allow students to plug in numbers to get usable answers. No previous knowledge of meteorology is needed although a background in basic algebra, trigonometry, and classical physics.

• Inness, P. (Peter M.) and Dorling, S. (Stephen R.) (2013) Operational weather forecasting. 1st ed. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd: online access available via OU Library

This book offers a complete primer, covering the end-to-end process of forecast production, and bringing together a description of all the relevant aspects together in a single volume; with plenty of explanation of some of the more complex issues and examples of current, state-of-the-art practices.

Popular Science:

• The Weather Experiment, Peter Moore: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/416583/the-weather-experiment-by-peter-moore/9780099581673

Meet Luke Howard, the first to classify the clouds, Francis Beaufort, quantifier of the winds, James Glaisher, explorer of the upper atmosphere by way of a hot air balloon, Samuel Morse, whose electric telegraph gave scientists the means by which to transmit weather warnings, and at the centre of it all Admiral Robert FitzRoy: master sailor, scientific pioneer and founder of the Met Office.

Peter Moore’s exhilarating account navigates treacherous seas, rough winds and uncovers the obsession that drove these men to great invention and greater understanding.

• The Cloudspotter’s Guide, Gavin-Pretor Pinney: https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/gavin-pretor-pinney/the-cloudspotters-guide/9780340895900/

“The Cloudspotter’s Guide was the book that set me on my current path 💙 It’s really fun to read, it introduces all the different types of clouds in a really engaging way through stories - it got me looking up at the sky to see what was there, and clouds are really beautiful when you notice them. It really enriched my life, it lifts your spirits to look up!” Sonia, Club Chair

• Not the End of the World, Hannah Ritchie: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/453652/not-the-end-of-the-world-by-ritchie-hannah/9781529931242

Podcasts 🎧

Here are some podcast series recommended by members - we keep up to date with the most recent episodes via our discord RSS feed:

• For The Love of Weather

• Watching Our Earth

• Beyond The Ice

• Into The Blue

• Rare Earth

• Zero

• PlanetGeo

Newsletters 📰

For weekly digests of climate news, The Conversation’s Imagine, Carbon Brief and the BBC’s Future Earth are good recommendations.