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Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmosphere, the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers to day-to-day temperature, precipitation, and other atmospheric conditions, whereas climate is the term for the averaging of atmospheric conditions over longer periods of time. When used without qualification, "weather" is generally understood to mean the weather of Earth.

Weather is driven by air pressure, temperature, and moisture differences between one place and another. These differences can occur due to the Sun's angle at any particular spot, which varies with latitude. The strong temperature contrast between polar and tropical air gives rise to the largest scale atmospheric circulations: the Hadley cell, the Ferrel cell, the polar cell, and the jet stream. Weather systems in the middle latitudes, such as extratropical cyclones, are caused by instabilities of the jet streamflow. Because Earth's axis is tilted relative to its orbital plane (called the ecliptic), sunlight is incident at different angles at different times of the year. On Earth's surface, temperatures usually range ±40 °C (−40 °F to 104 °F) annually. Over thousands of years, changes in Earth's orbit can affect the amount and distribution of solar energy received by Earth, thus influencing long-term climate and global climate change.

Surface temperature differences in turn cause pressure differences. Higher altitudes are cooler than lower altitudes, as most atmospheric heating is due to contact with the Earth's surface while radiative losses to space are mostly constant. Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a future time and a given location. Earth's weather system is a chaotic system; as a result, small changes to one part of the system can grow to have large effects on the system as a whole. Human attempts to control the weather have occurred throughout history, and there is evidence that human activities such as agriculture and industry have modified weather patterns.

Studying how the weather works on other planets has been helpful in understanding how weather works on Earth. A famous landmark in the Solar System, Jupiter's Great Red Spot, is an anticyclonic storm known to have existed for at least 300 years. However, the weather is not limited to planetary bodies. A star's corona is constantly being lost to space, creating what is essentially a very thin atmosphere throughout the Solar System. The movement of mass ejected from the Sun is known as the solar wind. (Full article...)

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The 1933 Atlantic hurricane season was the second most active Atlantic hurricane season on record, with 21 storms forming during that year in the northwest Atlantic Ocean. The season ran through the summer and the first half of fall in 1933, and was only surpassed in total number of tropical cyclones by the 2005 season, which had 28 storms. The 1933 season saw tropical activity before its start, and a tropical cyclone was active for all but 13 days from June 28 to October 7. Tropical cyclones that did not approach populated areas or shipping lanes, especially if they were relatively weak and of short duration, may have remained undetected. Because technologies such as satellite monitoring were not available until the 1960s, historical data on tropical cyclones from this period are often not reliable. Compensating for the lack of comprehensive observation, one hurricane researcher estimates the season produced 24 tropical cyclones.

Ten of the season's 21 storms attained hurricane status. Five of those were major hurricanes, with sustained winds of over 111 miles per hour (179 km/h); the strongest reached peak winds of 150 miles per hour (240 km/h) near the Bahamas in early October. The season produced several deadly storms, with eight storms killing more than 20 people. All but one of the 21 known storms affected land at some point during their lifetimes.

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Did you know (auto-generated) - show different entries

... that Japanese actor Kouhei Higuchi prepared for his role on the television drama adaptation of My Personal Weatherman by learning from a weather forecaster?
... that the weather forecast for HD 189733 b is "Westerly winds at 2000 m/s, with molten glass showers"?
... that extreme event attribution estimates how much climate change causes weather events, such as the 2021 Western North America heat wave?
... that after Irish post office clerk Maureen Flavin Sweeney reported worsening weather conditions, Dwight D. Eisenhower agreed to postpone D-Day by 24 hours?
... that weather whiplash is the phenomenon of rapid swings between extremes of weather conditions?
... that an attempted British-Norwegian attack on the German battleship Tirpitz was abandoned after two Chariot manned torpedoes were lost due to bad weather?

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A roll cloud off the coast of Punta del Este, Uruguay. Roll clouds are formed by strong outflow from a thunderstorm forcing surrounding air upwards.

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...that the Flying river is the name given to the transport of water vapor from the Amazon rainforest to southern Brazil?

...that hurricane shutters are required for all homes in Florida unless impact-resistant glass is used?

...that the Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research is a combined weather and ocean research institute with the cooperation of the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and the University of Hawaiʻi?

...that the SS Central America was sunk by a hurricane while carrying more than 30,000 pounds (13,600 kg) of gold, contributing to the Panic of 1857?

...that a hurricane force wind warning is issued by the United States National Weather Service for storms that are not tropical cyclones but are expected to produce hurricane-force winds (65 knots (75 mph; 120 km/h) or higher)?

...that the Automated Tropical Cyclone Forecasting System is a software package for tropical cyclone forecasting developed in 1988 that is still used today by meteorologists in various branches of the US Government?

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Recent and ongoing weather

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This week in weather history...

May 24

2006: The GOES 13 weather satellite was launched. Part of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite program, GOES 13 would provide public weather forecasting data to the United States until its retirement in 2018, when it was transferred to the United States Air Force.

May 25

2004: A week of flooding and landslides on Hispaniola came to an end, leaving around 2,000 people dead.

May 26

1972: Subtropical Storm Alpha reached peak intensity east of Savannah, Georgia, where it would make landfall the next day.

May 27

1774: Francis Beaufort, inventor of the Beaufort scale for measuring wind force, was born in Ireland.

May 28

2012: Tropical Storm Beryl made landfall near Jacksonville Beach, Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 55 knots (65 mph; 100 km/h). Beryl was the strongest off-season Atlantic tropical cyclone on record to strike the United States.

May 29

1995: A destructive tornado struck western Massachusetts, killing three people in the town of Great Barrington.

May 30

1959: Tropical Storm Arlene made landfall near Lafayette, Louisiana, bringing more than 10 inches (25 cm) of rain to parts of the northern Gulf Coast of the United States.

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Sakuhei Fujiwhara (藤原咲平, Fujiwara Sakuhei, October 29, 1884 – September 22, 1950) was a Japanese meteorologist who became the namesake for the Fujiwhara effect. Novelist Jirō Nitta is his nephew and mathematician Masahiko Fujiwara is his grandnephew. (Full article...)

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Hurricane Katrina's eye

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Hurricane Katrina's eye

1900 Galveston Hurricane

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Tropical Storm Ileana (2018) (Discussion)

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Featured Article Review: 2005 Atlantic hurricane season (Discussion)
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WikiProjects

The scope of WikiProject Weather is to have a single location for all weather-related articles on Wikipedia.

WikiProject Meteorology is a collaborative effort by dozens of Wikipedians to improve the quality of meteorology- and weather-related articles. If you would like to help, visit the project talk page, and see what needs doing.

WikiProject Severe weather is a similar project specific to articles about severe weather. Their talk page is located here.

WikiProject Tropical cyclones is a daughter project of WikiProject meteorology. The dozens of semi-active members and several full-time members focus on improving Wikipedia's coverage of tropical cyclones.

WikiProject Non-tropical storms is a collaborative project to improve articles related to winter storms, wind storms, and extratropical cyclones.

Wikipedia is a fully collaborative effort by volunteers. So if you see something you think you can improve, be bold and get to editing! We appreciate any help you can provide!