In the Windy.app Meteorological Textbook (WMT), of which I’m an editor, author and publisher, we are explaining in simple words the processes in the atmosphere, the ocean, and the earth.
Working on the book is not only about the text, but also about the illustrations.
To illustrate the book, I found an artist, Valerya Milovanova, with a degree from Russia’s best design university, the British Higher School of Art and Design (BHSAD) of Universal University in Moscow, Russia.
The illustrations are made with the brand colors of the application, which can be easily recognized behind every drawing.
The purpose of the illustrations is not only to show complex weather terms, but also to get out into Google searches for relevant search queries.
Below are a few examples:
Coriolis force
The Coriolis force has a huge impact on the weather. It’s the power that spins cyclones and anticyclones, and it also affects the direction of trade winds and sea currents. The force is named after the scientist Gaspard-Gustave Coriolis, who discovered it.
Read the WMT lesson on Сoriolis force
Moon phases
Although the moon is the brightest celestial body at night, it does not know how to glow itself. In short, figuratively speaking, the moon is a large mirror into which light from the sun is reflected. The moon, being shaped like a sphere, is illuminated by the sun in different ways, depending on its position in its orbit. This illumination varies from 0% to 100%, which is what is called the phases of the moon or lunar phases.
Read the WMT lesson on moon phases
Wind barbs
Wind barbs are symbols on the map that show wind direction and speed at some specified location. It is a familiar format for displaying the wind to all meteorogists, yachtmen, and others. That’s how it were drawn on the synoptic maps before, and so many people are used to seeing it. Now you can see wind barbs on digital maps, too.
Read the WMT lesson on wind barbs
Breeze wind
In general, a breeze is a light wind, which appears due to temperature difference between two air masses. Depending on the heating force, the land affects the circulation of the air flow. The more heating up of the land, the greater the temperature difference, the stronger the breeze is.
Nimbostratus clouds
Nimbostratus clouds are dense, grey, featureless clouds which produce persistent and often heavy rain, snow or ice pellets. Nimbostratus are low level clouds and their base generally lies between 100 m and 1 km. Thick fog and consistent precipitation beneath nimbostratus clouds create an impression of a dreary and gloomy day.
Read the WMT lesson on nimbostratus clouds
Learn more about the WMT book, 60+ past lessons on the Windy.app site, subscribe for the weekly newsletter to get the new lessons right to your e-mail.
Text: Ivan Kuznetsov, Windy.app
Cover illustration: light pillars, an optical phenomenon in which the sun, moon and artificial light sources seem to shine in giant pillars directly into space. It is only happens in very cold weather. Valerya Milovanova
