Let’s talk about the weather

As long ago as the 5th century BC the Greeks sent out weather forecasts to their sailors before they cast off. They also posted weather forecasts, called peg calendars, on important buildings. It proved to be very popular.

Greek philosopher Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC) wrote the first book on weather, Meteorologica, in 350 BC – it remained the standard textbook on weather for 2,000 years.

Today, meteorological services use some of the most powerful computers available to send out millions of weather forecasts a year (almost a million forecasts are sent to airlines). How accurate are they? More than you may have imagined! One-day forecasts are accurate more than 75% of the time.

The first weather satellite, Vanguard 2, was launched on February 17, 1959. There was a problem with it’s rotation, however, so the Tiros 1, launched on April 1, 1960, is considered the world’s first successful weather satellite. Weather services rely on about 100 satellites for meteorological data.

The weather is one of the most talked about topic. It therefor is no surprise that, collectively, the weather is the most watched program on TV.