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The Philadelphia Area Weather Book

by Jon Nese and Glenn Schwartz




Regional weather books are all too often characterized by dry text surrounded by equally uninspiring climate data and maps. There are, however, several exceptions that come quickly to mind. Two of which are: The New England Weather Book by David Ludlum, and Thunder in the Heartland by Thomas Schmidlin and Jeanne Applelhans Schmidlin. Now I can add another: The Philadelphia Area Weather Book by Jon Nese and Glenn Schwartz.

Jon Nese has co-authored one of my favourite general weather books A World of Weather, a college text for introductory weather that is also fun to read and easily understood by most reader. Nese, formerly of Penn State University and now Chief Meteorologist at the Franklin Institute, brings that style to The Philadelphia Area Weather Book. His co-author Glenn "Hurricane" Schwartz is a Philadelphia broadcast meteorologist (NBC-10) and former severe weather specialist with the US National Weather Service. Together they have written a book that will be of great interest to current and former residents of the Philadelphia area (inclusive from the Poconos to the New Jersey and Delaware shores).

But, interest in The Philadelphia Area Weather Book should not belong exclusively to that audience. I found this book interesting, informative and fun to read, and I have never been to the Philadelphia area. Two aspects of The Philadelphia Area Weather Book make it appealing to a much wider audience: its discussion of weather elements and how they relate to this specific region, and the inclusion of many anecdotes to supplement the material. Each chapter contains one long treatment in "Stories from the Trenches." These human interest stories pepper the text bringing the reader insights into the business of weather forecasting, broadcasting and warnings. One such account gave me a chuckle. In the "Forward" former Philadelphia mayor Edward G. Rendell remarks on how his attitude concerning snow changed when he became mayor. He recalled his reaction to the first snowstorm after he left office. Initially worried, he then was relieved it was now someone else's problem to see that it was removed from city streets.

The Philadelphia area has a long history of interest in the weather, beginning with the first American continuous weather observations and record compilation in 1644. The Philadelphia area has also been a center for weather science. Benjamin Franklin undertook many of his studies here, and in 1836, James Espy of the Franklin Institute published the first US weather map. These and other stories of the region's involvement with weather science are chronicled in the opening chapter of The Philadelphia Area Weather Book.

The second chapter looks at the basics of weather and weather forecasting, using the Philadelphia area as the central example to explain these basics. The next four chapters review a season each, highlighting the season's most prominent weather factors and again putting the Philadelphia area front and center in the explanations of how these weather events and cycles impact a major urban region.

Among the many stories presented in the text are several pertaining to the weather forecasting and warning services provided by the broadcast media, particularly television. Here you can read about some of the behind the scene decisions that must be made before the release of a major storm warning to the populus.

What I found most striking about The Philadelphia Area Weather Book -- a feature that pushes its appeal outward from the Philadelphia area -- is that it easily could serve as a general weather book with application to and examples from the Philadelphia area as supplementary materials. I hope that this factor may bring some readers, who seek it out for its Philadelphia climate/weather information, into a wider enjoyment of the weather, bringing them into the circle of the weatherwise.

If you are interested in the weather and climate of the Philadelphia area, this book is one you must have on your shelf. If Philadelphia and environs do not have major appeal, don't be scared by the title. There is much material of interest to make The Philadelphia Area Weather Book well worth the read.

dividerr

Keith C. Heidorn, PhD
THE WEATHER DOCTOR

June 25, 2002

The Philadelphia Area Weather Book by Jon Nese and Glenn Schwartz, 2002, Temple University Press, ISBN: 1566399564 (HC).

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