The Weather Doctor's Book Reviews

The AMS Weather Book:
The Ultimate Guide to America's Weather

by Jack Williams

The AMS Weather Book: The Ultimate Guide to America's Weather is the third of Jack Williams’ books that I have reviewed on The Weather Doctor website and the only reason I did not review his landmark USA TODAY Weather Book is that it was published prior to the birth of the site. I mention that book because his latest The AMS Weather Book is of the same family. Both are of similar size and high quality, illustrated with strikingly beautiful and instructive graphics of weather phenomena, and containing stories of weather people that personalize the subtopics. Author Jack Williams has the best of credentials to produce such a book. For many years he was editor and founder of the USA Today Weather Page and most recently has been public outreach coordinator for the American Meteorological Society.

Don’t be confused by the similarities with its predecessor, The AMS Weather Book, copublished with the American Meteorological Society, is mostly new material with some basic topics again covered in Williams’ readable style and some others brought up to date with current knowledge. I think both should be on the shelf of anyone interested in weather as they complement each other.

That said, the eleven topics treated in The AMS Weather Book, range from the local scale (in “Under the Radar”) to the global (in “Global Patterns”). They cover everything from daily weather patterns to air pollution to global warming. There is even a chapter on “Mesoscale Weather” which is a topic often not treated in basic weather books but one that is of high relevance to us all.

As Williams writes about the science, he weaves excellent stories of actual events and the people coping with severe weather throughout the narrative. He also tells us the stories behind the meteorologists who devote their lives to understanding the atmosphere, oceans, and climate. Some of these are well-known media personalities such as WGN-Chicago weathercaster Tom Skilling as well as others who are as not in the media spotlight. One such person is Lixion Avila, a forecaster with the US National Hurricane Center in Miami. I have seen his name for years as author of hurricane forecast advisories and warnings, but through Williams’ writing now can place a person with that name.

I give The AMS Weather Book: The Ultimate Guide to America's Weather my highest recommendation. It not only belongs on every weather lover’s bookshelf (alongside its predecessor and Jack Williams’ other books), but also make a wonderful gift for anyone beginning their interest in weather and meteorology. As students finish their academic terms for the summer, this is a good book for them to curl up on a porch or under a tree with and read. Even if you are not a student, this is a great one for your summer (and any season) reading list.