Meteorologists at the National Weather Service use information from ground stations and weather satellites to make these maps. Words like “rain” and “snow” are pretty obvious, but what exactly do the symbols on a weather map tell you about the weather? Use our handy dandy guide below to find out!
High and Low Pressure Areas
Earth’s atmosphere is a jacket of gases that surrounds the planet. Although it seems like these gases could easily float away into space, gravity is constantly pulling the atmosphere toward Earth’s surface. The force with which our atmosphere pushes down on a specific location on Earth is called atmospheric pressure.
Atmospheric pressure is mainly dependent on two things: the weight of the atmosphere in a specific location and the temperature of the air. If you’re at a low elevation—such as in a valley—there is a lot of atmosphere above you and the weight is very heavy. That means that you experience higher atmospheric pressure at lower elevations and lower atmospheric pressure in higher elevations.
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