Now metric units in weather forecasting, analysis and observation are used globally, although many of the North American public including the American media and some professions such as mariners and pilots still mix units in general usage. His worst mixing of units is found on page 119 in discussion visibility related to fog. The next paragraph then gives fog definitions over land in terms of yards . Watts defines sublimation as the transformation of water vapour directly to ice during frost formation. This is a common mistake, but the process so described is correctly termed deposition .
Sublimation is actually the reverse process where ice transforms directly to water vapour.
Too bad that this chapter was not summarized on a plasticized card for reminding the forecaster on the important details to look for when making a forecast in the field. Overall, The Weather Handbook is a well written and beautifully illustrated book. The figures and photos each play a role in the text, clearly aiding in the explanation of the particular process Watts is discussing. While The Weather Handbook stands fully on its own, I would complement a purchase of the book with a copy of Watts' classic Instant Weather Forecasting as a field guide companion to The Weather Handbook . The cloud photographs in this book are matched with the weather conditions they are associated with, and then can be used to enhance the rules and tools Watts presents in The Weather Handbook .