Many people make weather forecasts, from local forecasters to national meteorologists. The first step in weather forecasting is to get information about the weather, or weather data. Data is collected from the atmosphere from launching balloons twice a day all around the world. Weather balloons record data such as temperature, pressure, humidity, and wind speed at different heights in the atmosphere. Another useful tool for forecasters is satellite technology.
Satellites allow meteorologists to see what the earth and clouds look like from space.
This way, forecasters can see how the atmosphere is behaving. Doppler Radar is useful, too. Radar can see how rain or snow is acting in a cloud or how it might change. The data from weather balloons and satellites is put onto maps by computers. The computers can make forecasts based on certain conditions, and mark them on the weather maps.