Meteorologists use symbols to represent information because there is little room on the map for all of the data reported from the weather network. A collection of universal weather symbols is used by meteorologist around the world and the area around each weather station on the map is reserved for a special part of the weather report. Any meteorologist can look at any weather map and instantly tell what kind of weather a station is observing. Students will discover how important it is to place the proper weather element in the proper location around each station on the map. It is important, however, to remind students that all of these observations were taken at the same time on the same day.
Students are now ready to plot basic symbols which represent the amount of sky cover.
A small circle located at the center of the station city represents the sky. For example, if the circle is empty, the sky is clear. If the sky is partly cloudy, the circle is half filled. If the sky is overcast with clouds, the circle is filled in. A weather network is a collection of observing stations that share specific weather information with other stations.