Weather Books

These books are a useful source of information and inspiration. Many of the books contain wonderful images. We hope the comments will help you to select what is best for you.

Books about the Weather

We have found these books to be very helpful. Some of them are rather old now but with a little searching, copies can be found. Recommending books is personal thing, but we have found these books very useful. Do try your local library, watch and listen to the weather forecasts on the TV, radio, read newspapers and keep an eye on the internet for additional ideas.

For Children

Reading the Weather, by Ed Catherall, 1984, first published by Wayland (publishers) Ltd., ISBN 0850783666
A book packed full of simple weather experiments.

The Man Who Named the Clouds by Julie Hannah and Joan Holub, 2006, published by Albert Whitman & Company. ISBN 13978080754974
An interesting insight into the first namer of clouds – Luke Howard.

Usborne Spotter’s Guide to the Weather by Alastair Smith and Phillip Clarke, 2001, published by Usborne Ltd., ISBN 9780746045770
A great book to encourage the weather spotter.

Watching the Weather, by Miranda Ashwell and Andy Owen , 1999, published by Heinemann Library, ISBN 0431038287
A colourful introduction book for the younger reader.

Weather (Discovering Geography), by Rebecca Hunter, 2003, published by Harcourt Education. ISBN 184421687X.
Lots of explanations and experiments for the reader to try.

Wind and Rain (Why do we have?), by Claire Llewellyn, 1996, published by Heinemann, ISBN 0600587789
For the younger reader, nicely illustrated.

Young Discoverers Weather and Climate by Barbara Taylor, 1994, published by Kingfisher, ISBN 0862729793
Full of facts and experiments.

Older children and adults

Clouds by Eric M. Cox, 2008, published by Duncan Baird Publishers, ISBN 9781844836888
There are many beautiful photographs in this book to go with informative text.

Essentials of Meteorology by C. Donald Ahrens, 1998, published by Wadsworth Publishing Company, ISBN 0534537669
A serious book for the older reader, but it does give real in depth explanations.

Eyewitness Science Guides How the Weather Works, by Michael Allaby, 1995, published by Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 780751301670
A large book packed full of weather experiments that help explain a lot of weather concepts.

Forecasting the Weather (Measuring the Weather), 2008, by Alan Rodgers and Angella Streluk, Heinemann Library, ISBN 9780431038568

How to Identify Weather by Storm Dunlop, 2002, published by Collins, ISBN 0002202026
A very well written book which has a lot about clouds.

Philip’s Guide to the Weather by Ross Reynolds, 2000, published by George Philip Ltd., ISBN 054007456
Lots of informative text supported by colourful illustrations.

Rain and Snow (Measuring the Weather), 2008, by Alan Rodgers and Angella Streluk, Heinemann Library, ISBN 9780431038544

Stormy Weather from the Horrible Geography series, by 1999, published by Scholastic. ISBN 0439011213
An amply illustrated book that covers a lot of weather concepts.

Sunshine and Clouds (Measuring the Weather), 2008, by Alan Rodgers and Angella Streluk, Heinemann Library, ISBN 9780431038551

Temperature (Measuring the Weather), 2008, by Alan Rodgers and Angella Streluk, Heinemann Library, ISBN 9780431038520

The Cloud Book, by Richard Hambyn, 2008, published by David and Charles, ISBN 139780715328088
There are many beautiful photographs in this book to go with informative text.

The Cloudspotter’s Guide by Gavin Pretor-Pinney, 2006, Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 0340895896.
The official publication of the Cloud Appreciation Society, an excellent organisation.

The Usborne Internet-Linked Introduction to Weather and Climate Change, by Laura Howell, 2003 Published by Usborne Publishing, ISBN 9780746052334
A very colourful book with lots of web site recommendations.

The Weather Atlas, by Keith Lye, 2003, published by Laughing Gull Company Ltd.,
There are many thoughtful diagrams along with the text.

The Weather Observer's Handbook, by Stephen Burt, 2012 by Cambridge University Press, ISBN 9781107662285
This is an excellent guide for both the amateur and the professional meteorologist. It is full of practical advice on a range of instruments and weather monitoring tasks. A particularly helpful aspect is the storage and analysis of data. There are many helpful files on the author's website.

Weather (Eyewitness Companion) edited by Richard Gilbert, 2008, published by Dorling Kindersley in Association with the Met Office, ISBN 9781405330930
A superb book. Full of informative text and wonderful illustrations.

Weather, the Ultimate Guide to the Elements by William J. Burroughs and Bob Crowder, Ted Robertson, Eleanor Vallier-Talbot and Richard Whittacker, 1996, published by Collins, ISBN 0002200643
A beautiful book full of hundreds of colour photographs.

Weather (Your World Explained) , by Derek Elsom, 1997 published by Marshall Publishing, ISBN 1840281588
There is a lot of good coverage in this book.

Weather ( Eyewitness Guide) by Brain Cosgrove, 1990, published by Dorling Kindersley, ISBN 0863185789
Lots of informative illustrations supported by interesting text.

Weather Watcher (Nature Activities) by John Woodward, 2006, published by Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 1405310359
A book packed full of weather experiments that help explain a lot of weather concepts.

Wild Weather (Kingfisher Voyages) by Caroline Harris, 2006, published by Kingfisher, ISBN13:9870753411841
A colourful book with clever pages that reveal more as you turn them.

Wind and Air Pressure (Measuring the Weather), 2008, by Alan Rodgers and Angella Streluk, Heinemann Library, ISBN 9780431038537

(See the whole set of our Measuring the Weather series on the Raintree Publisher site.)


If you have a favourite weather book, and it is not on this list, tell us about it. We will certainly be adding new books.