A rising barometer indicates what kind of weather

Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Share Flipboard Email. Rachelle Oblack. She specializes in climate and weather. Updated March 04, Featured Video. Cite this Article Format. Oblack, Rachelle. How to Read a Barometer. Winds and the Pressure Gradient Force. The Halloween Storm of the Century in Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for ThoughtCo.

At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page. These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data. We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification. I Accept Show Purposes. These pressure differences have a big effect on the weather, so if you know the current air pressure at your house, as well as the pressure trend, you are able to predict certain things about the weather.

As a very loose rule, a high-pressure area will be clear, and a low-pressure area will be cloudy and rainy. Sign up for our Newsletter! Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close. Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar.

Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. Forces of Nature. Atmospheric Science. What does it mean when a barometer is rising or falling? Updated: May 12, Barometer How does a barometer work? As the pressure increases, it forces the mercury up the tube.

The tube is marked with a series of measurements that track the number of atmospheres or bars. Observer s can tell what the air pressure is by looking at where the mercury stops in the barometer.

In , the French scientist Lucien Vidi invented the aneroid barometer. An aneroid barometer has a sealed metal chamber that expand s and contract s, depending on the atmospheric pressure around it. Mechanical tools measure how much the chamber expands or contracts. These measurements are align ed with atmospheres or bars.

The aneroid barometer has a circular display that indicate s the present number of atmospheres, much like a clock. One hand moves clockwise or counterclockwise to point to the current number of atmospheres. The terms stormy, rain, change, fair, and dry are often written above the numbers on the dial face to make it easier for people to interpret the weather.

Aneroid barometers slowly replaced mercury barometers because they were easier to use, cheaper to buy, and easier to transport since they had no liquid that could spill. Some aneroid barometers use a mechanical tool to track the changes in atmospheric pressure over a period of time. These aneroid barometers are called barographs. Barograph s are barometers connected to needles that make marks on a roll of adjacent graph paper.

The barograph records the number of atmospheres on the vertical axis and units of time on the horizontal. The spikes in the graph show when air pressure was high or low, and how long those pressure systems lasted. A severe storm, for instance, would appear as a deep, wide dip on a barograph. Many digital barometers display both current barometric readings and previous 1-, 3-, 6-, and hour readings in a bar chart format, much like a barograph.

They also account for other atmospheric readings such as wind and humidity to make accurate weather forecasts. This data is archive d and stored on the barometer and can also be downloaded onto a computer for further analysis. Digital barometers are used by meteorologists and other scientists who want up-to-date atmospheric readings when conducting experiments in the lab or out in the field. This type of digital barometer uses atmospheric pressure data to make accurate elevation readings.

App s like PressureNet automatically collect barometric measurements from each of its users, creating a vast network of atmospheric data. This data network makes it easier and faster to map out storms as they develop, especially in areas with few weather station s. A barometer measures atmospheric pressure.

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