Key to Weather Map Symbols · Earth and Space Sciences Reference Tables (ESSRT)

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The Key to Weather Map Symbols from the Reference Tables for Earth and Space Sciences (ESSRT) explains the symbols used on weather maps, including how to read a station model. It primarily supports HS-ESS2-8.

What the Key to Weather Map Symbols shows

At the top, a sample station model shows where each reading is plotted around the station circle: temperature and dew point in °F, visibility in miles, present weather, wind, sky cover, sea-level pressure and the pressure trend over the previous three hours. The rest of the key decodes the symbols: wind speed in knots and wind direction; sky cover from no clouds to completely overcast; weather conditions such as rain, snow, drizzle, thunderstorms, showers, hail, fog, tornadoes and hurricanes; high and low pressure; and cold, warm, stationary and occluded fronts. A note explains that sea-level pressure is plotted in tenths of millibars with the leading 10 or 9 omitted, so 103 means 1010.3 mb and 987 means 998.7 mb.