Previous Next

SINCLAIR/Macmillan's latest offering in the Science Horizons series, aimed at 8-14 year olds, is a first rate simulation of weather forecasting.

In Weathermaster you are presented with a map of the British isles. Pressure systems move across the map changing at half-hourly intervals. You are then asked to provide a weather forecast for one of the regions, usually about two days in advance.

When your forecast time arrives the computer shows how accurate you were.

The main object of Weathermaster is to become so accurate in your forecasting that you win all the regions of the country, no mean feat as central to the acquisition of skills in this field is the realisation that weather systems change at an unpredictable rate.

Those who are interested in weather projects would find Arnold Wheaton's Weather Station a useful tool for recording data. It is a dedicated database which allows you to enter data on a daily basis for up to a year.

The main strength of the program lies in its search facilities which allow detailed analysis of the data, over two fields if necessary, as well as over bands of data.