Interest in our nation's weather patterns is rising -- as witnessed in the popularity of the Weather Channel -- and this guide is the most popular reference to every type of weather system, cloud formation, and atmospheric phenomenon common to North America. The 378 dramatic photographs capture cloud types, precipitation, storms, twisters, and optical phenomena such as the Northern Lights. Essays with accompanying maps and illustrations discuss the earth's atmosphere, weather systems, cloud formation, and development of tornadoes and many other weather events.