This volume offers an inside look at how meteorologists and forecasters predict the weather. Based on field observation and interviews, the author describes a hard-working, insular clique of professionals who often refer to themselves as a "band of brothers." Readers learn their lingo, how they "read" weather conditions, how forecasts are written, and how those messages are conveyed to the public. Weather forecasts, the author maintains, are often shaped as much by social and cultural factors inside local offices as they are by approaching cumulus clouds.