The following illustration shows how the Australian Bureau of Meteorology gathers the most up-to-date information about the weather in order to make reliable forecasts.
Meteorological observatories can record many elements of the weather and related parameters. A number of successive stages are required to produce reliable forecasts, including satellite photographs, radar screens, drifting buoys and synoptic charts. The figure shows one-minute observations, recorded every minute.
First, incoming information is received from satellite analysis and forecasting, followed by radar screens and drifting buoys. This information is then used to produce a synoptic map.
Once the synoptic map and radar data have been analysed, the information is prepared to broadcast. The broadcast can be in the form of a television news bulletin, a newspaper article, a radio broadcast or a recorded announcement.