Australia Weather News

Sitting in the middle of Melbourne's Bureau of Meteorology office, among a sea of screens, is an easel, paper and coloured pencils.

Meteorologists sit at this easel each day to plot the latest troughs and fronts onto a weather map.

Despite having around-the-clock satellite images, the hand-drawn map is still the most accurate way to conceptualise weather in specific local areas.

It also helps forecasters to properly understand the current weather conditions.

The map is purely for the meteorologists to help create their forecasts and to get a better handle on the observations.

It is updated every three hours for the state and surrounds, and smaller detailed maps are also created if there is a storm or fire.

It's all in the detail

Tarini Casinader, Bureau of Meteorology regional director for Victoria, said hand drawing maps had long been a hallmark of being a weather forecaster.

"There are parts of the world where we've now given up hand drawing maps," she said.

"But in Australia, so far we've kept it going because apart from actually drawing the map and producing the picture in the process, you get to really know what's actually happening and all the little details."

Ms Casinader said map drawing was a skill that all meteorologists were trained in at the start of their careers.

"It's a little bit like riding a bike or driving a car, it's something that you never forget."

Why haven't computers made the maps redundant?

Phil King is the manager of the extreme weather desk and is celebrating 30 years at the Bureau of Meteorology this year.

As Mr King sat down at the easel to draw a weather map, Ms Casinader reminded him to roll up his sleeves — pencil on clothing is apparently an occupational hazard.

Mr King said in three decades at the BOM he had seen huge technological advancements, much of which had made map drawing easier.

"It's much easier now with computer models that show the weather cycling across and the computer models being really realistic and showing us the weather features," he said.

"But 30 years ago it was a real art to bring in your observations, any information, the odd satellite picture and bring it all together to give that view of the weather."

And while computer modelling has revolutionised weather forecasting, Mr King explained that when it came to localised weather systems, you couldn't beat paper and pencil.

"The computer models do a fantastic job with the global and large scale," he said.

"But then if you're looking at thunderstorms that only affect one or two suburbs, you really want to understand the detail of what's going on.

"So you go back to drawing your troughs and your systems, and where the warm areas are and where the moist areas are and building that picture."

Hand-drawn maps are an important tool for meteorologists, Mr King said, as they helped to analyse small-scale weather information and to confirm the computer models were on the right track.

He said it was in a meteorologist's "DNA" to sit down and draw weather maps.

"It's as much science as it is art."

He added that each meteorologist had their own style.

"You can tell who has done the drawing — you can also tell whether they're at the start of a shift or the end of a shift."