Book Review

Review: South African Weather and Atmospheric Phenomena

By Dr Garth Cambray

The first impression with this book, judging by its lovely photograph is that it will be a photographic feast of weird and wonderful pictures of the things nature can throw at us or show us. Masterfully illustrated with photographs personally taken and collected by the author, Dries van Zyl, you know that when an illustration is discussed it is done so with meaning as the author was there to see and capture it.

The book is logically structured, with a basic introduction as to what makes weather, and the range within which each component of the weather can fluctuate from cold snaps to heat waves in the karoo for example. Interesting 'factoids' are enclosed during this section in coloured boxes, explaining for example how the Gemsbok copes with extreme heat, or how the Clivia mirabilis has adapted to live in a progressively drier climate as the country has become more desertified.

This is followed by a quick summary of how weather forecasting works. This section will be of great use to both scholars and the rest of us when we try to figure out what meteorologists are really saying. I personally wish the explanation of such things in my 'Matric' (Grade 12) Geography textbook had been as good as this and then I am sure I would have got a distinction! A small but interesting sub-section here deals with technology developed to either make rain or use wind.

Now that all the nuts and bolts have been explained in the book it zooms in on the South African climate and how it works. This is followed by an in depth look at all the cogs in the SA climate, like thunderstorms and cold fronts. This is again accompanied by excellent photographs including one of parliament getting the wake up call it deserved with two bolts of lightening hitting close to it. Once again a trusty green box gives dinner table factoids, such as the fact that the French government banned the ringing of church bells to announce storms as too many bell ringers got killed by lightning (apparent 103 in 33 years during the 1700's!).

With all the excitement surrounding wind storm phenomena, the section on wind storms can help one brush up on the way things like tornados, cyclones and dust devils work. Other subsequent sections deal with how water gets out of the atmosphere - which to all of us is very important given all the droughts of late.

This is followed by a superbly illustrated section on clouds - a must for any Geography teacher.

The second section of the book deals more with atmospheric phenomena - those things that one normally sees and wishes one had a camera to photograph. The author obviously always had one handy and hence he was able to share these weird and wonderful things with us, as well as to explain how they work. The phenomena discussed range from every day rainbows to mystical solar and lunar halos and sun pillars.

Finally right at the end, for the serious photographer, the author has included a guide to camera settings to allow you to capture those magical weather moments forever as masterfully as he has.

All in all an excellent read, well worth it just to be able to know why the clouds look so odd outside the window today, or what to do if you get caught in a thunderstorm. For the Geography teacher and student - this will help make the whole thing more real - a must. A picture says a thousand words, so together with the authorative text in this book, its couple of hundred photographs extend its theoretical size to that of quite a heavy volume!

My only other comment about the books it that it should not be left on the dashboard of your vehicle during a hot day, as with all other books.

More information:

South African Weather and Atmospheric Phenomena, written by Dries Van Zyl is published by Briza Publications.

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