Skywatch West, Revised Edition: The
Complete Weather Guide by Richard
A. Keen
An Excellent And Easy To Understand Book About Weather
Revised and updated, Skywatch West is a friendly, informative guide to the
wide variety of weather the West has in store—from calm and predictable
cycles to dramatic and unpredictable events. Through Richard A. Keen’s
lively descriptions and colorful photographs, you will discover all the joys of
weather-watching in the always fascinating American West. You will also
learn practical skills, such as how to read clouds, how to build a home
weather station, and how to read weather maps. This revised edition also
features
*Sidebar information, including weather tidbits and safety tips
*Updated lists of the West’s most notable blizzards, floods, storms, winds,
eruptions, etc.—from the nineteenth century to present

*An updated Resources section
*Appendixes with technical data for weather aficionados
*Exciting new photographs
*New information on such weather phenomena as El Nino Being
prepared for the weather around us is an integral part of life in the West,
where the weather can be as wild and rugged as the land itself.
Personal Review: Skywatch West, Revised Edition: The
Complete Weather Guide by Richard A. Keen
This book does focus on weather in the American West. But it is a great
book about weather in general.
Keen became fascinated by weather in October 1954, when "a wild lady
named Hazel" visited his home. I became fascinated by weather less than
two months before that, when Hazel's, um, sister, Carol, visited my home.
Hazel and Carol were two truly impressive storms.
Keen teaches us a little about what causes weather. He discusses
cyclones, and mentions some of the major cyclones that have hit the West.
We learn about all the different types of snow and snow crystals. And
Keen tells us about thuderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes, and more. There
are all sorts of statistics on rainfall and on temperature extremes. And the
author teaches us how to read weather maps!
One of the most interesting sections was on chinooks. The author
explains that the Ute Indians knew that when one is within 10 or 20 miles
to the East of a mountain range, you'll get occasional downslope winds
which can exceed 100 miles per hour. That's why they refused to set their
tepees at certain places just east of the Rockies. The white men ignored
the Ute warnings and built a town (now a city) called Boulder, Colorado at
one of these sites. And sure enough, every few years, Boulder gets hit by
big chinook winds. So do Livingston, Montana, and Sheridan, Wyoming,
and Bishop, California, and Carson City, Nevada. These winds are
generally very warm, and can lift the temperatures by 20 to 80 degrees
Fahrenheit in a few hours. The Chinook Indians of coastal Oregon called
warm winds "snow-eaters," and that's how the snow-eating winds
downslope of the mountains wound up being called "chinooks!"
I enjoyed this book very much. I certainly recommend it.
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