Understanding a Total Monthly Precipitation Map

Another factor that describes weather is precipitation. Meteorologists keep track of the type and amount of precipitation that falls each day. For example, some cloudy days bring rain, snow, or hail to an area. However, a hot or cold, sunny day with a clear sky will have no precipitation.

A weather map shows the type of precipitation expected for a certain day or hour. Other maps show precipitation data over a longer period of time. The precipitation map on this page shows the total amount of precipitation that fell for the entire month of January 2013 in the United States.

Click Visualize It to practice using the Total Monthly Precipitation Map. Notice that the title and the colorbar describe the kind of data represented on the map.