Weather Maps
Weather Station Model Explained: How to Read the Little Weather Map Symbols
How station models show temperature, dew point, pressure, wind, cloud cover, and weather using compact symbols on surface maps.
Quick answer: A station model is a compact weather symbol that packs current observations into a small plot on a map.
What is plotted
Station models can show temperature, dew point, wind direction and speed, pressure, pressure tendency, cloud cover, and present weather.
The layout looks cryptic at first, but each number or symbol has a standard position.
Wind barbs
The stem points from the direction the wind is coming from. Barbs and flags show speed.
Once you learn wind barbs, surface maps become much easier to scan.
Why it matters
Station models reveal fronts, drylines, pressure systems, and air mass boundaries.
They are especially useful when radar is quiet but the atmosphere is changing.