For as long as they have observed the sky, humans have been keenly interested in predicting what the weather may bring. Most of the world's indigenous peoples came to understand the climate and weather patterns in their area, and could often predict the weather for the next day or so. However, weather forecasting in the modern sense had to await a more detailed understanding of the atmosphere and the development of many weather instruments, such as the barometer, hygrometer, weather balloon, and radar. Three major technological developments in particular have led weather forecasting from its days of inception to its current status: the development of instant communications beginning in the late 1800s, remote sensing devices starting in the early 1900s, and computers in the 1940s and 50s.

Weather recording instruments date from the fifteenth century when Leonardo da Vinci invented the hygrometer, an instrument...