Note: Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and author Thomas E. Weber for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.

I’ll be upfront here: if you’re one of those people who deny the reality of climate change, this book isn’t for you. If you think it was more important to protect the President’s ego when he drew an incorrect impact path for a hurricane, rather than disseminate accurate information, this book isn’t for you. I’d like to say if you are generally happy with the way the country is going right now, then this book isn’t for you. However, I do have hope that if you can look at the topic of this book and have an open mind, you might learn something. We don’t stop learning when we graduate high school. Life is about learning and re-learning. If you embrace that, you might get something out of Cloud Warriors by Thomas E. Weber.

The title is a bit sensational. While Weber does cover a number of significant weather events in the book, it’s more about the science behind weather forecasting rather than the storms themselves. The science seems to be changing at a pace few can keep up with. However, he does a great job showing how weather forecasting cannot be done by machine alone, nor by man alone. The Weather Enterprise, as he calls the combination of public and private entities that make up weather forecasting, is a unique balance that serves the public in a variety of ways. That is what Cloud Warriors is about.

Climate change is happening. Weber highlights some of the storms that have been in the news during the past few decades. However, it’s in the context of the science behind these events and how the people charged with predicting them do just that. It’s a highly complicated process that has greatly improved over the years. After reading Cloud Warriors, I now have a greater appreciation for what goes into forecasting the weather.

Weber gets deep into the science, too. He addresses why asking what the weather will be or how hot it is isn’t a simple question. By tagging along with observers in various cities who take measurements at ground level, he shows how the temperature at any given time can vary by up to ten degrees. He’s been given unprecedented access to the different scientists who work with the observations and data. It was quite enlightening to read what goes into a typical forecast.

His writing is rather dry because this is a science-based book. I did find it hard to keep my attention on it while listening to the audiobook. In fact, the first time I tried to listen was on a bus on my way to New York City, and I had a hard time paying attention even then. Keith Brown does a good job narrating, but it’s just not a subject that holds the attention the way a military thriller will. I did have a better experience the second time I began listening to it.

Weber addresses the threats to weather forecasting. Here in the United States, climate deniers and the Trump administration are making it harder for public forecasters to do their job. His cuts to NOAA and the NWS since this book was written align with the case Weber was making in the book that they are trying to destroy the main line of defense the public has against the weather. Is it not in the public interest to have accurate predictions of the weather? Climate deniers would rather you not see the science that backs the case for climate change, and they are winning, unfortunately.

The story of how the NWS (National Weather Service) works with the Amish community was very interesting. As much as they shun technology, they do need the weather forecasts to help with farming. The NWS has gone out of its way to work with them in a way that helps them get the forecast they need. More than anything, the people Weber talks to in this book want to see fewer deaths from weather events. That is their main goal. To do that, they have to get accurate information into the hands of those who know what to do with it. Is that not a public service?

If you’re fascinated by the weather and have an open mind, Cloud Warriors is a book for you. The technology might go over your head at times (it did me), but I would say Weber made a great case for both public and private entities in the Weather Enterprise, which works together to get the best information out to the people who need it.