Editing Meteorology (section)

=== Aristotelian meteorology ===
These early observations would form the basis for [[Aristotle]]'s ''[[Meteorology (Aristotle)|Meteorology]]'', written in 350 BC.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Frisinge |first=H. Howard |title=The History of Meteorology: to 1800 |publisher=[[American Meteorological Society]] |year=1983 |isbn=978-1-940033-91-4 |pages=11}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/weather/A0859595.html|title=Meteorology: Introduction|website=Infoplease|access-date=4 November 2008|archive-date=28 December 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081228143038/http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/weather/A0859595.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Aristotle is considered the founder of meteorology.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1994/5/94.05.01.x.html|title=94.05.01: Meteorology|access-date=16 June 2015|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160721205842/http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1994/5/94.05.01.x.html |archive-date=21 July 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> One of the most impressive achievements described in the ''Meteorology'' is the description of what is now known as the [[Water Cycle|hydrologic cycle]]. His work would remain an authority on meteorology for nearly 2,000 years.<ref name="Aristotle">{{Cite book|last=Aristotle | authorlink= Aristotle | title=Meteorology |url=http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/a/aristotle/meteorology/ |year=2004 |location=The University of Adelaide Library, University of Adelaide, South Australia 5005 |quote=Translated by E.W. Webster |orig-year=350 BCE |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070217110549/http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/a/aristotle/meteorology/ |archive-date=17 February 2007 }}</ref>

The book [[De Mundo]] (composed before 250 BC or between 350 and 200 BC) noted:<ref name="1908DeMundo">{{cite book |author=Aristotle; Forster, E. S. (Edward Seymour), 1879–1950; Dobson, J. F. (John Frederic), 1875–1947 |url=https://archive.org/details/demundoarisrich |title=De Mundo |publisher=Oxford : The Clarendon Press |year=1914 |page=Chapter 4}}</ref>
:If the flashing body is set on fire and rushes violently to the Earth it is called a thunderbolt; if it is only half of fire, but violent also and massive, it is called a ''meteor''; if it is entirely free from fire, it is called a smoking bolt. They are all called 'swooping bolts' because they swoop down upon the Earth. Lightning is sometimes smoky and is then called 'smoldering lightning"; sometimes it darts quickly along and is then said to be ''vivid''. At other times, it travels in crooked lines, and is called ''forked lightning''. When it swoops down upon some object it is called 'swooping lightning'

After Aristotle, progress in meteorology stalled for a long time. [[Theophrastus]] compiled a book on weather forecasting, called the ''Book of Signs'', as well as ''On Winds''. He gave hundreds of signs for weather phenomena for a period up to a year.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Frisinge |first=H. Howard |title=The History of Meteorology: to 1800 |publisher=[[American Meteorological Society]] |year=1983 |isbn=978-1-940033-91-4 |pages=25}}</ref> His system was based on dividing the year by the setting and the rising of the Pleiad, halves into solstices and equinoxes, and the continuity of the weather for those periods. He also divided months into the new moon, fourth day, eighth day and full moon, in likelihood of a change in the weather occurring. The day was divided into sunrise, mid-morning, noon, mid-afternoon and sunset, with corresponding divisions of the night, with change being likely at one of these divisions.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Frisinge |first=H. Howard |title=The History of Meteorology: to 1800 |publisher=[[American Meteorological Society]] |year=1983 |isbn=978-1-940033-91-4 |pages=25–26}}</ref> Applying the divisions and a principle of balance in the yearly weather, he came up with forecasts like that if a lot of rain falls in the winter, the spring is usually dry. Rules based on actions of animals are also present in his work, like that if a dog rolls on the ground, it is a sign of a storm. Shooting stars and the Moon were also considered significant. However, he made no attempt to explain these phenomena, referring only to the Aristotelian method.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Frisinge |first=H. Howard |title=The History of Meteorology: to 1800 |publisher=[[American Meteorological Society]] |year=1983 |isbn=978-1-940033-91-4 |pages=26}}</ref> The work of Theophrastus remained a dominant influence in weather forecasting for nearly 2,000 years.<ref>{{cite web |title=Weather: Forecasting from the Beginning |url=http://www.infoplease.com/cig/weather/forecasting-from-beginning.html |website=Infoplease |access-date=4 November 2008 |archive-date=10 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220710025415/https://www.infoplease.com/math-science/weather/weather-forecasting-from-the-beginning |url-status=live }}</ref>