american weather report maps

Factual Questions
1

hi,

my second question to you, after my “vacuuming then dusting - or - dusting then vacuuming” question was picked up so nicely.

i have noticed that in weather report maps on cnn highs are represented in blue colour and lows in red. over here (austria) it’s the other way round since high pressure usually equals higher temperatures, which are, at least around these parts, indicated in red. lows or lower temperatures are usually indicated blue.

why is it the other way round in american weather reports (don’t know if it is generally used this way or just on cnn)?

thanks
bunf

2

The US national weather service follows the red-hot, blue-cold convention.
Anyone who does it the other way around is just being odd.

3

then CNN is being odd, check out this screenshot:

http://fredericiana.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/cnn-europe-gdr.jpg

4

I don’t know if there is a rule, but the “H” is also blue and the “L” is also red on NOAA weather maps. It has nothing to do with temperature. The actual fronts are drawn with warm having a red line, cold having a blue line.

I think it must be done to minimize confusion. If you have an area of high pressure with a low front approaching it and the “H” and the line for the low front were both blue, a person might think they were both the same thing, but a blue line approaching a red H is obviously different. That’s just my guess.