It must be remembered that Fig. 53 is an ideal diagram. It represents conditions which are not to be expected in every cyclone which appears on our weather maps. If all cyclones were exactly alike in the weather conditions around them, weather forecasting would be a very easy task. But cyclones are not all alike——far from it. Some are well developed, with strong gradients, high winds, extended cloud areas, heavy precipitation, and decided temperature contrasts. Others are but poorly developed, with weak gradients, light winds, small temperature differences, and it may be without any precipitation whatever. Some cover immense districts of country; others are small and affect only a limited area. It therefore becomes necessary to examine the characteristics of each approaching cyclone, as shown on the daily weather map, very carefully. Notice whether it is accompanied by heavy rain or snow; whether its winds are violent; how far ahead of the center the cloudy area extends; how far behind the outer cloud limit the rain area begins; what is the position of the cloud and rain area with reference to the center, and other points of equal importance, and govern yourself, in making your forecast, according to the special features of each individual cyclone. Well-developed cyclones will be accompanied by marked weather changes. Weak cyclones will have their weather changes but faintly marked. The distance of your station from the center of the cyclone is of great importance in determining what the weather conditions and changes shall be, as may easily be seen by examining Fig. 53. If the storm passes far to the north or far to the south of your station, you may notice none of its accompanying weather conditions, except, perhaps, a bank of clouds on your horizon. You may for a few hours be under the cloudy sky of some passing storm, and yet not be reached by its rainy area. The shifts in the wind may be marked and the wind velocities high, or the expected veering or backing may hardly be noticeable, owing to the weakness or the distance of the controlling cyclone. Again, the rapidity with which weather conditions will change depends upon the rate of movement of the cyclone itself. The better developed the cyclone, the higher its velocity of progression, and the nearer its track lies to the station, the more emphatic and the more rapid are the weather changes it causes. On the other hand, the weaker the cyclone, the slower its rate of progression, and the further away its track, the less marked and the slower the weather changes. The probable track of a coming storm, and its probable rate of movement, therefore, need careful study if our forecasts are to be reliable.