Weather Dictionary / Glossary of Terms

Inches of Mercury


   Weather TermDescription / Definition
   Inches of Mercury (or in Hg) Unit of atmospheric pressure used in the United States. The name comes from the use of mercurial barometers which equate the height of a column of mercury with air pressure. One inch of mercury is equivalent to 33.86 millibars or 25.40 millimeters. See barometric pressure. First divised in 1644 by Evangelista Torricelli (1608-1647), an Italian physicist and mathematician, to explain the fundamental principles of hydromechanics.

To convert millibars (mb) to inches of mercury (in Hg), divide the millibar reading by 33.86:
in Hg = mb / 33.86


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Data courtesy of NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration