Publication Guide
The American Meteorological Society (AMS) is the definitive US scholarly society for the atmospheric and related sciences. Founded on 29 December 1919 by Charles F. Brooks and headquartered at 45 Beacon Street in Boston, the Society counts more than 13,000 members across nearly 100 countries and publishes 12 peer-reviewed journals covering meteorology, climate science, physical oceanography, and hydrology. If your research touches weather, water, or climate, an AMS journal is very likely on your shortlist: Monthly Weather Review has been the field's journal of record since the 19th century (AMS took over its publication from the US government in 1974), and Journal of Climate and the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (BAMS) are among the most cited venues in the discipline.
AMS operates a society publishing model that differs from big commercial publishers in one important way: instead of a single article processing charge, most AMS journals levy page charges, with an optional flat fee for immediate open access. This guide explains the portfolio, the fee structure, peer review, and how to submit.
Which AMS journal fits your paper?
| You're most likely to... | Choose this journal |
|---|---|
| Have a broad-interest paper, essay, or state-of-the-science review for the whole community | Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (BAMS) - the Society's flagship; peer-reviewed articles are free to read on publication. |
| Report advances in climate variability, climate dynamics, or climate modeling | Journal of Climate - the highest-volume AMS research title and a core climate-science venue. |
| Present work on numerical weather prediction, data assimilation, or observed weather systems | Monthly Weather Review - the historic journal of record for weather analysis and forecasting research. |
| Contribute theory on atmospheric dynamics, physics, or chemistry | Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences - the Society's fundamental-science title. |
| Apply meteorology to practical problems (energy, agriculture, air quality) | Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology - applied and interdisciplinary work. |
| Focus on operational forecasting techniques and verification | Weather and Forecasting - forecaster-oriented research. |
| Work on the ocean or the land branch of the water cycle | Journal of Physical Oceanography or Journal of Hydrometeorology. |
| Study instruments, observing systems, or data methods | Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology. |
| Examine societal impacts and social science of weather and climate | Weather, Climate, and Society. |
| Apply machine learning to Earth-system problems, or want a fully-OA venue | Artificial Intelligence for the Earth Systems (AIES) or Earth Interactions - the two fully open-access AMS journals. |
What AMS publishes
AMS publishes 12 peer-reviewed journals, all focused on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences:
- BAMS - the flagship magazine-format journal with peer-reviewed articles, essays, and community news.
- Nine subscription research journals - Journal of Climate, Monthly Weather Review, Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, Weather and Forecasting, Journal of Hydrometeorology, Journal of Physical Oceanography, Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, and Weather, Climate, and Society.
- Two fully open-access journals - Artificial Intelligence for the Earth Systems (launched 2022) and Earth Interactions (co-published with AGU and AAG).
- Meteorological Monographs - a long-running open-access monograph series.
Open access and fees - actual numbers
AMS uses page charges rather than a single APC for most journals. Figures below reflect the current AMS fee schedule; confirm on the AMS page-charges page before submission.
| Route | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Page charges (9 technical journals) | $120 per typeset page | A typical article runs roughly 3,000 total; waivers available for authors without funding. |
| AMS Open Choice (immediate OA) | $1,100 flat fee | Added on top of page charges; makes the article immediately free to all. This fee is not waivable. |
| BAMS | Separate BAMS charge schedule | Peer-reviewed BAMS articles are free to read on publication. |
| Earth Interactions (fully OA) | No author charges for 2025 submissions | Check the journal page for current-year policy. |
| AIES (fully OA) | Flat publication fee per accepted manuscript | See the AIES page for the current amount. |
| Delayed free access | $0 | All AMS subscription-journal content becomes freely available one year after final publication. |
| Green OA (self-archiving) | $0 | Accepted manuscripts may be posted to personal sites, institutional repositories, and preprint servers such as arXiv (non-commercial). |
Open Choice articles funded by agencies that mandate a CC BY licence are published under CC BY 4.0; other articles use the AMS reuse licence. Institutions with an AMS Read-and-Publish agreement (for example, UK institutions via Jisc for 2025-2026) pay no author-side fees.
Peer review process
- Model: single-anonymized peer review across the portfolio - reviewers know author identities.
- Editors: working scientists appointed by the AMS Publications Commission; each journal has a chief editor and a board of associate editors.
- Early Online Release: accepted papers appear online ahead of final typesetting, and authors can pay Open Choice to make the early release immediately open.
- Turnaround: varies by journal and season; first decisions commonly arrive within 2-4 months.
How to submit
- Pick the journal. Use the decision table above and read recent issues to check scope fit.
- Read the AMS author guidelines. Formatting, figure, and data requirements are shared across AMS journals, with per-journal specifics.
- Prepare your manuscript. Use the AMS LaTeX or Word template on SciSpace and the AMS author-date citation style.
- Submit via Editorial Manager. All AMS journals use the Editorial Manager submission system.
- After acceptance, pay page charges (and the Open Choice fee if you want immediate OA) when your paper is typeset.
Ethics and integrity
AMS is a member of COPE, OASPA, and STM, and follows COPE guidance on corrections and retractions. Authors must disclose conflicts of interest, and AMS policy encourages full, open, and timely access to underlying data. As a scientific society, AMS reinvests publication revenue in community programs, meetings, and education.
