The charts you have found are not of much relevance to day-to-day flight operations, so don't worry too much about their alien appearance.
For answers to your questions, get hold of 'Handbook of Aviation Meteorology' HMSO ISBN 0-11-400365-3 which will explain it all in much greater detail than there is time for here. It is a superb book covering the entire ATPL met syllabus and much more besides.
As pilots, we probably think we know quite a lot about met. However, if you should happen to meet a climatologist you will find that he or she will not even use the same terms as we do for describing very basic features of the world of weather - how often have you looked at the wavelength of a jet system, for example?