Explore Weather and Climate!: With 25 Great Projects

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever played outside in the sunshine, flown a kite, or made a snowman? If so, you already know something about weather. As soon as you step outside, you feel the temperature on your skin and the wind in your hair. Or maybe you feel raindrops or snowflakes landing on your head!

weather: what it’s like outside—warm, cold, sunny, cloudy, rainy, snowy, or windy.

temperature: how warm or cold something is.

That’s the great thing about our planet—there are all different kinds of weather to enjoy. But weather can also mess up your plans. It can rain when you want to ride your bike, or be too cold when you want to swim.

When you think about it, weather is pretty amazing. Why does it snow one day and rain the next? What makes the wind? And why is there thunder and lightning?

tornado: a violent, twisting column of air.

hurricane: a bad storm with high winds.

flood: when water covers an area that is usually dry.

weather pattern: repeating weather over a number of days or weeks.

weather forecast: to say what the weather will be.

predict: to say what will happen in the future.

weather instrument: a tool that measures wind, temperature, or something ‘ else about the weather.

climate: the average weather in an area over a long period of time.

The power of weather is amazing too. Tornadoes and hurricanes can completely demolish trees and houses. Floods can sweep away everything in their path. And freezing rain can knock down electric power lines and plunge thousands of people into darkness.

In this book you’ll explore all these things—and more. You’ll learn why some areas have different weather patterns than others, and how weather forecasts can predict the weather. You’ll discover what makes snow, rain, and sleet, and just what clouds and rainbows are all about. And you’ll learn how to build your own weather instruments, teach your family and friends how to stay safe from extreme weather, and even eat some clouds!

So, turn the page and let’s start exploring weather and climate!

WHAT’S

THE WEATHER?

Imagine it’s Saturday morning. You wake up and get dressed to go outside. You pull on some shorts and a T-shirt and run out the door into—knee-deep snow. Oops! You didn’t think about what the weather was going to be like.

Of course, it’s unusual for there to be snow when you think it’s going to be warm. But weather can change dramatically sometimes. Even within seasons, big changes in the weather can affect your outdoor plans. Think about summer. You might picture it as always sunny and hot. But it can certainly rain during summer. Or it can even be chilly. Sometimes severe weather—like a thunderstorm—can rattle calm summer afternoons.

Weather affects our lives every day and can change our plans. If it’s snowy or icy, school might be closed. A rainy day might cancel your trip to the beach. And if there’s hazardous weather coming, with the threat of strong thunderstorms or tornadoes, you need to stay alert and get to a safe place. That’s why people are always wondering when they get up, What’s the weather going to be like today?

meteorologist: a person who studies the science of weather and climate.

observe: to look at things carefully.

air mass: a large pocket of air that is different from the air around it.

air pressure: the force of the gases surrounding the earth pressing downward (sometimes called barometric pressure).

THE WEATHER MAN

Have you ever turned on the TV or radio and heard someone telling you what the weather will be for the week? People who study the weather are called meteorologists. They observe the movement of air masses, changing temperatures, and air pressure to predict what the weather will be like in an hour, tomorrow, or next week. It’s not an exact science. Sometimes forecasters will say it’s going to rain buckets, and you only end up with a drizzle!

prediction: something you predict.

barometer: a weather instrument that measures air pressure.

anemometer: a weather instrument that measures wind speed.

observation: something you observe.

weather satellite: a small electronic object that circles the earth and sends back pictures of weather patterns.

radar: a system that sends out pulses of radio waves that reflect back.

Accurate weather predictions are important for planning. Farmers need to know when to plant their crops. Airlines need to know if it will be safe to fly. But there are so many things that go into figuring out what the weather is going to be that even meteorologists can get it wrong.

DID YOU KNOW?

Before computers, weather forecasters predicted the weather using mechanical instruments like barometers and anemometers and by looking outside.

HOW FORECASTERS

MAKE PREDICTIONS

Weather forecasters use computers to show a specific picture of what’s going on with the weather. But the computers don’t tell them everything. It’s up to meteorologists to also make observations and understand weather trends and patterns. This helps them understand what the computer is showing them. They also use weather satellites and Doppler radar to spot weather that’s on the way.

Normal radar works by sending out a signal that bounces off an object and returns. It shows that something is there—but it’s often hard to know what that something is. Doppler radar also sends out a signal that returns, but it can