This Weather for Kids course is designed for parents to begin teaching their children about the weather and how it affects their world. It is primarily intended as a fun learning experience for both parents and kids, but it has a secondary goal of creating the basis for a life-long interest in science and nature.
Whether this interest grows to the point of further studies and an eventual pursuit of a career or studies in a S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) field is not important at this point.
What is important is that kids and parents share a sense of discovery as they learn about the world around them.
Weather and Science should be part of the child’s curriculum in school. We feel that by sharing these topics outside of a school environment so the child will have greater enthusiasm towards their lessons.
What’s more, this enthusiasm will carry over into other subjects. Children who are raised in an environment where learning for its own sake is encouraged are more likely to have greater success throughout their education. Greater success in school is just the icing on the cake. There are more than seven billion people living on the planet, and every one of them feels the effect of weather.
Talking about the weather has always been one of mankind’s most common conversation topics. We all enjoy nice weather and complain when it is not, but if we understand the weather even a little bit, then frightening and dangerous conditions become less scary. If the child is less scared in a dangerous weather situation, she is more likely to make the correct decisions and stay safe.
Check out the first 5 Chapters of our Weather for Kids Course
In this section we will discuss weather instruments:
Instrument calibration
Temperature Gauges
Wind Gauges
Pressure Gauges
Humidity Indicators
Rain Gauges
The best way to know what the weather is doing is to step outside and feel it for yourself. Weather Measuring Instruments by themselves cannot tell us if it is a nice day, but they will measure the things that make the weather enjoyable or miserable. In this discussion, we will explore how both digital/electronic and traditional analog instruments function.
Calibration is an important concept to understand with any weather measuring instruments.
If an weather instrument is calibrated we know that whatever it is measuring will be the same as the measurements taken by other instruments. If the thermometer outside your window says the temperature is 72°F, then another thermometer in the same spot should read the same if both instruments are calibrated to the same standard.
This is very important if weather data is being shared over a weather station network like WeatherUnderground or the National Weather Service, but it is also reassuring to know that the instruments in your home weather station are accurate. Highest quality weather instruments are calibrated to NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) and the calibration can be tracked for the life of the instrument.
Temperature Gauges (weather instrument)
Thermometers are probably the most familiar weather instruments. Many homes have a thermometer or two mounted outside, and it is not uncommon for public buildings to have a temperature display incorporated into their signs.
Thermometers measure temperature, of course, but they do not always tell the full story when it comes to “how hot is it today?”
Measuring comfort seems subjective, but heat index and wind chill can be very useful for understanding human performance as well as comfort. Air temperature is just one element of these measurements, but it is a very important one.
If you are looking for simple and reliable temperature gauge that also show the comfort check our top pick from ThermoPro TP50 . Any gauge from your local store will also do a decent work, however the accuracy depends form brand to brand and instrument to instrument.
ThermoPro TP50 – Temperature Gauge – also indicates comfort level
Liquid thermometers are traditionally the most common. They are traditionally referred to as mercury thermometers, even though real mercury is difficult to find due to its expense and the danger of accidental mercury poisoning.
Liquid thermometers take advantage of the fact that liquid expands at a known and measurable rate in response to temperature changes. The warmer the temperature, the higher the level of liquid in the thermometer tube and the level is compared to a scale built into the thermometer case, or sometimes etched into the tube itself.
The other common form of analog thermometer is the dial type. These work on the principle that different metals expand at different rates in response to temperature change. Strips of two different metals are bound together and then formed into a coil spring. As the temperature changes, the different expansion rates will force the coil to tighten or straighten. The coil is attached to a simple clockwork mechanism attached to a dial where we can read the temperature.
Digital temperature gauges include thermocouplesand thermistors. A thermocouple is similar to the bimetallic element of a dial thermometer, except that rather than turning a dial as a result of temperature changes, the two metals in the element create an electrical charge that changes according to temperature.
Thermistors are a type of electronic resistor made of metal oxides encased in epoxy or glass. As temperature changes, so do the electrical resistance of the device, which can be measured and displayed.
Wind Gauges – Weather instruments
Wind direction and speed are measured by wind vanes and anemometers. Knowing the direction the wind is coming from is important in predicting the sort of weather it will bring with it.
Traditional wind vanes are a common sight commonly seen on barn-tops and chimneys. They are mounted on the highest spot available so as to read wind direction without interference.
They consist of a pointer and a flat vertical material mounted behind a pivot point. As the wind acts on the flat element, the pointer points in the direction the wind is coming from. When mounting a wind vane, especially an electronic one, it is important to use a compass to ensure the instrument is mounted in relation to true north.
Mechanical Anemometers are instruments that measure wind speed. They take their measurement by counting the rotations of the shaft over a period of time. Cup anemometers have a vertical shaft with three or four hemispherical cups mounted on arms perpendicular to the shaft. Three cup anemometers are considered more accurate because there is less interference.
If you don’t want to buy, you can make a DIY anemometer at home. Check the procedure here and watch the video on how to make an anemometer at home.
Propeller or vane anemometers have horizontal shafts with a propeller mounted on the end. The propeller itself is intrinsically more accurate at sensing wind speed, but must be held directly into the wind, so the unit is often incorporated into a wind vane. The advantage of the cup type anemometer is that it will sense wind strength from any direction.
Kestrel 5500 one of the best Wind Meters on the market
You can also teach your kids how to make a DIY Anemometer at home. It’s really fun and easy. Watch this “How to make Anemometer” video.
Wind-chill is a measurement of relative comfort. Cold weather “feels” colder since moving air removes heat from a body faster than still air. There are charts and formulas for measuring wind chill at various temperatures and wind speeds, but most electronic weather stations which have an anemometer and a temperature gage will derive wind-chill from installed software.
Pressure Gauges
Atmospheric or barometric pressure measurements are helpful in predicting weather. Generally steady or rising pressure indicates fair weather while a falling pressure means a storm or foul weather is approaching.
Barometers are the instruments used to measure atmospheric pressure.
The earliest type of barometers were the liquid type. This instruments air made by drawing liquid up into a clear (glass) tube and sealing the top of the tube. The liquid is held in the tube by the vacuum created in the top portion. The open bottom is placed below the surface of an open reservoir. As air pressure increases, the liquid in the tube rises.
A more common mechanical barometer is the aneroid type. These operate by comparing pressure between the inside and outside of a sealed “can”. The can has a flexible top that will flex in or out as the outside pressure changes. A very simple aneroid barometer can be made at home by placing a rubber diaphragm over a jar.
Pull a piece of a balloon over the mouth of the jar and seal it with a rubber band.
Tape a long pencil to the diaphragm as a pointer.
As pressure drops, the diaphragm will swell out and the point of the pencil will point lower, and pressure rises the diaphragm will be forced inward and the pencil will point higher.
Electronic pressure readings used by most home weather stations (and some Smartphones) are taken by a piezoresistive strain gauge. These devices have the advantage of being extremely sensitive and accurate in a small size.
Humidity Indicators
Is a measurement of the amount of moisture in the air. At specific temperatures and pressures, air can only hold a certain amount of water vapor. Relative humidity measures the amount of water vapor present compared to the amount air at the local temperature can hold. When relative humidity is 100% the air is said to be saturated.
At high relative humidity levels, liquid water cannot evaporate, and when humidity passes 100% water vapor condenses into liquid. As the temperature falls, the air will reach its saturation point, also called the “dew point”.
Humans regulate their body temperature with the evaporation of sweat. As humidity increases, evaporation of the sweat on the skin is less effective. This is the basis for the “heat index”, which measures how hot it “feels” at different temperature and humidity levels. Human performance, health, and comfort can be compromised at high heat index levels.
Measuring humidity is done with an instrument called a hygrometer. One type of analog hygrometer is a psychrometer, which consists of two thermometers. One thermometer is kept dry while the other has a moist fabric over the bulb. A
s the moisture in the fabric evaporates it cools the thermometer relative to the dry temperature and comparing the two readings give relative humidity.
Electronic hygrometers are usually of the capacitance type. The sensor has a polymer layer which absorbs moisture from the surrounding air, which changes the device’s capacitance. Most electronic weather stations mount the temperature gauge and the humidity gage near each other and use software to calculate heat index and dew point.
Analog Rain Gauges are among the most simple of all weather instruments to understand. Rainfall is measured by the amount of participation to fall over a certain area. Thus, all a rain gauge needs is a straight walled vessel with an open top. It can be as simple as a tin can placed on level ground. The disadvantage to such a simple instrument is that the observer needs to check it personally on occasion, measure the amount of liquid inside, and then dump out the water.
Electronic rain gauges measure rainfall amounts using a self-emptying tipping bucket sensor. The device consists of a funnel which directs rainfall into the bucket assembly. The bucket is divided into two chambers on either side of a teeter-totter mechanism. As the upper chamber fills, the bucket tips and that chamber spills its contents while the next chamber fills.
Every time the bucket tips, an electric switch is closed, and rainfall is measured by counting the number of times the connection is made.
Q1: What is the functional difference between a thermocouple and a thermistor?
Q2: What is the advantage of a cup type anemometer over a propeller type?
Q3: The cup type anemometer can read wind speed regardless of wind direction.
Q4: What does a falling barometer generally indicate?
Q5: Falling barometric pressure usually indicates an approaching storm or foul weather.
Q6: How does a psychrometer measure relative humidity?
Q7: How is rainfall measured?
Answers:
A1: thermocouple measures the voltage generated by two dissimilar metals at different temperatures while a thermistor changes electrical resistance as temperature changes.
A2: The cup type anemometer can read wind speed regardless of wind direction.
A3: Falling barometric pressure usually indicates an approaching storm or foul weather.
A4: The psychrometer measures the difference between a wet-bulb and a dry-bulb thermometer. As greater evaporation will lower the wet-bulb temperature, there will be less temperature difference at high humidity levels.
A5: The amount of rain falling over a specific area.
What a Meteorologist does and who do they work for
What education a meteorologist need
How the Military needs meteorologists and how they are trained
How to become a meteorologist with a home weather station
Photo by Washington Post
A meteorologist is a scientist who studies weather and the atmosphere. They work for government agencies, private business, in education, consulting and research services, and for TV and radio stations. The public is most familiar with meteorologists who provide weather forecasting in media.
Most professional meteorologists will attain a four-year college degree in meteorology or a related science. The course of study will be heavy on math because modern weather forecasting depends upon compiling data from hundreds or thousands of observation sites then creating and analyzing computer models based on the data.
If you plan on studying meteorology, it is best to start in high school. If your school offers calculus, computer programming and physics courses, you can start college ahead of the game. If you just want a straightforward and funny tool for your kid to start with, check out the Scientific Explorer Wacky Weird Weather Kit. We guarantee that both you and your child will have a ton of fun with this game.
Scientific Explorer Wacky Weird Weather Kit
Another option to receive the latest “Hands On” meteorological training is through military service. Both the US Navy and Air Force require up to date and accurate local weather information to accomplish their missions. Both services use enlisted specialists to collect and interpret both locally collected weather data as well as satellite data.
An enlisted weather specialist will be required to complete Enlisted Basic Military Training (“Boot Camp”) for their service, and then attend a specialized technical school. The Navy’s Aerographer’s Mate (AG) Class A Technical School and Air Force Weather Specialist technical training is held at Keesler AFB, Mississippi. Your local Military recruiter can provide more detailed career information.
Many of the instruments that a professional meteorologist uses are just like the ones that come with a home professional weather station. In fact, many weather hobbyists are able to connect their weather stations to a central data collection point so that weather scientists can use the data collected by amateurs for weather modeling and forecasting.
Review Quiz:
Q1: Why is studying math so important for meteorologists?
Q2: What are two military enlisted career specialties that work with weather and gathering meteorological data?
Answers:
A1: Meteorology is a science of observation, and the most efficient and accurate way to make sense of the thousands of data points gathered around the world each day is through complex computer-based mathematical models.
A2: Air Force Weather Specialists and Navy Aerographer’s Mates.
The difference between weather and climate and how they are related
The Five components that generate climate
The Köppen climate classification system
Climate change
After the TV weather person makes their report and prediction on the local station, many times there will be a short clip about the climate, often with dire warnings of how changes are going to mess everything up and that it is all mankind’s fault. You may have heard people say things like
“The weather is going to be exceptionally hot today, it must be because of global warming” or “We had a really bad winter last year because of climate change”.
These statements can be confusing because weather and climate are related, but they are not the same thing. On the NASA Climate page, it says that
“The difference between Weather and Climate is a measure of time”
and even that is not quite accurate. Comparing weather and climate is not like comparing apples and oranges, nor is it like comparing an orange to a crate full of oranges. It is more like comparing oranges to fruit. In other words, oranges are fruit, and there are many fruits that have a lot in common with oranges, but not all fruit is like an orange.
Weather is an important part of climate, and when we classify climates one of the important things to look at is the average weather over an extended period of time. The climate of a certain region is generated by the interaction of five worldwide components:
the atmosphere where weather is generated
the hydrosphere which is the mass of water found on below and above the planet
the cryosphere or regions of solid ice such as the polar caps
the lithosphere or rocky outer shell of the planet
and the biosphere or the living things on the planet.
The most common way of classifying climates is using the Köppen Climate Classifications. The classifications were first published in 1884 and have been modified several times since. They were originally based on the notion that native vegetation is the best expression of climate.
The system is divided into five main groups (A, B, C, D, E) and each group is further divided into types. Each climate type may be represented by a 2-4 letter symbol. For example, Miami has an A or Tropical monsoon climate; Denver has a B or Dry Steppe climate with at least one month of average temperatures below freezing, Los Angeles has a C or Mediterranean climate with hot and dry summers dominated by subtropical high-pressure systems, and Chicago has a D or Continental climate with the warmest month averaging greater than 72°F. Group E climates are polar and alpine zones.
The Köppen climate classifications are useful for travelers and geography students as well as those studying weather and climate.
Paleoclimatology is the study of ancient climates and weather patterns before modern record keeping. We know that the worldwide climate has changed many times, just like it is changing now. There are many theories and reasons behind climate change ranging from an “end of the world” scenario caused by pollution and other manmade factors to a natural cycle that would occur no matter what man does.
This is not a forum to debate the various causes of climate change, let alone fix blame. We will just point out that climate change is happening, it has happened before, and species and civilizations who can adapt will survive and thrive.
Review Quiz:
Q1:What are the five world-wide elements of climate?
Q2: What expression of climate are the original Köppen climate classifications based on?
Q3: What can the study of paleoclimatology teach us about climate change today?
Answers:
A1: The atmosphere, the hydrosphere, the cryosphere, the lithosphere and the biosphere.
A2: The system was originally developed by Wladimir Köppen, who was a botanist as well as a climatologist. He based his climate classification system on the observation that certain types of plants grow in certain regions but not in others. In the decades since the Köppen climate classifications has come into use, we have a better understanding of how a saguaro cactus and a live oak tree have different climatic needs, and how climate change over time affects how plants grow and thrive
A3: Through paleoclimatology, the study of climate before records were kept, we know that regional and planet wide climates change. These cycles are not entirely predictable, and it is inconclusive how much effect man-made factors have influenced climate change.
How hurricanes and tropical cyclones are formed and named.
storms | Typical, everyday weather is important to watch and fun to keep track of. It is the weather we see most of the time and the type of weather and storms that has the greatest influence on our lives. Some of the real fun of observing weather happens when the weather gets a little bit crazy and even dangerous.
One of the most common types of violent weather is a thunderstorm or electrical storm. Thunderstorms can range in intensity from a really short and intense rain burst with some lightning and thunder to a full blown tornado.
Besides thunder and lightning, one of the defining characteristics of a thunderstorm is its intense winds, especially the vertical winds. A thunderstorm is generated when warm, moist air is blown upward. As the air rises towards the cooler higher altitudes it reaches the dew point and the moisture in the air begins to condense and form snow or raindrops.
As the drops collide and form bigger drops, they begin to fall. As the water drops fall, they will cause a localized cooling effect, which causes even more winds to blow.
When the different temperature air masses rub against each other they can build a static electrical charge. The molecules of air and water rubbing together set up an electrical imbalance just like when you scuff your stocking feet across a carpet. Usually, the top of the thundercloud is positively charged while the bottom is negatively charged, but sometimes the cloud moving over the ground can give the ground a negative charge.
When the total charge is big enough, the electrical structure of the atoms in the air between the two charges begins to break down or ionize. This ionized air is highly conductive, and what we see as lightning is the plasma energy created when the charge between the positive and negative zones equalizes.
The sudden increase of temperature and pressure along the lightning bolt causes a rapid expansion and contraction of air which we hear as thunder.
The most severe thunderstorms are called supercell thunderstorms, and they occur when the wind changes direction and speed at different heights, and there is a separation between the updraft and downdraft zones. Tornadoes are often associated with supercell storms.
The name tornado comes from the Spanish word for thunderstorm. The funnel cloud of a tornado is formed around a localized low-pressure zone. The condensation of moisture inside the funnel and the dust kicked up by the intense surface winds allow the funnel cloud to be visible.
The winds associated with most tornadoes are below 110 mph and the tornado may travel a few miles before dissipating. A severe tornado may have winds up to 300 mph and travel for dozens of miles.
Here is some interesting Trivia: The first time a Hollywood movie successfully used showed a tornado effect on screen was in The Wizard of Oz (1939). This was decades before digital effects and green screens were even considered, and the science of weather forecasting was still primitive enough that sending a crew out to Kansas in hopes of filming a real tornado was out of the question.
Special Effects director A. Arnold “Buddy” Gillespie attempted to use a water vortex and a rubber cone to fill in for his tornado, but the results were not realistic. Finally, he noticed that the windsock at the local airport was the shape he was looking for. He made a 30′ muslin sock which he hung from a crane over the set.
The bottom of the fabric cone was attached to a car below the stage floor, and compressed air hoses blew dust and wind into it to simulate the debris which swirls around the base of an actual tornado.
The Weather Channel named the tornado scene from The Wizard of Oz in their list of Great Moment in the history of weather. The scene inspired several generations of meteorologists to take up the science.
A hurricane is a type of tropical cyclone and is one of the largest and most intense storms on the planet. Tropical cyclone refers to where the storm forms, and its winds, which circle around a low-pressure center or eye. Cyclones in the Northern hemisphere turn counterclockwise and clockwise in the South. The storms are generally “born” over warm tropical oceans, but rarely within 5° of the equator.
Warm, moist winds blow radially toward the low-pressure area at the center of the storm, feeding it with more and more energy. A hurricane can grow to between 60 and 2,500 miles in diameter.
Hurricanes are such large weather events that they are traditionally given names. Names are generally selected in advance for each season and assigned in alphabetical order. Tropical cyclones which originate in the Atlantic are referred to as hurricanes and those which affect the Western Pacific region are called typhoons.
In case of Hurricanes or other extreme weather events, safety should be your first concern, therefore we recommend to prepare in advance. You could either prepare an emergency kit buying all the items one-by-one or use ready-made kits.
Review Quiz:
Q1: What are the defining characteristics of a thunderstorm?
Q2: What makes a tornado funnel cloud visible?
Q3: What gives a hurricane or typhoon its energy?
Answers:
A1: Lightning, thunder, and intense winds
A2: What we see as a funnel cloud is the condensing moisture inside the low-pressure zone along with the dust and debris picked up by the intense winds.
A3: The storm gains energy and intensity as the low-pressure center travels over hundreds of miles of warm, open ocean water.
The name tornado comes from the Spanish word for thunderstorm. The funnel cloud of a tornado is formed around a localized low-pressure zone. The condensation of moisture inside the funnel and the dust kicked up by the intense surface winds allow the funnel cloud to be visible.