Ever watched the weather report and wondered what it would be like to be a meteorologist? Here’s a fun way to learn about the weather and give being a weather scientist a try. Do some research, learn how to read a weather map and prepare a weather report. Make posters showing cold fronts, warm fronts, the current weather conditions, and the local weather forecast. Dress up like you are going to be on television. Then have a friend or family member take a video of you presenting the weather.

Gather:

1. • a camcorder/video camera
   

2. • poster paper and markers to make weather maps
   

3. • local weather information
   

4. • dress up clothes
   

The Weather Wiz Kids website has a cool page about Becoming a Meteorologist.

Kids Online Resource (KidsOLR) has a Meteorology Science page with tons of weather links to help with your research.

Extension:  Some television stations have tours or information days. Check to see if you can visit one of your local meteorologists to learn more.

Weather Words:

1. air mass - air moving in large blocks
   

2.   atmosphere - the blanket of air that encircles the earth. It is a mixture of gases, liquids and fine solids. Living things can also be found in the atmosphere, such as algae, bacteria and fungi. The atmosphere contains 78% nitrogen and 21 % oxygen.
   

3. blizzard - heavy snow with high winds, 35 mph or faster
   

4. cloud classification: -clouds are classified by shape and height and given names such as cumulus, cirrus, stratus, etc.
   

5. condensation - process of water vapor changing into a liquid
   

6. dew point - temperature at which air becomes saturated with water vapor and condensation occurs (keep in mind that warm air holds more water vapor than cool air)
   

7. drizzle - fine precipitation with water droplet sizes smaller than rain
   

8. evaporation - changing liquids into vapor or gas at temperatures lower than the boiling point
   

9. flood - water levels rising above normal, often quickly
   

10. fog - technically a very low-lying cloud
    

11. fronts, cold front - cold air mass approaches warm air mass and lifts it
    

                warm front - warm air meets cooler air and rises over it

1. hail, hailstones - chunks of ice produced by updrafts in thunderstorms
   

2. humidity - amount of water vapor in the air
   

3. hurricane -large-scale, violent wind and rain storm that forms in the Atlantic Ocean.
   

4. isobar - line drawn on a weather map to indicate points of equal air pressure
   

5. isotherm - line drawn on a map to connect points of equal temperature
   

6. jet stream-  a fast-moving river of air high in the atmosphere
   

7. lightning - huge electrical charge forming during storms
   

8. meteorologist - person who studies weather
   

9. monsoon - heavy rain resulting from a prevailing seasonal wind pattern
   

10. nimbus - dark clouds full of water vapor
    

11. precipitation - water falling from clouds
    

12. relative humidity - amount of water vapor in the air compared to the amount needed for saturation at that temperature
    

13. shower - brief period of precipitation
    

14. sleet - snow that melts in the air and then refreezes as pellets
    

15. snow - ice crystals that form in clouds and fall to earth
    

16. sun - the star that is at the center of our solar system
    

17. temperature - amount of hotness or coldness as measured by the kinetic energy of the atoms or molecules
    

18. thunder - lightning passing through air causes a shock wave heard as the loud noise called thunder
    

19. tornado - violently rotating column of air
    

20. typhoon - large-scale, violent wind and rain storm that forms in the Pacific Ocean
    

21. wind -moving air