Be a Meteorologist

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:

  • a camcorder/video camera
  • poster paper and markers to make weather maps
  • local weather information
  • 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:

air mass - air moving in large blocks 

  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.

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

cloud classification

clouds are classified by shape and height and given names such as cumulus, cirrus, stratus, etc.

condensation - process of water vapor changing into a liquid

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)

drizzle - fine precipitation with water droplet sizes smaller than rain

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

flood - water levels rising above normal, often quickly

fog - technically a very low-lying cloud

fronts: 

  • cold front - cold air mass approaches warm air mass and lifts it 
  • warm front - warm air meets cooler air and rises over it


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

humidity - amount of water vapor in the air

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

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

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

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

lightning - huge electrical charge forming during storms

meteorologist - person who studies weather

monsoon - heavy rain resulting from a prevailing seasonal wind pattern

nimbus - dark clouds full of water vapor

precipitation - water falling from clouds

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

shower - brief period of precipitation

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

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

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

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

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

tornado - violently rotating column of air

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

wind -moving air







© Roberta Gibson 2021