Wonders of Weather

In this activity we will dive into the wonders of weather and its great mysteries! We will explore the properties of our climate zones, the water cycle, and the difference types of significant natural events. We have a lot to do!

Climate vs. Weather

So what is the difference between Climate and weather anyway? Are they the same thing? Well Climate and weather are related but they are different. Climate describes the weather pattern for a specific region over a long period of time. While weather is describes the day to day temperature, rain, snow, hail etc. So weather can change within minutes to hours, versus climate takes years and years to change. Examples of the Climate would be the average amount of precipitation over the course of a season that has been recorded over years and years of time. Or the average high and low temperature in a month that has been recorded over years.

Climate Zones

Earth has three main climate zones—tropical, temperate, and polar. These zones can be further divided into smaller zones, each with its own typical climate. A region's climate, together with its physical characteristics, determines its plant and animal life. When we break down the climates things can get tricky!

Take a look at the map below and see some of your favorite states and try to figure out what climate zone they are in.

For example Las Angles CA, is in the Mediterranean Climate. Did you know Mediterranean climates feature warm to hot, dry summers and mild, rainy winters. occur on the west side of continents roughly between 30 degrees and 45 degrees latitude. The closer to the coast the area is, the more moderate the temperatures and the less the contrast between summer and winter temperatures.

Another example is Seattle WA, which is in the marine west coast climate. Did you know marine west coast are found only on the western sides of continents where prevailing winds blow from sea to land. The moderating influence of the ocean reduces the seasonal temperature contrast so that winters are cool to mild and summers are warm. Moderate precipitation occurs throughout the year. Low clouds, fog, and drizzle are common. Thunderstorms, cold waves, heat waves, and droughts are rare.

Some Climatic Zone Descriptions

Humid continental climates feature mild to warm summers and cold winters. Precipitation is distributed fairly evenly throughout the year, though many locations well inland have more precipitation in the summer.
Snow is a major element in humid continental climates. Winter temperatures are so low that snowfall can be substantial and snow cover persistent. Snow cover has a chilling effect on climate.

Humid subtropical climates are characterized by warm to hot summers and cool winters. Rainfall is distributed fairly evenly throughout the year. Winter rainfall–and sometimes snowfall–is associated with large storm systems that the westerlies steer from west to east. Most summer rainfall occurs during thunderstorms and an occasional tropical storm or hurricane.

Semiarid and desert climates occur in regions with little precipitation. Desert climates are drier than semiarid climates. Semiarid climates, also called steppe climates, usually border desert climates. In both climate groups, the temperature change between day and night is considerable. Clouds would reflect much of the sun’s intense radiation during the day, slowing the rate of heating of the air near the surface. At night, clouds and water vapor would absorb much of the earth’s radiation–most of which consists of infrared rays–slowing the rate of cooling.

Highland climates occur in mountainous regions. A highland climate zone is composed of several areas whose climates are like those found in flat terrain. Because air temperature decreases with increasing elevation in the mountains, each climate area is restricted to a certain range of altitude

Water Cycle

Take a look at the video to the left about the water cycle! As you watch, think about these questions as you watch.

How much of the Earth is covered by water?
How much of the water on earth is fresh water?
How much of the Earth's fresh water is drinkable for humans?

Water Cycle Processes

Evaporation

Evaporation is the process by which water changes from a liquid to a gas or vapor. Evaporation is the primary pathway that water moves from the liquid state back into the water cycle as atmospheric water vapor. Studies have shown that the oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers provide nearly 90 percent of the moisture in the atmosphere via evaporation, with the remaining 10 percent being contributed by plant transpiration.
Sublimation is the conversion between the solid and the gaseous phases of matter, with no intermediate liquid stage.

Condensation

Condensation is the process by which water vapor in the air is changed into liquid water. Condensation is crucial to the water cycle because it is responsible for the formation of clouds. Condensation is the opposite of evaporation.You don't have to look at something as far away as a cloud to notice condensation, though.
Condensation is responsible for ground-level fog, for your glasses fogging up when you go from a cold room to the outdoors on a hot, humid day, for the water that drips off the outside of your glass of iced tea, and for the water on the inside of the windows in your home on a cold day.

Precipitation

Precipitation is water released from clouds in the form of rain, freezing rain, sleet, snow, or hail. The clouds floating overhead contain water vapor and cloud droplets, which are small drops of condensed water. These droplets are way too small to fall as precipitation, but they are large enough to form visible clouds. For precipitation to happen, first tiny water droplets must condense on even tinier dust, salt, or smoke particles, which act as a nucleus. Water droplets may grow as a result of additional condensation of water vapor when the particles collide. If enough collisions occur to produce a droplet with a fall velocity which exceeds the cloud updraft speed, then it will fall out of the cloud as precipitation.

Significant Natural Events

We all know them as Natural Disasters, but let's look through a different lens and see if we can find something beautiful about these events. Find someone, whether it be a parent or caregiver, or a friend to talk about these events in our weather. What memories do they have of the event? In what ways did this natural event benefit the environment?

Hurricane

Tornado

Blizzard

Lightning

What does a cloud wear under his raincoat?

Thunderwear!

Outdoor Challenge Activity

Let's get busy! Below you will find three different activities that you can do to create your own at-home weather station. Each instrument has its own required materials and directions. We encourage you to do all three so you can be well informed of the weather this spring.

Track a Thunderstorm

What you need: Thunder, stopwatch or Watch, journal.

Wait for a lightning flash and then start the stopwatch immediately.
Stop when you hear the sound of thunder.
Have students write down their number.
For every five seconds, the storm is one mile away.
Divide their number by 5 to see how many miles away the lightning is!
The light traveled faster than sound, which is why it took longer to hear the thunder.

Rain Gauge

What you need: One 2-liter bottle, Sharpie, stones, water, scissors, ruler, tape.

Start by cutting away the top third of the 2-liter plastic bottle and put it to the side.
Pack a few stones at the bottom of the bottle.
Pour water in until just above the stone level.
Draw a scale on a piece of masking tape with the help of the ruler and paste it on the side of the bottle so you can start counting just above the current water line.
Invert the top of the bottle and place it into the bottom half to act as a funnel.
Leave bottle outside to capture rain.

Make a Thermometer

What you need: Clear plastic bottle, water, rubbing alcohol, clear plastic drinking straw, modeling clay, food coloring.

Fill the bottle about 1/4 full with equal parts water and rubbing alcohol.
Add a few drops of food coloring.
Put the straw inside the bottle without letting it touch the bottom.
Seal the neck of the bottle with the modeling clay to keep the straw in place.
Hold your hands on the bottom of the bottle and watch the mixture move up through the straw! Why? It expands when warm.

Review and Reflection

Awesome job today! Weather is such a fascinating topic to talk about and to learn about. Even to this day we are learning about the great mysteries that are engulfed within the different topics of weather.

Based on what you did today, consider the following questions and share your answers with anyone who will listen!

If we did not have our huge cities across the country would we migrate to avoid certain weather climates like birds?
Would you consider different weather storms to be a form of visual art
What do you think its like to be a droplet of water.

Quick Quiz

Fantastic - you are all geared up and ready for the next spring storm. In the meantime, let's see how much you remember from today's activity.

About the Author

Dingo*

Dingo joined the Boy Scouts of America at a young age and found his love for the outdoors and the beach there. He eventually earned his Eagle Scout rank and became a vigil member. After Dingo graduated high school, he attend Old Dominion University all the way in Virginia Beach, VA! Dingo's favorite season is summer because of all the fun exciting things he would plan for his summer campers when he directed a camp for Virginia Beach. After he graduated with a BA in Music, Dingo became a K-12 Music teacher! After spending a few years teaching, Dingo wanted to get back into the camp setting and found Nuhop to be an exciting place for a new adventure. So he decided to pack it and head to Ohio! His favorite activities are high ropes course, and canoeing!

*The Nuhop Outdoor Education Staff use "nature names" when working with students. The reason for these nature names is twofold: first it gives them a built-in conversation starter with students, and second, it provides them a level of personal privacy when working with over 4000 students in a given year.

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