Learner Outcomes

After completing this lesson, learners will:

• describe current radar and satellite images.
• determine a relationship between wind speeds and altitudes.
• plot the current location of the jet stream affecting local weather.
• use NIH Image (Mac) or Scion Image (PC) to make a movie of current weather systems.
• map precipitation in a given area.

Exploration

1. Select two of the following current national radar images showing precipitation from CNN, Intellicast, Purdue, or The Weather Channel. Sketch what you see.
2. Find several current national and regional satellite images showing cloud cover. Sketch what you see.
3. Describe the similarities and differences between cloud cover and precipitation locations.
4. Which map best describes the weather at your present location? Why?

Experiment

• A. Locate a storm. Use a USA outline map or print a map to map the area of the storm you wish to study.

• B. Print out (or save) both a key and a chart of symbols.

Use the keys to determine information about the winds at ground level in the zones marked for your storm.

1. How strong and from what direction is the wind at the surface where your storm is?
a. Use the surface map symbols to determine surface wind speed and direction.
b. Mark weather symbols for your storm on your map.
2. Show the isobars on your map.
a. Use the CoVis Java Weather Machine and ask it to produce isobars.
b. What is the difference between this map and the wind maps.
• C. Find information about winds at differing altitudes above ground.

1. How is wind speed and direction different at different levels above your storm?

a. 250mb chart (high altitudes; far from the ground)
b. 500mb chart (mid-altitudes)
c. 850mb chart (low altitudes; near to the ground)
2. Check out the jet stream at the same location.
a. Where is the jet stream coming from when it enters your area?
b. How does the jet stream seem to be affecting the storm?
• D. View a radar image of the area.

1. Save an image each day for about 5 days and make a movie with NIH Image. Determine the storm's velocity. (hint: see step-by-step)

2. Locate another storm in the world and download an image for it too. Where is it? How is it similar to your storm? How is it different?
• E. How much precipitation was there (6 to 10 inches of snow is roughly equal to 1" of rain)?
1. Map the precipitation for your area.
• F. Using the images and sites visited during this activity, write a paragraph describing your storm in terms of:

1. wind
2. precipitation
3. pressure changes
• G. Additional activities - ground truth weather measurements in your area.

Extensions

• Weather map symbols: have students make large (at least 8.5 X 11) pictures of weather maps with their names and descriptions.
• Have students measure ground truth the weather at your site. This means let them take barometric pressure readings, wind speed and direction, and precipitation measurements each day.
• Students can map out the pressure readings in their own classroom and then connect points that have the same readings. This will help understand the idea of isobars.
• Students develop live weather forcasts using the JAVA Weather Machine describing all of the attributes.
• To show that winds go from high pressure to low, inflate a balloon and let go! Ask the students why the air left the balloon. What was causing the higher pressure? What causes higher pressure in the weather? (Unequal heating by the sun causes some air masses to be less dense and rise resulting in lower pressure. The air cools and sinks causing a higher pressure.)
• Create movies of changes in Highs and Lows and compare with wind movies you made. Look for wind direction to parallel the isobars, especially at higher elevations. Also look for winds to move from Highs to Lows.