Learner Outcomes

By completing this activity, the learner will:

• observe weather systems on radar maps and satellite images.
• describe weather system characteristics.
• organize, graph and analyze weather data and patterns.
• use image analysis techniques to predict changes in local weather.
• prepare presentations describing previous, current, and forecasted weather conditions.

Exploration

• Begin tracking a winter storm as it approaches the United States.
• What meteorological conditions support the development of winter storms?
• Is your storm
• An Alberta Clipper?
• Northeaster?
• Do you think it could be as bad as the Blizzard of January '96?

Experiment

1. Collect data on the storm for 3 - 5 days.
• Twice daily satellite images. Choose from any of the following sites:
United States: (one) (two) (three) (four) (five) (six) (seven)
Canada: (one) (two) (three) (four)
• Reports from weather stations & cities along the the storm track.
• Email reports submitted by teachers and students along the storm track.
2. Organize your data.
• Create a folder called winter_storm
• Satellite images
• Inside the winter_storm folder, create a folder called winter_images.
• Place all the satellite images in winter_images.
• Order the satellite images by date and time then rename them as wintersat01, wintersat02, wintersat03, and so on.
• Convert all of the wintersat images to TIFF format using GifConverter (MAC) or Paint Shop Pro (PC).
• Save the images as wintersat01.TIFF, wintersat02.TIFF, and so on.
• Weather reports
• Inside the winter_storm folder, create a folder called winter_reports.
• Place all weather reports in winter_reports.
• Sort the weather reports by station/city.
• For each station/city, order the reports by date and time and rename them.
• Text-based reports --- denverT01, denverT02, and so on.
• Graphics-based reports --- denverG01, denverG02, and so on.
• Email reports
• Inside the winter_storm folder, create a folder called winter_observations.
• Place all the email messages in winter_observations.
• Sort the observations by city/school.
• For each city/school, order the reports by date and time and rename them denverE01, denverE02, and so on.
• Make a master list of all your files
3. Analyze your data
• Start Scion Image (PC) or NIH Image (Mac) version 1.59 or later.
• Select Open from the File menu, open the winter_images folder, and select the Open All option in the dialog box.
• Select Windows to Stack in the Stack menu.
• Select Animate from the Stack menu. The numbers 1-9 across the top of your keyboard control the speed of the animation.
• Write a paragraph describing the animation and the features of the storm that it shows.
• Based on the weather reports from each city, create a series of graphs showing the passage of the storm.
• Daily Hi/Lo temperatures
• Precipitation
• Wind velocity and direction
• Add notes to each graph based on the email reports from each city/school.
• Predict the path of the storm for the next three days.
• Create a map that demonstrates the previous and projected path of the storm.
• From your graphs, predict the temperature, wind velocity, and precipitation for another location.
• Compare your predictions with actual reports and propose reasons for any differences.
4. Summarize your findings and reactions by writing a press release for the local radio station or produce a weather report presentation with visuals and graphs for a television report.

Extension

• Determine the scale of your image.
• Use NIH Image to determine the distance that the storm front moves in 24 hours.
• Calculate the storm's speed.
• Predict the exact time the storm will reach a state capitol.
• Make an animated snow cover of the United States movie, using snow cover maps.