Weather patterns can shift significantly each day or minute – from sunshine and rainstorms to snowfall and even blizzards!
Windy weather events, known as storms, include tornadoes, dust devils, gales, squalls and hailstorms. Tropical cyclones (commonly referred to as hurricanes or typhoons) also produce powerful winds with rough seas and heavy rainfall – two additional weather phenomena known as tropical cyclones are known.
Temperature
Temperature changes within our atmosphere are constantly occurring, caused by sunlight and other cosmic energy coming from space as well as air currents. These variations are visible all around us in forms such as sunshine, rain, snow or storms and impact how plants and animals grow as well as harvest food crops.
Earth’s atmosphere consists of gasses that surround our planet. Because its delicate yet vital role in maintaining life on our planet is so essential, its protection must be prioritized by all. Thanks to technology we’ve become adept at protecting it both remotely and locally.
Most weather occurs in the troposphere, a layer of gases covering 75% of Earth’s atmosphere. Here, temperatures, air pressure, and moisture levels play an integral part of creating its characteristic weather patterns.
Thunder occurs when lightning cuts the atmospheric pressure in two and then quickly restores it, producing that familiar “clap noise.” For example, every year on average the Empire State Building gets struck 23 times.
Climate is defined as the long-term weather patterns of any given location over long periods – usually 30 years or more. Climate conditions nearer to the equator tend to be warmer due to direct sunlight hitting those regions more directly; earth rotates around its sun every year causing seasons on our planet to change as a result.
Rain
Children will love learning all about the water cycle with these engaging weather facts! From age-appropriate text to age-specific graphic organizers, kids will quickly grasp this essential topic with ease and delight!
The Earth’s atmosphere consists of many layers, and the troposphere is where most weather occurs on our planet. Heat from the Sun turns moisture from plants and oceans into water vapour that rises up into the air until it cools; then changes back into water droplets; this rain falls as raindrops, while smaller drops remain as drizzle or fog.
Some areas experience more rainfall than others; Galway, Ireland receives rain daily on an estimated 220 to 230 days annually while Yuma, Arizona experiences far less precipitation.
Rain is an integral component of our environment, from its impact on floods and erosion to helping plants grow, feeding animals, and providing humans with sustenance. Plus it creates beautiful rainbows.
Some people love rain; others do not. Vancouver in Canada is widely considered the global rain capital; on one day alone in 1956, 23 inches fell upon this city!
Lightning strikes can be an unpredictable weather event that is both visible and audible – its strike cuts through air pressure to produce thunderclaps or even forest fires.
Weather forecasting can be unpredictable, but science has made forecasting extremely accurate. Scientists use sensors positioned all around Earth, seas, and space. But sometimes weather can differ significantly from predictions due to changes in atmospheric variables that can quickly shift their presence or alteration over time.
Snow
If you live in an area that experiences frequent snowfall, you might be shocked to learn that it doesn’t always appear white. Snow is actually translucent – its ice crystals reflect light from different directions, giving it its characteristic coloration of white; but its tint may range from blueish or pinkish depending on pollution levels in the air. In Colorado or California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains alpine areas it may even turn pink due to an algae known as Chlamydomonas nivalis which thrives only in cold climates – turning winter white landscapes into fabulous pink wonderlands!
Earth’s atmosphere is complex, with daily, hourly and even minute-by-minute changes to our weather happening across its expanse. From rainstorms to sunshine showers to blizzards and tornadoes – the Earth is constantly experiencing new weather events that impact its surroundings in some way or another. These fascinating facts about wild weather events will give an understanding of why they happen and their potential effects on the world around us.
Weather plays a pivotal role in our world. It affects plants, animals and humans alike – too much or too little rain can result in crop failure, leading to food shortages; while storms can bring flooding that washes away crops and homes. Heavy storms may even bring about deadly mudslides which kill people or lead to floods which wash away everything in their path – leading animals like worms up the soil before rain starts falling in order to breathe better and survive! When rain begins pouring down they must head for higher ground to breathe freely – something they may struggle with while still underground buried underground!
Wind
Wind is one of the most fascinating elements of our atmosphere and an excellent way to teach students about weather systems. Though meteorologists have become remarkably accurate over the years, unexpected factors still have the power to alter weather in surprising ways: land or ocean temperatures rising or falling faster than expected, sudden shifts in wind direction changing unexpectedly or shifting jet streams – just to name a few variables.
Wind can have a dramatic impact on both humans and the environment, uprooting trees, flags, and even people from their paths. One way that houses can stand up better to high wind speeds is with larger windows and an open floor plan; but other factors also come into play that influence whether buildings withstand or succumb to its force of wind.
Explain to students that although air may appear invisible, it’s composed of thousands of tiny particles – the same ones they see causing movement when watching leaves blow in the wind, flags fly or hair move with gusts. Furthermore, these same particles hold onto moisture which causes rain or snowfall.
Wind can produce various types of weather conditions, from hurricanes and typhoons in the Pacific, tropical storms in the Atlantic, snowstorms in the Rockies and even waterspouts (sometimes referred to as “swimmers”) on surface waters to tornados forming from this force of nature. When extreme cold sets in, windspouts have even frozen rivers completely, as was seen with Thames River freezing over in 1684! In Antarctica wind gusts of 200mph have also been recorded!
Lightning
Dark clouds bringing rain and rolling thunder can be stunning to witness, yet also pose serious threats. Lightning heats the surrounding air to temperatures as high as 54,000 degrees Fahrenheit (5x hotter than the surface of the Sun!) This causes it to expand explosively, producing an initial “CRACK!” followed by rolling thunderclaps.
Lightning from thunderstorms starts as an electric field formed between regions with opposite charges within a storm cloud (intra-cloud lightning). Channels of electrical energy then form that can either stay within the clouds (cloud-to-cloud lightning) or extend out into clear air and hit the ground directly (ground-to-cloud lightning). Lightning strikes have been reported up to 15 miles away from storms even with clear blue skies!
Lightning strikes can be frightening, yet it is essential to keep in mind that only 1 out of 100 people die annually from lightning strikes. Furthermore, lightning plays an integral part in cleaning the atmosphere by producing large quantities of oxidants which help breakdown organic material in the air and lessen its toxicity.
Many cultures have long relied on natural events to accurately forecast weather, from frogs croaking and uncurling sheep’s wool to opening pine cones as signs of rainy conditions. Thus it comes as no surprise that many weathervanes feature roosters since Peter betrayed Christ, thus sanctioning its inclusion as a symbol on weathervanes in the 9th century by church decree.
Most weather we experience occurs in a layer known as the troposphere, which comprises 75% of Earth’s atmosphere and is home to most of its water vapor. But sometimes weather can appear elsewhere–for instance a tornado may form over an ocean and be known as a tornadic waterspout.