Weather Forecasting Activity

Summary

In this lesson, students will consider how weather forecasting can play an important part in their daily lives. They will learn about the history of weather forecasting — from old weather proverbs to modern forecasting equipment — and how improvements in weather technology have saved lives by providing advance warning of natural hazards.

Engineering Connection

People have forecasted the weather since ancient times; however, thanks to the work of engineers during the past 100 years, we now have advanced weather forecasting equipment such as weather balloons, satellites, Doppler radar, and computer simulation programs. Today, people around the world rely on the information provided by these weather forecasting technologies, in the form of weather forecasts broadcast multiple times daily, to help us choose clothes to wear, plant crops at optimal times, and survive natural disasters, such as hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes.

This engineering curriculum meets Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and the new engineering component of the 2018 VDOE Science Standards.

Learning Objectives

After this lesson, students should be able to:

• Describe how weather forecasting has evolved from the observation of patterns to modern forecasting equipment.
• Explain how engineering advancements in weather forecasting improve the quality of people's lives around the world.
• List several examples of the technology behind modern forecasting equipment (weather balloons, satellites and weather radars, apps for your smartphone). Include any new example students may come up with.

Pre-Lesson Assessment

Have students discuss and respond to the Weather Proverbs listed below under assessments. The proverbs could be projected on the boars, pushed out in Google Classroom, or printed for student use.

Introduction/Motivation

Have a group discussion with the students to introduce the topic of weather forecasting. 

Discussion questions

What were you thinking about when you dressed for school this morning? Specifically, how did you decide what to wear today? Did you glance out the window to see what the weather was doing? If you looked out the window, what were your clues? 

Explain to the students that without even thinking about it they were forecasting the weather! In the same way, people around the world have been forecasting the weather for thousands of years. For a long time, people relied on weather patterns to predict the weather. Who has heard the following expression?

(If students mentioned using Alexa, watching the news, or  checking their weather app they using modern forms of forecasting ask them to hold that idea for the next discussion topic)

Example of ancient weather forecasting

"Red skies in the morning, sailors take warning? Red skies at night, sailors' delight."

Well, although this rhyme is not entirely true, ancient sailors used it as a rule of thumb, due to the fact that a red morning sun did indeed often bring rain (because the red sky occurred when the air was full of dust and water vapor).

Besides sailors navigating on the open water and you wanting to dress right for the weather, why do we care about weather forecasting? (Note: Show students the weather section of the day's newspaper or the local media website) Why is there a weather section in the newspaper? When you do see people consulting the weather forecast, either in the newspaper or on television? (Possible answers: Before planning a trip, a sporting event, going on a picnic, doing outside chores, etc.) What about people who grow food? Do any of you have a garden at your house? It is certainly helpful to understand the weather when taking care of a garden.

For farmers, whose crops are their livelihood, the ability to predict the weather is crucial. Before the advent of modern weather forecasting technology, which we will discuss later, how do you think farmers predicted the weather? (Note: If possible, show the students a copy of the Farmer's Almanac.) Some of you may have heard of The Farmer's Almanac, a book — used since 1792 — that uses a complex series of natural cycles to devise a secret weather forecasting formula, traditionally said to be 80% accurate. Before modern weather technology, farmers relied heavily on the Almanac to plan their crop growing seasons. People around the country still read the Almanac to learn about farming, the weather and to understand astronomical events and ocean tides.

Farmer's Almanac website with activities, videos and long-range weather forecasts, http://www.farmersalmanac.com  

Have a group discussion with the students to discuss the topic of modern weather forecasting.

Discussion questions

How do you think people forecast the weather today? (Possible answers: Satellites, weather balloons, computers.) During the past 100 years, engineers and scientists have worked to design modern forecasting equipment such as weather balloons, satellites, Doppler radars and more to help predict the weather. Fortunately, modern equipment has made it much easier to predict the weather, climate and water-related hazards around the world, which account for nearly 90% of all natural disasters. Modern weather forecasting technology provides vital information for advance warnings of natural disasters such as tornadoes, hurricanes, and floods. Improved technology has saved many lives and reduced damage to property and the environment.

Lesson  and Background Concepts for Teachers

Before beginning the lesson give each student a copy of the following notetaking outline so they can record "Cool Facts About Weather" as the History of Weather information is presented (see link below). This information can be covered as a whole group lesson by projecting it on the board or printing paper copies. It can also be pushed out into Google Classroom. 

(Other answers are acceptable, this is a suggested Key)

History of Weather Forecasting

Assessment

Pre-Lesson Assessment

Weather Proverbs: Read the following list of weather proverbs to students. In small groups or as a class, try to guess what each weather proverb means and what it might tell us about the weather.

• If crows fly low, winds are going to blow; if crows fly high, winds are going to die.
• No weather is ill if the wind is still.
• News and weather... they travel together.
• A sunshiny shower won't last half an hour.
• Clear moon, frost soon.
• From twelve 'til two tells what the day will do.
• It rains as long as it takes rain to come.
• When sea birds fly to land there truly is a storm at hand.

Post-Lesson Summary Assessment

Explaining Weather Proverbs: Return to the list of weather proverbs listed in the Pre-Lesson Assessment. Now have students explain how they could test these proverbs. What forecasting equipment might students use to determine if the proverbs are true?

Resources

Remixed from the original source

https://www.teachengineering.org/lessons/view/cub_weather_lesson04