Unit 3 - Weather

Video explanation of key points in the unit .

The Atmosphere

• Layers of The Atmosphere Video on Youtube. Watch the video then look at the pictures below.

The real atmosphere (white glow)

Meteorologists - A scientist who studies the weather.

Weather Factors - These are all the different parts of weather that meteorologists talk about.

• Temperature
• Air Pressure
• Wind speed
• Wind direction
• Moisture

Weather Stations - A structure where meteorologists collect data about the different weather factors.

• Tour of a Weather Station

Weather Tools

• Hygrometer - a tool used to measure moisture.
• Thermometer - a tool used to measure temperature.
• Barometer - a tool used to measure air pressure.

Air Pressure: High Pressure vs. Low Pressure

• Where is pressure high?

Air Mass - a large body of air that is very similar to the area that it's over in terms of moisture and temperature.

• maritime (m) - over water, moist
• continental (c) - over land, dry
• Polar (P) - Near the poles, cold
• Tropical (T) - Near the tropics, warm
  • A warm, moist air mass is called maritime Tropical (mT)

Weather Fronts

• Cool website to show what happens when a warm air mass meets a cold air mass.

Water Cycle

• This is an interesting website that explains the water cycle one step at a time.
  • R (Rain and other forms of precipitation)
  • W (Water Storage or runoff)
  • V (Vapor, or evaporation)
  • C (Clouds because of condensation)
• See the water cycle and play with the different parts.

Severe Weather

• Here is an article about a middle school in Mississippi damaged by a tornado.