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Earth Science
Here Comes A
STORM
by Melissa Burke
Genre
Expository
nonfiction
Comprehension
Skills and Strategy
• Fact and Opinion
• Main Idea
• Ask Questions
Text Features
•
•
•
•
Captions
Labels
Maps
Glossary
Scott Foresman Reading Street 2.4.5
ISBN 0-328-13291-8
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Reader Response
1. Look at page 13. Write one fact and
one opinion you find on this page.
2. After reading page 12, what questions
do you have about how radar works?
Make a web like the one below to
brainstorm your questions. Where
might you find answers to your
questions?
Here Comes A
STORM
Radar
by Melissa Burke
3. What is a forecast? Where can you find
a weather forecast if you need one?
4. Based on both pictures and what you
read on pages 13–15, what can you tell
about hurricanes?
Editorial Offices: Glenview, Illinois • Parsippany, New Jersey • New York, New York
Sales Offices: Needham, Massachusetts • Duluth, Georgia • Glenview, Illinois
Coppell, Texas • Ontario, California • Mesa, Arizona
What does a meteorologist do?
Every effort has been made to secure permission and provide appropriate credit for
photographic material. The publisher deeply regrets any omission and pledges to
correct errors called to its attention in subsequent editions.
Have you ever had to change plans
because of the weather? Maybe you’ve
wished you could change the weather
instead of your plans! Of course, we
can’t change the weather just because
we don’t like it, but there is something
people can do to help with making
plans. Some people work to predict the
weather.
Predicting the weather is a science.
Studying weather is part of the science
called meteorology. The scientists who
study weather are called meteorologists.
Unless otherwise acknowledged, all photographs are the property of Scott Foresman,
a division of Pearson Education.
Photo locators denoted as follows: Top (T), Center (C), Bottom (B), Left (L), Right (R),
Background (Bkgd)
Opener: Michael S. Yamashita/Corbis; 1 Bruce Miller/Corbis; 3 Michael S. Yamashita/
Corbis; 4 Corbis; 5 David Young-Wolff/PhotoEdit; 7 NASA; 8 (BL) NASA, (BR) DK
Images; 9 (BL) Stephen Oliver/DK Images, (BR) DK Images; 11 (TL) ©David Parker/Photo
Researchers, Inc., (BR) NASA; 12 Brownie Harris/Corbis; 13 Roger Ressmeyer/Corbis;
14 (Bkgd) National Atlantic Meteorology and Oceanography Center/Corbis, (BL) Bruce
Burkhardt/Corbis, (CR) Corbis; 15 David Young-Wolff/PhotoEdit; 17 David Young-Wolff/
PhotoEdit; 19 Francoise Gervais/Corbis
ISBN: 0-328-13291-8
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc.
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3
Why do we need to predict the weather?
Maybe you’ve seen a meteorologist
on TV. TV meteorologists tell people
about weather conditions, and make
forecasts about the weather. Many
people get their weather news from TV
meteorologists.
People want to know what the
weather will be like today, tomorrow,
and next week. They want to know
how to dress for outdoor activities.
They need to know there will be good
weather to travel.
People also need to know about
weather so they can do their jobs.
Farmers need to plan the best times to
plant their crops. They need to know
if they will ripen earlier or later than
usual. Builders need to know the best
time to start construction. Truck drivers
and airplane pilots must know if it is
safe to drive or fly. Many other jobs
depend on weather too.
A meteorologist tells TV
viewers about the weather.
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You can make a weather forecast
yourself; just look out your window. Do
you see any clouds? Step outside. Does
it feel wet or dry? If there are no clouds
and it feels dry, you could predict that it
is not likely to rain.
This is a simple weather prediction
based on a little bit of information.
The kinds of predictions meteorologists
make call for much more information.
Meteorologists can tell exactly how
hot or how cold it is. They tell if it
might rain or snow. They tell how fast
the winds are blowing and what kinds
of clouds there are. TV forecasters use
a weather map, or they may also use
satellite and radar pictures.
Gathering Information
Meteorologists work at weather
stations. They are always busy gathering
weather information. They record
details about clouds, air temperature,
air pressure, humidity, and wind.
Special tools are used to collect this
information.
To make forecasts, meteorologists
gather information from around the
world. Weather in one part of the world
can affect weather in other places.
Meteorologists work together with
scientists from many places.
Weather predictions help you
decide if you need to dress
for rain.
TIROS N is a spacecraft that
helps forecast weather.
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It is important that all scientists
measure weather information the
same way, using the same tools.
Meteorologists around the world also
use the same units of measurement.
This way they can share the information
they get. Let’s look at some of the tools
meteorologists use.
Meteorologists use thermometers
to measure temperature. Temperature
is how hot or how cold the air is.
Temperature can be measured in
Fahrenheit or in Celsius.
Barometers are used to measure air
pressure. Air pressure is measured in
units called atmospheres.
Anemometers are used to measure
the speed of the wind. Wind speed can
be measured in miles or kilometers per
hour.
Rain gauges are used to measure
how much water falls to Earth. Rainfall
is measured in inches or centimeters.
Thermometer
Anemometer
Barometer
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Rain gauge
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Some tools are used to gather
information above Earth. People fly
special planes through clouds. The
meteorologists in the planes report
about conditions in the sky. Some planes
even fly through terrifying storms to
learn more about them. Scientists also
send up weather balloons to get details
at different heights. The scientist to
the right is preparing to send a special
weather balloon up into a storm.
Weather satellites orbit Earth. These
machines can measure temperature
and moisture. They also take pictures of
clouds and storms. Scientists keep track
of how these pictures change so that
they can see how the clouds and storms
are moving, or where they are going.
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This weather
balloon is
called a
Jimsphere.
It provides
information
about the
wind.
Scientists are at
work creating
more advanced
satellites all the
time.
11
Meteorologists also use weather
radar. Radar is a tool that sends out
radio waves from an antenna. The radio
waves travel through the air. The waves
bounce into objects, such as raindrops or
hailstones. When this happens, some of
the waves bounce back to the antenna.
The radar changes those radio waves
into a picture. The picture shows where
the rain or hail is happening. Radar can
also tell about how winds are blowing.
Doppler weather radar
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Making Forecasts
All this weather information is sent
to major weather centers. Organizing
all this information is quite difficult.
Meteorologists use computers to help
them put it all together.
Meteorologists spend a lot of time
tracking storms, from simple rain storms
to big, dangerous storms, such as
tornadoes and hurricanes. Meteorologists
need to think about how the storms
might move and change. They also think
about new storms that may develop.
Mir space station over a hurricane
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They use what they know about
clouds, air temperature, moisture, air
pressure, and wind. They try to find
weather patterns. They review what has
happened in the past, and then they
predict what will most likely happen
again. Computers help meteorologists
make these forecasts, so the
meteorologists can then tell people like
you. They can give hurricane or tornado
warnings when they see pictures like the
one below.
Even meteorologists don’t always
get the forecasts right. That’s because
the weather is always changing. Small
differences in weather can cause sudden
changes that the forecaster doesn’t
expect. Forecasters try to use patterns
to tell what will happen next. But things
don’t always happen in a pattern.
Meteorologists make
forecasts of hurricanes.
Hurricane Nora
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Becoming a Meteorologist
To become a meteorologist, you must
go to college and learn a lot of math
and science. You also need to learn how
to use computers.
If you think you would like to
become a meteorologist someday, there
are things you can do right now. Watch
weather forecasts. Read all that you
can about weather. Ask your parents
or a teacher to help you write to a TV
meteorologist. Ask him or her questions.
Try coming up with your own ideas
about weather and writing them in a
journal. Make observations. Go back
and check if you were right. If you want
to give weather tracking a try, do the
activity on the following pages.
Practice measuring and
recording different kinds
of weather.
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Now Try This
to Do It!
w
o
H
s
’
e
r
He
Be a Weather Watcher
Meteorologists are weather watchers.
You can be a weather watcher too! And
what about watching meteorologists?
See what you can learn by comparing
some forecasts to what really happens.
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
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Partly Cloudy
46o/38 o
Rain
49o/45 o
Showers
51o/36 o
Partly Cloudy
46o/26 o
Sunny
46o/38 o
Partly Cloudy
46o/38 o
Sunny
46o/38 o
1. First, make a forecast chart like the
one shown. Leave all the columns
blank except for the first column—the
days of the week.
2. Watch or read a seven-day forecast
from TV, the Internet, or a newspaper.
Write down the forecast for each day.
3. Write down what the weather was
really like each day.
4. Compare the forecasts to the actual
weather. Did they match? Why do
you think this is so?
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Glossary
conditions n. the
way that some
things are.
forecasts n.
statements of
what will probably
happen.
meteorologists n.
people who study
weather.
Reader Response
patterns n. things
that repeat; the
regular way things
happen.
predict v. to tell
about something
before it happens;
forecast.
1. Look at page 13. Write one fact and
one opinion you find on this page.
2. After reading page 12, what questions
do you have about how radar works?
Make a web like the one below to
brainstorm your questions. Where
might you find answers to your
questions?
record v. to write
down.
terrifying adj. very
scary.
Radar
3. What is a forecast? Where can you find
a weather forecast if you need one?
4. Based on both pictures and what you
read on pages 13–15, what can you tell
about hurricanes?
20