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WEATHER
AND IT’S AFFECTS ON LIFE
BY: ALLIE BRUMBACH
WHAT IS WEATHER?
/’weTHer/
The state of the atmosphere at a place and time as regards heat,
dryness, sunshine, wind, rain, etc.
WHAT ARE SOME FORMS OF WEATHER?
SUNSHINE
Sunshine is radiation from the Sun. The sun is the star in which all of the planets in
our solar system circulate around. From sunshine, our temperature and natural light
are affected. The closer to the sun, the warmer the planet! Earth is the perfect
distance away which causes us to have livable seasons!
Windy
Wind is air in motion. It is produced by the uneven heating of the earth’s surface by the sun. If there
was no wind, the world would experience constant and direct sunlight which would potentially cause
it to be too warm to inhabit!
Clouds
Cirrus Clouds
A cloud is a large collection of
very tiny droplets of water or ice
crystals. The droplets are so small
and light that they can float in
the air.
Cumulonimbus Clouds
Stratus Clouds
Cumulus Clouds
Clouds
Cirrus Clouds: Cirrus clouds are the most common of the high clouds. They are composed of
ice and are thin, wispy. Cirrus clouds are usually white and predict fair to pleasant weather.
Stratus clouds: Stratus Clouds are low level clouds. They are uniform grayish clouds that often
cover the entire sky. Light mist or drizzle sometimes falls out of these clouds.
Cumulus Clouds: Cumulus Clouds are white, puffy clouds that look like pieces of floating
cotton. The base of each cloud is flat and the top of each cloud has rounded towers.
Cumulonimbus Clouds: Cumulonimbus clouds are thunderstorm clouds. High winds can flatten
the top of the cloud into an anvil-like shape. Cumulonimbus clouds are associated with heavy
rain, snow, hail, lightning and even tornadoes.
Rain
Water droplets form from warm air. As the warm air rises in the sky it cools. Which creates water
vapor (invisible water in the air) always exists in our air. When enough of these droplets collect
together, we see them as clouds. If the clouds are big enough and have enough water droplets, the
droplets bang together and form even bigger drops. When the drops get heavy, they fall because
of gravity, and you see and feel rain.
What does this process look like….
WATER CYCLE
The Water Cycle
Thunderstorms
Thunderstorms are storms that consist of rain, thunder,
lightning and often gusty winds. Thunderstorms are brought to
us by Cumulonimbus clouds. We need 3 ingredients to
produce a thunderstorm:
1. Moisture, which forms clouds and then rain.
2. Unstable air, which needs to be relatively warm and rise
quickly.
3. “Lift,” such as fronts, sea breezes or mountain fronts.
What comes first: Lightning or Thunder?
Group Experiment: Lightning In Your Mouth
Lightning
Lightning is an electric current. Within a cloud, many small bits of ice (frozen raindrops) bump into
each other as they move around in the air. All of those collisions create an electric charge. After a
while, the whole cloud fills up with electrical charges. The positive charges form at the top of the
cloud and the negative charges form at the bottom of the cloud. Since opposites attract, that causes
a positive charge to build up on the ground beneath the cloud. The grounds electrical charge
concentrates around anything that sticks up, such as mountains, people, or single trees. The charge
coming up from these points eventually connects with a charge reaching down from the clouds and
lightning strikes!
Lightning Comes First!
Thunder
Thunder is caused by lightning. When a lightning bolt travels from the cloud to the ground it actually
opens up a little hole in the air, called a channel. Once the light is gone the air collapses back in and
creates a sound wave that we hear as thunder. The reason we see lightning before we hear thunder
is because light travels faster than sound!
Thunder Comes Second!
Winter Weather
Winter storms usually form when an air mass of cold, dry, Canadian air moves south and interacts with a
warm, moist air mass moving north from the Gulf of Mexico. The point where these two air masses meet is
called a front. If cold air advances and pushes away the warm air, it forms a cold front. When warm air
advances, it rides up over the denser, cold air mass to form a warm front.
These fronts can cause…
Rain
Freezing Rain
Sleet
Snow
Snow
Snow is commonly formed when water vapor undergoes deposition, which is when water vapor
changes directly to ice without first becoming a liquid, high in the atmosphere at a temperature of
less than 32°F and then falls to the ground.
Snowflakes
Snowflakes are made of ice crystals. Each snowflake is six-sided and made of as many as 200 ice
crystals. Snowflakes form in clouds where the temperature is below freezing. As snowflakes become
heavier they fall to the ground.
Snow Falling
WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT WEATHER?
Let’s visit www.wordle.com and make a word cluster of what we know about weather!
The End