OLogy Cards > weather

weather

What was it like outside when you left your house today? Cool and windy? Hot and sunny? That's the weather: the conditions of the air, or atmosphere, around you where you are, right now. Weather is always changing. It can be rainy one day and sunny the next. That's why we depend on weather forecasts to tell us what the weather will be like from day to day.

Stats

Definition: the condition of the atmosphere at any given place and time
Factors: temperature, precipitation, wind speed and direction, air pressure, and humidity
Extreme Weather: tornadoes, hurricanes, droughts, thunderstorms, heat waves, snowstorms
Cool Fact: Clouds can help us predict weather. Thin, wispy clouds can signal fair weather, while big, dark clouds bring thunderstorms.

Stumper

Some things that we measure about the weather are temperature, humidity, and:

average annual rainfall

tide levels

wind speed

Correct!

Precipitation, cloudiness, and air pressure are other weather conditions. Weather describes these conditions for a short period of time, like today, tomorrow, or this week. The average weather condition over several years is called climate.

Stumper

The movement of _____ cause weather changes from one day to the next:

air masses

clouds

the Sun

Correct!

Air masses are large bodies of air with a common temperature and humidity. As they move, weather changes. If a cold air mass moves in and replaces a warm air mass, it can bring cooler, stormy weather.

Stumper

Humidity is a measure of the amount of _____ in the air.

water vapor

heat energy

sunlight

Correct!

The air holds invisible water called water vapor. Humidity is related to temperature. The warmer the air, the more water vapor it can hold.

Fact or Fiction

A region's weather from season to season is impossible to predict.

Fact

Fiction

Weather can change day to day, but every region has typical weather patterns. Some places are almost always cold, windy, or dry. These patterns describe the climate.

Fact or Fiction

A sudden change in weather is a sign that the climate is changing.

Fact

Fiction

A single weather event does not say much about climate. To identify climate change, we must look at the weather from the same place over long periods of time (years or decades).

Fact or Fiction

Energy from the Sun causes wind.

Fact

Fiction

Fact

The Sun warms the air in some places more than others. When warm air rises, cool air moves in to replace it. This moving air is wind! Energy from the Sun drives all our weather.

Image credits: main image, courtesy of AMNH.

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With its swirling column of wind, a tornado is one of nature’s most destructive storms.

How do simple storms turn into swirling hurricanes?

Do you know how climate works? Here are some questions to test your climate knowledge.

Correct!

Correct!

Correct!

Fiction

Fiction

Fact

Tornadoes: Spinning Thunderstorms

Hurricanes: Storms from the Sea

Take the Climate Quiz