Weatherthings
Sun, Heat, Air and Wind: wind and storms, cool air properties, predictions, summary
A curious pre-school child asks questions to a big kid about how weather works. Every answer is enlightening yet leads to another question. The little child learns that wind is air that moves, that may be gentle or strong and even...
Weatherthings
Hurricane Sandy: The Meteorology
What led to the unique path of Hurricane Sandy in 2016 and why it had such a large impact, as the second most-costly hurricane to hit the United States in modern times. It was nicknamed a superstorm for the wide impact it had in the...
Weatherthings
Weather Things: Wind
The 3 simple ingredients of sun, air and water lead to every type of weather on Earth. The atmosphere is constantly trying to balance heat from the sun with water vapor and air to create a dynamic planet. The unique properties of the...
Weatherthings
Weather Things: Atmosphere
The 3 simple ingredients of sun, air and water lead to every type of weather on Earth. The atmosphere is constantly trying to balance heat from the sun with water vapor and air to create a dynamic planet. The unique properties of the...
Weatherthings
Weather Things: Water Phases
The cycle of water from the air to the ground to the oceans and back to the air never ends. Water is found in the air, in the ground, in rivers and oceans, and it's found as gas, liquid, and solid. As it moves though phases and locations...
Weatherthings
Weather Things: Energy
The atmosphere is dynamic and forever changing to maintain balance. The ingredients of air, sunlight and water allow life to exist on Earth, but they also generate calm scenes like rainbows, as a tornado ends. All storms move moisture,...
Weatherthings
Water Smart: Water in the Air - Rain
Water in the Air reveals the varied phases of water that surround us, fall on us, travel in air, and serve as a crucial component of the water cycle. Emphasis is on the fact that water in air can be vapor or solid, visible or invisible,...
Weatherthings
Storms: high wind, snow storms, tornadoes
Children on a playground use creativity and their imaginations to simulate the many different types of storms found on Earth. From thunderstorms to wind storms, to snow storms and rain storms, to hurricanes and tornadoes, the children...
Weatherthings
Clouds, Rain and the Water Cycle: clouds, radar, meteorologist
A rainy day spent inside helps a little boy learn about clouds and the water cycle from his mother. He sees the value of rain to plants, animals, people and the planet, even when the rain is not convenient for him. As the rain...
Weatherthings
Iridescence in Clouds
Iridescence in clouds, also called irisation, is when light is scattered by water droplets, ice crystals, or even tiny particles floating in air like pollen. You can spot blue, pink, red, purple and other colors.
Weatherthings
Weather Things: Tornado Mysteries
Over a thousand tornadoes happen every year in the United States but only few dozen take lives. Most tornadoes are brief and weak but the tornadoes that are large and powerful can wipe homes off their foundations. Tornadoes only come...
Weatherthings
Sounds of Thunder
Extreme heat from lightning creates a sound shockwave that spreads out to reach you as thunder. What makes the different sounds of thunder? It depends on how many branches lightning has, in which ways they are stretched out, how far each...
Weatherthings
Weather Things: Precipitation
The cycle of water from the air to the ground to the oceans and back to the air never ends. Water is found in the air, in the ground, in rivers and oceans, and it's found as gas, liquid, and solid. As it moves though phases and locations...
Weatherthings
Weather Things: Ocean Influence
Climate is the average type of weather that a region has. It is defined by temperature and moisture. Proximity to oceans and large mountain ranges defines climate too, depending upon the prevailing wind. While climates change over...
Weatherthings
Storms: lightning and thunder
Children on a playground use creativity and their imaginations to simulate the many different types of storms found on Earth. From thunderstorms to wind storms, to snow storms and rain storms, to hurricanes and tornadoes, the children...
Weatherthings
Weather Things: Radar
Weather forecasting requires observation. Beyond the things we can see, hear and sense, meteorologists need detailed data to observe distant weather, whether that is distant along the ground, or distant up into the sky. Weather...
Weatherthings
Water Smart: Water on Earth - Oceans
Water on Earth focuses on water as most kids would think about it. We start with water in obvious locations such as oceans, lakes, and rivers. We quickly learn that water can change phase to remain a solid in glaciers. Many kids may be...
Weatherthings
Hands on Weather - Water
Five simple weather demonstrations you can do at home or at school to show the properties of water, using your hands and everyday materials.
Weatherthings
Weather Things: Winter
The orbit of Earth on a tilted axis around the sun leads to the seasons. The resulting change of angle of the sun, and length of day controls how warm we get at different times of the year. With those changes in seasons come changes in...
Weatherthings
Weather and Seasons: winter cold, snow, dressing properly
A little girl and her grandfather spend a summer afternoon sitting by a pond. The conversation changes from how warm the summer day is to how the pond gets cold and freezes in the winter. The grandfather helps the girl understand how the...
Weatherthings
Weather and Seasons: Weather jokes and credits
A little girl and her grandfather spend a summer afternoon sitting by a pond. The conversation changes from how warm the summer day is to how the pond gets cold and freezes in the winter. The grandfather helps the girl understand how the...
Weatherthings
Weather and Seasons: meteorologists, predictions, sky sights, value of weather
A little girl and her grandfather spend a summer afternoon sitting by a pond. The conversation changes from how warm the summer day is to how the pond gets cold and freezes in the winter. The grandfather helps the girl understand how the...
Weatherthings
Clouds, Rain and the Water Cycle: evaporation, condensation, precipitation
A rainy day spent inside helps a little boy learn about clouds and the water cycle from his mother. He sees the value of rain to plants, animals, people and the planet, even when the rain is not convenient for him. As the rain...
Weatherthings
Severe Weather Safety: Watch for the Warning
All thunderstorms create hazards of lightning. Some thunderstorms result in flash flooding, large hail, damaging wind or a tornado. See how to prepare for these threats at school, at home, or outside. Understand the difference between a...