Weather Tracking Chart
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What you will learn
- 1Record daily weather observations on a tracking chart
- 2Identify weather patterns across a week
- 3Explain seasons, the water cycle, and temperature using what you observed
Mini Lesson
Meteorologists — scientists who study weather — do not just look out the window and guess. They collect data carefully, every day, at the same time. By recording temperature, cloud cover, wind, and precipitation over many days, they can find patterns and make predictions. This week you will do exactly the same thing.
What to record each day
- Temperature — read an outdoor thermometer and record in Fahrenheit or Celsius.
- Sky condition — sunny, partly cloudy, cloudy, or stormy.
- Precipitation — rain, snow, hail, or none.
- Wind — calm, light breeze, or strong wind (observe leaves or flags).
- Your prediction for the next day.
Why weather changes — the science recap
- Weather is caused by the sun heating the Earth unevenly. Warm air rises, cool air moves in to replace it — creating wind.
- The water cycle brings rain: water evaporates, rises and cools, condenses into clouds, falls as precipitation, collects in rivers and oceans, and evaporates again.
- Seasons occur because the Earth is tilted on its axis. When your hemisphere tilts toward the sun, you get summer; when it tilts away, you get winter.
Extreme weather to know
- Tornado — a violent rotating column of air touching the ground; safest action is to move to a basement or interior room.
- Hurricane — a large tropical storm with very strong winds and heavy rain; forms over warm ocean water.
- Blizzard — a severe snowstorm with strong winds and very low visibility.
Words to know
Meteorologist
A scientist who studies weather and makes forecasts
e.g. meteorologists record data at the same time each day
Evaporation
When liquid water is heated and turns into water vapor that rises into the sky
e.g. puddles shrinking on a sunny day
Condensation
When water vapor cools and turns back into tiny water droplets that form clouds
e.g. water forming on the outside of a cold glass
Precipitation
Water falling from clouds as rain, snow, sleet, or hail
e.g. a rainy afternoon
Temperature
How hot or cold the air is, measured with a thermometer
e.g. 72 degrees Fahrenheit
Tornado
A violent rotating column of air that touches the ground
e.g. move to a basement or interior room if a tornado is near
Hurricane
A large tropical storm with strong winds and heavy rain that forms over warm ocean water
e.g. hurricanes weaken when they move over land
Blizzard
A severe snowstorm with strong winds and very low visibility
e.g. blizzards can make it dangerous to travel
Ask yourself: After tracking the weather for one week, can I describe a pattern — and explain the science reason behind it?
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