4-4.3 Compare daily and
seasonal changes in
weather conditions and
What makes weather?
• What words do you use to describe the
weather? We’ll list on a chart.
• What categories can all of the words we
listed fall in to?
• Let’s read in our Science books on pages
228 and 229 to learn about our
Atmosphere.
Weather
• Daily changes in weather result from changes
in weather conditions:
– Temperature (how hot of cold the air is at a given
time)
– Wind Speed (How fast the wind is moving)
– Wind Direction (Where the wind is coming from)
– Precipitation (the type of water falling to Earth
from the clouds)
Temperature
• Temperature is the condition of how hot or
cold the air is at a given time.
Temperature changes may cause
precipitation changes as the seasons of
the year change. For example, when it
gets colder in the winter, instead of
rain, we may have sleet or snow.
Temperature
• We measure temperature using a
thermometer. The scale may be read in
degrees Fahrenheit or Celsius.
Wind Speed
• Wind speed is the condition of how fast
the wind is moving.
• We measure wind speed with an
anemometer. As the cups spin, it counts
how many times they spin in a given
period of time. The more it turns, the
faster the wind speed.
Wind Direction
• Wind direction is the condition determined
by the direction the wind is coming from.
• Winds blowing from the north may bring
colder air than winds blowing from the
south or west.
Wind Direction
• We determine wind direction using wind or
weather vane. It is described by the
direction from which the wind is blowing.
Precipitation
• Precipitation is the type of water falling to
Earth from the clouds.
• The amount of precipitation is measured in
a rain gauge. Markings on the side show
how much rain has fallen. It measures
rainfall in inches.
Weather Conditions
• One day’s weather conditions can be
compared to another in the same season
or compared to daily weather that occurs
in different seasons.
• Let’s use our observation chart to record
our observations of today’s weather
conditions.
Weather Conditions
• Examples of weather conditions are fair
weather, showers or light rain, clear skies
with cold temperatures, days of clouds and
precipitation, or windy fair days or windy
stormy weather.
• The comparisons should always be related to
the four weather conditions which are
Temperature, Wind Speed, Wind Direction,
and Precipitation.
Weather Conditions
• Weather Patterns involve weather
conditions that are repeated due to the
season of the year. For example, summer
temperatures are generally warmer than
winter temperatures.
Weather Conditions
• Predict what you think the weather will be like
for the remainder of the week. Record that in
your Science Notebook.
• What did you base your predictions on?
• How will the weather be different 3 months
from now?
• Let’s read in our Science books on pages
230 and 231.
Weather Conditions
• Let’s watch this video to learn more about
weather conditions. Jot down 5 important
points to share once the video is over.
• http://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/v
iew/assetGuid/2CAB90DA-3C54-49D09847-AFACFBFD90CA
Quiz
1.List the 4 key conditions of weather and
briefly describe them.
2.Which weather condition do you think has
the biggest impact on weather and why?
What Patterns Can We Observe in
Weather?
• Use ALL of the following words to create a
sentence in your Science Notebook.
water cycle, clouds, atmosphere,
weather, temperature, humidity, air
pressure, and precipitation.
Weather Patterns
• Discuss with a partner the following
questions. Be prepared to share your
ideas.
– How does weather change? How do we
know?
Weather Patterns
• As we make observations and collect data,
we can determine patterns of weather over
time and seasons.
• Turn to your Weather Data Collection sheet
with 5 different cities on it. Let’s look up and
record the weather for those cities.
• www.weather.com
Weather Patterns
• Data collected through daily or long term
observations and measurements can help
us see patterns in weather.
• Weather predictions are based on
qualitative and quantitative collected data;
they are not just guesses.
Weather Patterns
• Let’s look at the Weather Data Chart.
• What are some inferences we can make
from the information on this chart?
• Look at San Francisco in California. Why
do you think the average temperature is
pretty consistent through the year?
Weather Data
24-hour Average Temperature
The following information is based on weather records for a minimum of 30 years and has been compiled by worldclimate.com. The temperatures
throughout a 24 hour period were averaged to create a daily average. The daily averages for a month were averaged to get the average daily
temperature for each month.
Temperatures are recorded in °F
Location
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Columbia
43.7
46.8
55.0
63.0
70.9
77.4
80.8
79.7
74.1
63.1
54.5
46.8
Yearly
Average
63.0
Atlanta
41.0
44.8
53.4
61.3
69.1
75.9
78.8
78.1
72.7
62.2
53.1
44.4
61.2
New York
31.6
33.4
42.3
52.3
62.6
71.6
76.6
75.4
68.2
57.4
47.5
36.5
54.7
San
Francisco
London
51.1
54.3
54.9
55.9
56.5
58.3
59.0
60.1
62.2
61.9
57.2
51.6
56.8
38.8
39.2
42.4
46.2
52.3
57.9
61.7
61.0
56.8
51.4
43.9
40.5
49.3
Sydney
Australia
Moscow,
Russia
Beijing,
China
Cairo, Egypt
71.8
71.8
69.8
65.1
59.5
55.2
53.6
55.8
59.5
63.9
67.1
70.2
63.7
13.5
15.6
24.6
39.9
54.0
61.3
65.3
62.1
51.6
39.6
28.4
18.5
39.4
23.7
28.8
40.5
56.5
68.0
75.9
78.8
76.5
67.6
54.7
39.0
27.3
52.2
56.8
59.4
63.3
70.5
76.5
81.1
82.2
82.2
79.3
74.7
66.4
59.2
71.1
Lima, Peru
72.0
73.0
72.1
68,9
65.3
62.8
61.3
61.0
61.0
62.6
65.3
68.9
66.2
Weather Data
Average Rainfall
The following information is based on weather records for a minimum of 30 years and has
been compiled by worldclimate.com.
Precipitation amounts are recorded in inches.
Location
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Columbia
Atlanta
New York
San
Francisco
London
Sydney
Australia
Moscow
Beijing,
China
Cairo, Egypt
Lima, Peru
3.9
4.6
3.3
4.4
3.8
4.6
3.1
3.0
4.7
5.5
3.9
3.1
3.1
4.1
3.7
1.3
3.4
4.0
4.2
0.4
4.6
3.6
3.3
0.2
5.7
5.3
4.1
0.0
5.9
3.6
4.1
0.1
3.9
3.6
3.6
0.3
2.8
3.0
3.3
1.1
2.7
3.7
4.2
2.9
3.5
4.1
3.6
3.6
Yearly
Average
48.0
49.8
44.4
20.4
3.1
4.1
2.0
4.4
2.4
5.2
2.1
5.1
2.2
4.8
2.2
5.1
1.8
4.0
2.2
3.2
2.7
2.7
2.9
3.3
3.1
3.2
3.1
3.1
29.6
48.1
1.4
0.2
1.1
0.2
1.3
0.3
1.5
0.7
2.0
1.3
2.6
3.1
3.2
8.8
2.8
6.7
2.3
2.3
2.0
0.7
1.7
0.4
1.7
0.1
23.6
25.0
0.2
0.0
0.1
0.0
0.1
0.0
0.1
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.1
0.0
0.2
0.0
0.1
0.0
0.1
0.0
0.1
0.1
0.0
0.2
0.0
1.0
0.8
Weather Patterns
• I will assign partners to analyze patterns in
a specific area using the Weather Data
Temperature and Rainfall worksheets.
• Let’s share our findings.
Weather Patterns
- What similarities and differences in weather patterns can be
noted in the city that is in the most southern location
compared to the city in the most northern location?
- What weather conditions might best explain these patterns?
- What are the similarities and differences in weather patterns
in the United States cities listed?
- How can knowledge of weather patterns be a help to us?
- After looking at some weather patterns, what questions do you
have that you would like to find an answer for?
Weather Patterns
• Some weather signs can be seen by
looking at clouds.
• Changes in wind speed or wind direction
can indicate storms or temperature
changes.
Weather Patterns
• Meteorologists interpret information from a
variety of sources and use those sources to
make predictions. The information they use
is shown on a weather map.
• Weather maps may show large masses of
warm or cold moving air. Lines between the
air masses are called fronts.
Weather Patterns
• When a warm front passes over an area,
the air temperature increases.
• When a cold front passes over an area,
the air temperature decreases.
• Data related to temperature and
precipitation can also be found on a
weather map.
Collecting Data
• We’ve already talked about the instruments that
are used to collect data for temperature, wind
speed, wind direction and precipitation.
• Anemometers are used to measure wind speed.
They can be very simple or very complex.
Collecting Data
• Weather Vanes tell us the direction from
which the wind is blowing.
Use Your Knowledge!
• Richard and his dad have just arrived at
their destination for a weekend camping trip.
They want to set up a fire pit and a tent.
They want to be sure that the tent is not set
up in an area in which the smoke from the
fire will drift into their tent. What should
they do?
Questions
• What would cause the smoke to drift into the
tent?
• What are some ways they could use to
determine which way the smoke might drift?
• What weather condition are Richard and his
dad actually gathering data about?
• Could that weather condition change? What
would happen then?
Beaufort Scale
• How can the Beaufort Scale be helpful if
we did not have an anemometer
available?
• What are the disadvantages of measuring
wind speed with the Beaufort Scale
instead of an anemometer?
Why would we need to know what direction
the wind is coming from?
• Wind direction is an indication of the type of
weather conditions we might experience.
• Winds generally blow from WEST to EAST. This
is due to the rotation of the Earth.
• Winds blowing in from the NORTH are an
indication of cooler weather and winds
from the SOUTH are usually an indication that
we will have some warming weather.