Coastal Winds and Clouds Gizmo
Buffalo, in the western tip of New York State, is well known for its monumental snowfalls. Buffalo's location on the
eastern end of Lake Erie positions it perfectly to experience a phenomenon called "lake-effect" snow.
Early in the winter, before the lake freezes, winds blow hundreds of miles across the lake, picking up moisture all along
the way. When these breezes hit land, they are often warmed and deflected upward. As a result, a huge amount of snow is
dropped on a small area near Buffalo. These snowfalls are so localized that often one tiny area is experiencing blizzard
conditions while only a few miles away skies are blue.
One of the most memorable lake-effect snow events began on December 24, 2001. Ultimately, nearly seven feet of snow
fell on Buffalo, producing a white Christmas unlike any on record!
Purpose:
In this activity, you will observe the cycle of breezes and cloud formation that occur on the coast.
Procedure:
Coastal Breezes and Clouds
1. In the Gizmo, observe the behavior of the sailboat over a 24-hour period. (Click the play button to start the simulation
if it is not running.)
a. During what period of the day does the boat sail away from shore? When does it sail toward shore? What can you
conclude about the direction of the ground/water level breezes by observing the boat's behavior?
b. Check Drifting balloon. Observe the behavior of the balloon over a 24-hour period. Describe the path that the
balloon travels. At what times during the day does the balloon's direction of travel reverse itself? What can you conclude
about the wind patterns from watching the balloon?
2. Let the simulation run until about 6:00 AM. Then click Pause. Check Weather probe. The probe is the purple circle
with crosshairs that appears.
a. Drag the probe into the center of the city. What are the temperature and the wind speed and direction in this
location?
b. Place the probe on the surface of the ocean, approximately in the middle of the part of the ocean that is visible.
This type of breeze, directed away from land and toward the ocean, is called a land breeze. The opposite, a breeze blowing
off the ocean, toward land, is a sea breeze. What are the temperature and the wind speed and direction in this location?
3. Move the probe to an altitude of about 5,000 feet, directly above the city. What is the temperature at this location?
Move the probe to 10,000 feet above the city. What is the temperature at this location?
4. Move the probe to altitudes of 5,000 feet and 10,000 feet over the ocean. What are the temperatures at these
locations? How do these compare to temperatures over the city?
Daily Temperature Cycles
In this activity, you will examine how daily temperature cycles over land and water affect the prevailing breezes and
cloud formation in coastal regions.
1. Click Play. Let the simulation run until 12:00 AM (midnight). Then click Pause. Be sure Weather probe is checked,
and position the probe in the center of the city at an altitude of 0 feet.
a. What is the temperature at this time in this location?
b. Record the city temperature at 12:00 AM in the data table below.
c. Click Play. At 1:00 AM, click Pause. Record the city temperature in your table.
d. Continue recording city temperatures each hour until you have 24 temperatures recorded.
e. Study the temperatures over this 24-hour period. What do you notice about the temperature cycle in the city?
What was the warmest temperature? At what time did this temperature occur? What was the coolest temperature in the
city, and when did this temperature occur?
f. Move the Weather probe to the surface of the ocean, in the middle of the part of the ocean that is visible in the
Gizmo. Make sure that the probe is at an altitude of 0 feet. Again, record temperatures over a 24-hour period for this
location. Record your data in the Ocean column of your table.
g. When you have recorded all the temperatures, examine the changes in temperature that occurred over the 24 hours
at the surface of the ocean. What were the highest and lowest temperatures? When did they occur?
h. Compare the 24-hour temperature cycles over land and over water. How are the cycles similar? In what ways are
they different?
2. Position the Weather probe at the surface of the water, just offshore. Run the simulation until about 12:00 AM. Then
click Pause. (Keep in mind that you can pause the simulation at any time.)
a. Is the breeze at this location blowing toward the shore (a sea breeze) or away from it (a land breeze)?
b. Click Play and watch for the direction of the breeze to change. At what time does the direction change? Examine
your table of temperatures from the previous step. With what event in the 24-hour temperature cycle does the shift in the
direction of the breeze correspond?
c. Continue to monitor the direction of the breeze just offshore. At what time does the breeze again change its
direction? What event in the 24-hour temperature cycle occurs along with this change?
d. Continue to observe the simulation. At what time during the 24-hour period do clouds begin to form over land?
What is occurring in the 24-hour temperature cycles when these clouds first begin to form?
e. Continue to watch until these clouds begin to dissipate. What is occurring in the temperature cycles as they begin
to dissipate, or go away?
f. Repeat your observations for the formation and dissipation of clouds over the ocean. What events in the
temperature cycles appear to affect the formation and dissipation of these clouds?
Data Table:
Time
12:00 AM
1:00 AM
2:00 AM
3:00 AM
4:00 AM
5:00 AM
6:00 AM
7:00 AM
8:00 AM
9:00 AM
10:00 AM
11:00 AM
12:00 PM
1:00 PM
2:00 PM
3:00 PM
4:00 PM
5:00 PM
6:00 PM
7:00 PM
8:00 PM
9:00 PM
10:00 PM
11:00 PM
City Temperature
Ocean Temperature