Weather & Climate Science
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4-H Natural Resource Club Weather & Climate Science WEATHER & CLIMATE SCIENCE The Level 1 4-H Weather and Climate Science manual introduces basic weather words and ideas. Activities focus on understanding the signs of weather. Youth will also begin to learn the difference between weather and climate. The Level 2 manual will introduce youth to more complex weather topics including: air pressure, winds, humidity, and fronts. Level 3 delves even deeper into weather and introduces climate science concepts to help prepare youth to fully understand weather and/or study these topics at a college or university. Indiana 4-H Weather & Climate Resources Science manuals . Indiana 4-H Weather webpage: (Order from Purdue’s The Education www.ydae.purdue.edu/natural_resources/ Store, www.edustore.purdue.edu) . NOAA Weather forecast, (enter your . Level 1, Grades 3-5, 4-H-1023 zipcode): www.noaa.gov/wx.html . Level 2, Grades 6-8, 4-H-1023a . National Weather Service: . Level 3, Grades 9-12, 4-H-1024 www.nws.noaa.govv . Level 1, Facilitator's Guide, 4-H-1024b . Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, . Level 2, Facilitator's Guide, 4-H-1025 & Snow (CoCoRaHS) Network, . Level 3, Facilitator's Guide, 4-H-1025b www.cocorahs.org/ . Window to the Universe website, Invited Speaker Suggestions www.windows2universe.org/ . Purdue . CoCoRaHS member (volunteer o Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary weather observers and data collectors), Sciences, www.eaps.purdue.edu see www.cocorahs.org, click on o Longer periods of tornado “states” under the title; Indiana; and activity are most likely to spawn the “Find Your Local Coordinator” worst events, but they may also be . Local weather watcher more predictable . Local TV meteorologist . Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Climate and Human Evolution, http://humanorigins.si.edu/r esearch/climate%20research Activities The following activities are from the Indiana 4-H Weather and Climate Science manual. Page Activity Suggestions Materials Needed Time (min.) Comparing Climates Youth learn about temperate, desert, tropical, and Pencil and dictionary or 3-5 tundra climates. other resource, copies 30 of pg 4 Country of Colors Youth learn about the USDA Hardiness Zone map Copies of pg 7, colored 6-7 and the zone where they live. pencils. Internet 30 (optional). Earth’s Surfaces Youth study the effect of color on sun’s heating Thermometer, desk 10-11 power and consider how this phenomenon might lamp, clock, 30 affect weather. construction paper, copies of pg 11 Invisible Air Youth learn about the properties of air. Glass jar, plastic straw, 14-16 hot glue, food coloring, 30 ice, towel ‘Tis the Season 19-21 Youth use their own knowledge to explore the Copies of pp 19-21 and 30 changing seasons. crayons Weather Alerts 27-29 Youth complete a word search to learn important Copies of pg 28, pencil 30 weather terminology. Weather or Climate? 30-31 Youth learn the difference between weather and Copies of pp 30 & 31, climate and determine if a particular statement is pencil 30 about weather or climate. COMPARING CLIMATES How are four U.S. climate areas — temperate, desert, tropical, and tundra — the same, and how are they different? Weather is the current condition of the 1 Read the data in the chart below for atmosphere, including temperature, wind, each of the four climates. cloudiness, precipitation, and relative humidity. Climate is the average weather over time. 2 Answer the questions about the four The local climate affects the clothes you wear, when climates on the next page. we plant flowers and vegetables, and the crops that 3 Answer the follow-up questions. farmers grow. There are four climates in the United States: temperate, desert, tropical, and tundra. TEMPERATE CLIMATE January July yearly A temperate climate has seasons with hot and cold (winter) (summer) average weather, but not as hot or cold as in other climates. Central Indiana Indiana has a temperate climate. We also have rain average temperature 25.5°F 75.4°F 52.3°F and snow but, generally, not as much as in some other average precipitation 2.3” 4.5” 39.9” climates. The desert climate has very little rainfall and hot temperatures. Tropical climates have warm or hot conditions year-round. The tundra climate DESERT CLIMATE has extremely cold conditions most of the year. All Central Arizona of these climates have seasons, but the seasons are average temperature 53.6°F 93.5°F 72.6°F not always as noticeably different as the seasons we experience in Indiana. You will compare data from average precipitation 0.7” 0.8” 7.7” states in the four U.S. climate areas — temperate, desert, tropical, and tundra — and look for what is TROPICAL CLIMATE similar and what is different. Southern Florida average temperature 67.2°F 82.6°F 75.9°F OBJECTIVE: Compare the four climates found in the United States. average precipitation 2.0” 5.7” 55.9” Weather Tote TUNDRA CLIMATE Central Alaska Pencil l average temperature -10.1°F 62.5°F 26.9°F Dictionary l average precipitation 0.5” 1.9” 10.9” Graphic Illustrations by Jessica Harsh Harsh Jessica by Illustrations Graphic 3 PURDUE EXTENSION WHICH CLIMATE The highest average temperature? __________________________ What is it? ___________ HAS: temperate? The lowest average temperature ____________________________ What is it? ___________ desert? The highest July temperature? _____________________________ What is it? ___________ tropical? The lowest July temperature? _____________________________ What is it? ___________ tundra? The highest January temperature? _________________________ What is it? ___________ The lowest January temperature? __________________________ What is it? ___________ The highest average precipitation? __________________________ What is it? ___________ The lowest average precipitation? __________________________ What is it? ___________ The highest July precipitation? ____________________________ What is it? ___________ The lowest July precipitation? _____________________________ What is it? ___________ The highest January precipitation? _________________________ What is it? ___________ The lowest January precipitation? __________________________ What is it? ___________ Look up the word temperate in the dictionary, and write the definition below: Chat SHARE WHAT HAPPENED: __________________________________________ • Were you surprised by the differences in the __________________________________________ climates? __________________________________________ • What data surprised you? __________________________________________ APPLY: The first question in the chart above asked you about climate extremes — highest and lowest of the • What do you think it would be like to live in each averages. How many times did the temperate climate of the other climates? have the extreme data for one of the climates? • Which climate do you think that you would be happiest living in year-round? Why? __________________________________________ • How are flowers, plants, and agricultural crops affected by climate? PURDUE EXTENSION 4 GENERALIZE TO YOUR LIFE: • Why doesn’t Indiana have many extremes in temperature and rainfall? Fly Higher • Temperature and rainfall are the major factors in a • Calculate the difference in average temperature climate. What might some other factors be? and average precipitation between January and July for each climate. What climate has the largest extremes for temperature? For precipitation? • Keep track of temperature and rainfall in several different areas around the United States for a week or for one day during the first week of the months of January, April, July, and October. • Explore what the climate is in five places around the world where you would like to go someday. Notes ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ 5 PURDUE EXTENSION COUNTRY OF COLORS What is a hardiness zone? Buds, new leaves on trees, tulips, and OBJECTIVE: Know Indiana’s hardiness zones. daffodils tell us that spring is coming Question: Why do some flowers bloom year after because the weather is warming up. These year, while others need to be planted each year? plants can survive our cold winter temperatures. But many flowers we enjoy need to be planted in the __________________________________________ spring after the danger of frost has passed. In this __________________________________________ activity, you will learn about hardiness zones and how they