What Is Weather?

Discovering weather

(Disponible en español)

Let’s explore different types of weather! Check out today’s recommended book “What Will The Weather Be Like Today?” by Paul Rogers in English here, or you can check it out in Spanish here. Have a younger reader? Check out Clare Beaton’s “Weather/El Tiempo” and explore weather-related vocabulary in both English and Spanish.

Guiding Question: What is today’s weather like? What words would you use to describe it?

Preparing for summer heat

Did you know that we live in an urban heat island? It’s hotter in the city than elsewhere, and, with our changing climate, we can expect more and more heat waves to hit our area. With these heat waves, we’ll be tempted to simply up our air conditioning usage, but how can we be more efficient with our energy? Simply using ceiling fans or portable fans with the windows partially open can circulate fresh air into your home and create a breeze to help cool you off. Remember though that fans cool people, not rooms.

Resources for Adults: How can we make our homes more energy efficient so we can use less electricity for cooling? Check out our guide to weatherizing your home here.

What is natural variability?

Have you ever wondered why summer might be cool and mild one year and then hot and dry the next? Natural variability is the occasional variability of weather patterns from one year to another. Let’s explore this phenomenon some more. Click here to watch out video all about natural variability.

Guiding Question: Do you remember what the weather was like last year? How is it the same or different compared to this year’s weather?

Make your own weather wheel

Keep track of the weather all summer long by making your own weather wheel. Click here for instructions (and if you don’t have a piece of cardboard handy, just use a paper plate). Tip: Add some of the English and Spanish weather vocabulary words you learned earlier to the wheel to help you become more familiar with them.

Guiding Question: What weather are we experiencing today? Have we been experiencing the same kind of weather lately? What kind of weather would be unexpected for this time of year?

Behind the Scenes

Wow! Dr. Allison spotted and filmed this duckweed-covered painted turtle, even while it was doing its best to blend in. How cool is that?