DIRECTION AND SPEED OF WEATHER

Do storms move in a pattern or are they random?

Use Radar Summary from Intellicast/WSI Corp. , Radar Loop from Intellicast/WSI Corp., the US Loop Satellite Map from Yahoo! Weather or Radar Sumary from the Weather Channel  to note storms as they move across Canada, the continental United States, Mexico and the Caribbean. Or use the Radar Plots from Unisys in which you can choose radar images for the past twelve hours.
Please follow these directions:
  1. Obtain a weather map handout from your teacher.
  2. Choose two sections of storms, one over the United States and one over the Caribbean (perhaps south of Florida and north of Puerto Rico or Cuba).
  3. Find out where these storms were hours ago using the links above. Mark the positions of the storms on the weather map. Do this by putting a number 1 inside of a circle to mark the position of the storm over the U.S.
  4. Repeat this for the storm over the Caribbean by putting a number 1 inside of a square to mark the position of the clouds/storms.
  5. Mark the later positions of the storms you are tracking in both locations using a number 2, etc.
  6. Draw a line on the weather map connecting the circles showing the direction the clouds/storms over the U.S.
  7. Repeat this for the clouds/storms over the Caribbean (near Cuba) by drawing a line on the weather map connecting the squares.
What is your conclusion? Do the clouds/storms move in pattern or do they move randomly? If they do move in a pattern, what is the pattern?

How fast does weather move?

Use the lesson for "Watch out radar! Here comes a speeder!" to find out how fast weather moves.
 

This unit was developed by Bill Byles, Staff Development Coordinator, Teaching & Learning Academy, Memphis City Schools and a co-founder of internet4classrooms.com  It is used here with permission.

Copyright © 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 Richard Levine

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