What makes wild weather

Explore the world's climates and how they affect local regions and the planet with this curated collection of resources. Students use prior knowledge, a photo gallery, and a video to discuss what they already know about extreme weather on Earth and brainstorm a list of weather-related words. Then they organize the information they learned about weather events and conditions present for each type of weather event, and compare and contrast weather events and conditions.

Students examine the causes and effects of extreme weather events and read to contrast weather and climate. Next, they create and revise models of an extreme weather event using knowledge of weather variables. Finally, students link extreme weather events and climate change. Students use an interactive graph and long-term datasets, as well as create their own graphical representations of weather data. This lesson is part of the Climate Change Challenge unit. Students view and discuss a video to create a concept map of interconnections in extreme weather.

Next, they read encyclopedia entries to differentiate the terms weather and climate. Finally, students choose an extreme weather event on which to focus during the lesson and create an initial meteorological model of this event. Join our community of educators and receive the latest information on National Geographic's resources for you and your students. Skip to content. Twitter Facebook Pinterest Google Classroom. Their answers should include the following: Tornado : clouds, strong wind, rain, hail Hurricane or cyclone: strong wind, heavy rain Blizzard : heavy snow, ice, cold temperatures Dust storm : strong winds, arid conditions Flood : heavy rainfall Hail storm: cold or warm temperatures, rain, ice Ice storm: freezing rain After students have completed the worksheet, ask: What patterns do you see?

Informal Assessment Ask students to orally describe: examples of weather on Earth and the atmospheric conditions present the difference between weather and climate. Learning Objectives Students will: list and find patterns in the conditions required for weather events to occur describe the similarities and differences between weather and climate. Teaching Approach Learning-for-use. Resources Provided The resources are also available at the top of the page.

Background Information The term weather describes conditions in the atmosphere over a short period of time. Prior Knowledge None. Vocabulary air mass. Media Credits The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. Writer Anna Mika, M. Media If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer.

Text Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service. Interactives Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. Related Resources. View Collection. Catastrophic Weather Events. Environmental Hazards. Extreme Weather on Our Planet. View Activity. Extreme Weather. View Lesson. Extreme heat gets hotter Heat waves pose health risks and strain our energy system.

Woodland Hills, Calif. Drought conditions persist Moisture evaporates from waterbodies and soil. A dried out lake stands near the Navajo Nation town of Thoreau on Jun. Warmer temperatures drive increases in precipitation Areas that have historically trended toward heavy precipitation will get wetter.

Hurricanes are becoming more intense Storm systems draw their energy from warm ocean water. A mother and her 3-week-old baby are ferried from their home amidst the floodwaters of Hurricane Harvey in Sea level rise causes flooding Oceans are warming; land ice is melting.

Houston residents escape flooded homes and businesses, in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in As a result, average global sea level has increased eight inches in the last years. Winter storms hit harder Trapped water vapor leads to heavier snowfall. A woman protects her face while walking in white-out conditions in Jersey City, N.

The winter storm dropped more than two feet of snow on the area and may have broken a year-old snowfall record for the state. What can we do? There is a solution: Break free from fossil fuels. Our attorneys use the law and partner with climate leaders and communities on the frontlines to: Move beyond fossil fuels , by keeping fossil fuels in the ground and cleaning up pollution. Clear the way for clean energy , by setting ambitious climate goals, removing barriers to clean energy, and electrifying our economy.

Make sure everyone benefits by centering environmental justice and expanding access to clean energy in every community. Take on the next frontiers , by protecting climate forests, promoting climate-smart agriculture, and stopping the petrochemical buildout. Take action today. The climate crisis is accelerating, and we must dramatically cut our carbon emissions if we hope to preserve a livable planet. Transformational change will not come fast enough without key policy reforms and a concerted fight against industry interests that profit from business as usual.

Learn more. Did you find this resource useful? And we should be trying to think of ways to expand that opportunity to everyone. End neighborhood drilling in California. Though it can be hard to pinpoint whether climate change intensified a particular weather event, the trajectory is clear — hotter heat waves, drier droughts, bigger storm surges and greater snowfall. The dangerous effects of heat waves, including death, occur as a result of both temperature and humidity — especially if those conditions persist for more than two days.

With temperature records being smashed month after month, year after year, it's likely that human-caused global warming is making extreme heat events more frequent. Higher temperatures also boost evaporation, which dries out the soil in summer — intensifying drought over many areas. As more evaporation leads to more moisture in the atmosphere, rainfall intensifies. For example, we now know that the rainfall from Hurricane Harvey was 15 percent more intense and three times as likely to occur due to human-induced climate change.

We expect to see a higher frequency of Category 4 and 5 storms, also, as temperatures continue to rise. While scientists aren't certain about whether climate change has led to more hurricanes, they are confident that rising sea levels are leading to higher storm surges and more floods. Around half of sea-level rise since comes from the expansion of warming oceans, triggered by human-caused global warming.