Weather Prediction

It is another one of those hot sweltering days. As the temperature soars towards 100°Fahrenheigt, you and your brother decide it's time to go to the swimming pool. Before you go to the pool, you quickly gobble down a grilled cheese sandwich and some chicken noodle soup for lunch. You finish lunch with a popsicle then quickly run to your room to grab your towel. As you head out the door, you suddenly realize that the weather has changed dramatically. The blistering heat has been replaced by a cool breeze from the north. Your plans have suddenly changed. You no longer need the pool to cool you off, it seems that Mother Nature has already taking care of that.

What happened in the above story that caused such a sudden change in the weather? Why was it blistering hot before lunch, and a bit nippy after your grilled cheese sandwich?

There are giant masses of air that move in the atmosphere over Earth. These air masses form over different parts of Earth and can be warm or cold, dry or moist. When two different types of air masses meet, a front forms. When a front moves over an area, the weather changes.

1. Locate a warm front on the map. Circle it in red.
2. Locate a cold front on the map. Circle it in blue.
3. Locate a stationary front (this is a mix of a warm and a cold front) on the map. Circle it in another color.
4. Use the map to find out if there are any changes coming to the area where you live.

Cold and warm air acts differently. It is difficult to see how they act because air is invisible to us. You will use water to demonstrate what happens when cold and warm air meet. Cold and warm water act a lot like cold and warm air.

• Glass 9x13 inch baking dish
• Overhead projector
• Room temperature water
• Very cold ice water
• Very hot tap water
• Blue food coloring
• Red food coloring

1. Fill the baking dish with room temperature water.>
2. Add a few drops of blue food coloring to the very cold ice water.
3. Slowly pour the cold blue water into the tub of clear water. Pour the water very slowly so that it doesn't stir.
4. Explain what happened. Draw a picture of what you observed.
5. Add a few drops of food coloring to the very hot tap water.
6. Very slowly pour the hot water into the tub of water.
7. Observe what happens and draw a picture to represent your results.