Weather Patterns and Phenomena

Earth’s weather is made up of a variety of factors that include temperature, air movement and precipitation. We will learn about these different weather factors and look at several of the different tools that can be used to measure and record characteristics of our weather. 

In this lesson, we will see how temperature, air pressure, and humidity can work together to create a variety of weather conditions and events. Understanding the relationship between different weather factors allows us to better understand the weather that we observe. By monitoring changes in these conditions, meteorologists are able to forecast upcoming weather. 

Air masses are large areas of air with similar temperature, pressure, and humidity. We will learn about how air masses form and about the wind currents that move them around Earth’s atmosphere.  We will also look at clouds and the effects that they can have on weather conditions. By observing cloud formations, we can often make accurate, short-term predictions about weather. 

Fronts occur at the boundary between air masses. Because these fronts typically involve the merging of warmer and cooler air masses, wind and precipitation are common at the frontal boundaries where these air masses meet.  In this lesson, we will look at examples of the different types of weather fronts and the impact that they have on our weather. 

Weather maps allow meteorologists to see weather data from different regions or countries around the world. These maps show a variety of weather data including temperatures, high and low pressure air masses, fronts, and precipitation.