Tracking Daily Weather and Temperature - Second Grade Science
Every morning when you wake up, you probably check the weather to decide what to wear: a warm winter coat, a waterproof raincoat with rubber boots, or a lightweight T-shirt and shorts. Weather is the condition of Earth's atmosphere at a particular time and place. It changes day to day, and even hour to hour. By tracking daily weather conditions—such as temperature, wind direction, wind speed, precipitation, and cloud cover—meteorologists find patterns and forecast what the skies will bring tomorrow.
The Five Elements of Daily Weather
When scientists describe the weather, they measure five key atmospheric factors that work together.
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| THE FIVE ELEMENTS OF DAILY WEATHER |
| |
| 1. TEMPERATURE ----> How hot or cold the air is (°C or °F) |
| 2. WIND ----> Moving air; measured in speed and direction |
| 3. PRECIPITATION----> Water falling from clouds (rain, snow, hail) |
| 4. CLOUD COVER ----> Clear, partly cloudy, overcast, or foggy |
| 5. AIR PRESSURE ----> Weight of the atmosphere pressing down |
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Temperature: Measuring Hot and Cold Air
Temperature tells us how fast the molecules in the air are moving. When air absorbs radiant heat from the Sun, its molecules zip faster, and the temperature rises.
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| READING A THERMOMETER |
| |
| CELSIUS (°C) FAHRENHEIT (°F) |
| |===| 100°C Boiling Water |===| 212°F |
| | | | | |
| |===| 30°C Hot Summer Day |===| 86°F |
| | | | | |
| |===| 20°C Comfortable Room Temp |===| 68°F |
| | | | | |
| |===| 0°C Water Freezes |===| 32°F Freezing |
| ( === ) Liquid bulb ( === ) |
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How a Thermometer Works
Inside a sealed glass thermometer tube sits a colored liquid (usually alcohol mixed with red dye). When air around the thermometer warms up, the liquid expands and rises up the numbered scale. When the air cools down, the liquid contracts and sinks down the tube. Always place weather thermometers in the shade, away from direct sunlight, so the glass does not absorb extra radiant heat from the Sun!
Wind: Direction and Speed
Wind is simply air in motion. Wind occurs because the Sun heats Earth's surface unevenly. Warm air expands, becomes less dense, and rises, creating a low-pressure area. Cooler, denser air rushes in to take its place, creating wind!
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| MEASURING THE WIND |
| |
| WEATHER VANE (Direction) ANEMOMETER (Speed) |
| N ( ) |
| | / \ |
| W---[===>]---E -( o )-( o )- |
| | \ / |
| S ( ) |
| Arrow points INTO the wind! Cups spin faster as wind |
| e.g., North wind blows from North! speed increases! |
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Wind Vane (Direction)
A wind vane (or weathercock) has a fin that catches the breeze. The arrow pivots to point in the direction from which the wind is blowing. A "north wind" blows from the north toward the south.
Anemometer (Speed)
An anemometer has three or four hollow hemisphere cups mounted on rotating arms. As the wind blows, the cups catch the air and spin around a central shaft. The faster the cups spin, the higher the wind speed, measured in miles per hour (mph) or kilometers per hour (km/h).
Precipitation: Catching the Rain
Precipitation is any form of water—liquid or solid—that condenses in the atmosphere and falls to Earth's surface.
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| A RAIN GAUGE |
| |
| \ / <-- Wide collection funnel |
| | 4 | |
| |---3---| |
| |---2---| <-- Graduated measurement lines |
| |---1---| (Inches or Centimeters) |
| |_______| |
| Measures total rainfall collected over 24 hours! |
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The Rain Gauge
A rain gauge is an open cylinder with numbered measurement lines on its side. Meteorologists empty rain gauges every 24 hours at the exact same time to record daily rainfall in millimeters or inches.
Keeping a Daily Weather Log
Tracking weather over weeks and months reveals seasonal patterns. Scientists record their daily observations in an organized weather chart.
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| SAMPLE WEATHER TRACKER |
| |
| DAY TEMP (°F) SKY CONDITION WIND (MPH) PRECIPITATION |
| Monday 68°F Sunny / Clear 5 mph W 0.0 inches |
| Tuesday 64°F Partly Cloudy 12 mph NW 0.0 inches |
| Wednesday 52°F Overcast Rain 18 mph NE 1.2 inches |
| Thursday 58°F Clearing Skies 8 mph W 0.1 inches |
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Chapter Review Exercises
Question 1: What are the five key atmospheric factors that meteorologists measure to describe daily weather?
Question 2: Why must a weather thermometer be placed in an outdoor shaded area rather than in direct sunlight to measure air temperature accurately?
Question 3: Explain the difference between what a wind vane measures and what an anemometer measures.
Question 4: What causes wind to blow across the surface of the Earth?
Solutions and Explanations
Solution 1: The five key atmospheric factors are temperature (air warmth), wind (speed and direction), precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, hail), cloud cover (sky condition), and air pressure (atmospheric weight).
Solution 2: A thermometer must be placed in the shade because direct sunlight shines onto the metal or glass tube, heating the instrument directly through solar radiation. This causes the reading to be falsely high rather than reflecting the true temperature of the surrounding air.
Solution 3: A wind vane measures the direction the wind is blowing from (such as a north or west wind). An anemometer measures wind speed (how fast the air is moving, recorded in miles per hour or kilometers per hour) using spinning cups.
Solution 4: Wind is caused by the uneven heating of Earth's surface by the Sun. Sunlit areas warm the air above them, causing warm air to rise, which allows cooler, denser air from surrounding areas to rush in to take its place, creating breezes and winds.