Weather Observations

Weather Instruments

The weather near the surface of the Earth impacts your everyday life. When you are planning an activity or deciding what to wear, you use weather data to inform your decisions. Meteorologists make careful observations and collect a lot of important data before a weather prediction occurs. Weather forecasts are made by collecting quantitative data about the current state of the atmosphere and use knowledge to project how the atmosphere will change.

In order for a meteorologist to accurately predict the weather, they take thousands of different weather measurements each day. Meteorologists need to use many tools in order to draw an accurate picture of current atmospheric conditions and how they will change over the next couple of days. In this interactivity, learn about the different weather instruments a meteorologist uses to collect data before producing a forecast. Click the player button to begin.

View a printable version of the interactivity.

Radar and Satellites

Radar is another technology used to track weather events. Radar stands for Radio Detection and Ranging and is a World War II technology that uses radio waves to detect anything in their path. In meteorology, radar is used to detect areas where rain is falling. Doppler radar is a more advanced technology that uses the natural Doppler effect to measure wind speed and direction, in addition to areas of rainfall. The Doppler effect is a change in wave frequency as energy moves towards or away from a fixed point. The ability to measure wind speeds and direction is particularly useful in large storm events such as hurricanes or tornadoes.

Satellites orbiting the Earth also provide a lot of information about weather conditions. Satellite images are especially helpful in tracking cloud cover and changes. Infrared technology on satellites can detect differences in heat energy in the clouds and on Earth’s surface. This enables meteorologists to determine the temperature of clouds, which helps identify the cloud type and height as well. Infrared satellite images are also used to detect severe weather such as thunderstorms.

Weather Observations Review

Now that you have explored the tools meteorologists use to make weather observations, review your knowledge. In this non-graded activity, drag the descriptions on the right and drop them next to the correct vocabulary terms on the left. Click the player button to get started.