Weather animations can help to enhance weather science knowledge by allowing the user to view a meteorological process step-by-step. Each animation in this list has been chosen for its high quality and accuracy. In addition, I have chosen animations that cover a range of meteorology topics at various levels of understanding. Teachers and students may want to use these animations when creating science fair projects, earth science lesson plans, or PowerPoint projects.
USA Today offers this simple graphic to introduce tornado formation. Users slide a button through the stages of severe thunderstorm development and end with a discussion of tornado safety tips.
An interactive electromagnetic spectrum is the focus of this visualization. Users can click on any part of the spectrum to read about infrared light, visible light, gamma rays, and the rest of the solar spectrum. An excellent tool for understanding basic radiation concepts in any earth science, physics, or chemistry class.
The Department of Geography from the University of Oregon presents 19 climate animations covering latent heat, net radiation, heat storage, air temperature, precipitable water vapor, global evaporation, run-off, sea level change, wind vectors, and more. These are a great tool for a comparative analysis in the classroom.
Users can get a basic lesson on how to draw
isobar or pressure lines on a weather map. Once students move through the beginning lesson, there are 6 more
Contour Line Lessons that can be completed for students learning to draw weather maps for forecasting.
While a bit more related to physics, this fun activity teaches students about the speed and angle of a fly ball in one of 7 famous baseball stadiums. The key feature of the activity is the altitude of the stadium which demonstrates the effect of air density at various altitudes on a baseball.
This classzone animation shows the changes in air pressure with height. This animation would be a perfect companion to a lesson on radiosondes.
This program investigate changes in the atmosphere and its effects on aerodynamic variables. With the option to change the atmosphere from Earth to Mars, students can compare the atmospheric conditions on earth that make it "just right" for life. Pressure, density, and temperature are a focus in this program which is more suitable for an older audience.
The development of normal, El Niño, and La Niña conditions are demonstrated using this Prentice Hall animation. The easy to follow diagram can have the labels turned of for describing the process to students. Another great idea is to use the animation as a quiz for students.
Sharing presentations is easy with these weather related presentations. Teachers, meteorologists and students can share their presentation online. A great tool when you don't have the time to create a presentation from scratch.
The tornado formation animation is an excellent tool from Prentice Hall. The creation of a tornado can be hard to understand for many people. This animation provides an opportunity to turn off the labels for use with younger students.
