The Importance of

Weather Forecast
ing

Meteorologist Jobs
Operational Forecaster analyzes weather conditions
and issues forecasts or alerts.
Research Meteorologist studies more specific areas
of weather like severe weather or climate change.
Military Meteorologists makes weather observations
and forecasts for missions around the world.
Storm Chasers: https://tvnweather.com/live
Other job functions that they have:

Help airlines know weather conditions

Help electric companies know if a heat wave is coming
Help road crews with snow/hail predictions
Help fruit/vegetable farmers to know when to turn their sprinklers
on when a cold snap might be occurring.
Help with radio and television stations
Help in teaching

Sensors

Middle School
Meteorologists

Can you predict the

next thunderstorm?

Five Ways to Predict the

Weather

Temperature

is a measure of the airs hotness or coldness and is the most

measured quantity of the atmosphere.

Humidity
the amount of water vapor in the air

Wind Speed and Wind Direction

moving air caused by differences in air pressure. Air moves from an
area of higher pressure to an area of lower pressure. If there were no
wind, there wouldnt be much day-to-day difference in our weather.

Dew Point
The temperature at which the air can no longer "hold" all of the water
vapor, which is mixed with it, and some of the water vapor must
condense into liquid water.

Atmospheric Pressure
Atmospheric pressure is a measure of the weight of air in atmosphere
above us. Air is made up of molecules of elements in gaseous state
and minute dust particles.

EQ: How can I use the TI

Sensor to predict the
weather?

Accessing/Using the TI Sensor

Go to your tablets and select the BLE
Sensor Tag app
Pick up your sensor and press the
power button on the right hand side of
the device.
Please wait for the teacher. We will
do this group by group to ensure that
you are using the correct sensor
Click the scan button and find your
device. Once you find your sensor,
please observe your sensor that you

TI Sensors You Will Use to Predict

the Weather?
Humidity - a quantity
representing the
amount of water vapor
in the atmosphere or a
gas
Barometer - an
instrument measuring
atmospheric pressure,
used especially in
forecasting the
weather and
determining altitude.

Background
Knowledge

Barometric
Pressure:

In a high pressure
system, there are
cooler temperatures
and clear skies.
In a low pressure
system, there is
warmer weather,
storms, and rain.
Barometric Pressure is
measured in millibars.
Average Barometric
Pressure is 30

Humidity
The amount of
moisture the air
can hold before it
rains.
100% Humidity is
the most it can
hold.
Average
Humidity in
Raleigh, NC is
70%.

Identifying the
Problem
Can you predict a
thunderstorm using only
the Humidity and
Barometer sensors on
the SensorTag?

Making a Hypothesis
If ___________________, then
_________________________.
Examples:
If the Humidity is 100%, then
precipitation will occur.
If the barometric pressure is
high, then the sky will be clear.

Recording Your Data

As a class, we are going outside to record the
humidity and barometric pressure for five days.
You will be in groups of four.
Responsibilities:

Sensor Tag Holder

Smart Phone Holder
Data Sheet Reporter
Time Keeper

Instructions:
Hold Sensor Tag out in front of you for five
minutes in order for the data to populate.
After five minutes, record the numbers you get
for the humidity and barometric pressure onto
the data chart given.

Record Your Data

Day

Humidity

Barometric

Chance of
Thunderstorm
(Yes/No)

Graph
With your group, decide which graph will
display the trend of the data you all
collected: line, bar, or pie graph. It is okay if
you do not all agree.
Then, each person should create two graphs
of the data points collected in their
interactive notebooks. One graph will be on
humidity and the other will be barometric
pressure.
X-axis: # days
Y-axis: % of humidity and barometric
pressure levels

Reflection Questions
1. Which day had the highest humidity during
data collection?
2. When humidity is projected to be 100%,
what does this mean?
3. Which chart type did you choose to
represent your data and why?
4. Would recording your data after one minute
yield the same results as five minutes?
5. Look at your chart. Which days should
there be a thunderstorm? How do you know
a thunderstorm will occur on these days?