Weather 101, part 1

By Alan Sealls Chief Meteorologist

Weather 101 For Kids is not just for kids. Chapter 1 is a seven minute video of the basics of weather including sun, air and water. We focus on the power of wind in storms and hurricanes. Weather 101, part 1

Published: Thu, January 31, 2008 - 11:40 pm Last Updated: Mon, April 21, 2008 - 8:23 pm

Alan Sealls

We live on a very special planet. The planet Earth. It’s the only one we know of that has weather. Most of the time weather is quiet and people don’t really think about it but whenever it gets too hot or too cold or wet and stormy then everyone has questions about the weather.

There are 3 things you need to make weather. Sunlight to give off heat, air that we breathe and water to make clouds. These things are around us everyday but when you get too much of one or another, the Earth tries to smooth things back out. Just stop and think about it. If we didn’t have weather some places would never get rain. Other places would be too cold. Trees, plants, animals, and people would have a hard time living in certain parts of the planet. Too much sun can be dangerous to your body.

Not only does the sun give us light but it also heats the Earth. Since the Earth is round, the sun heats the Equator more than it does the North and South Poles. At the equator the sun is high in the sky and the sun beams are strong. At the North and South Poles the sun beams are much more spread out so they are weak. The changes in the sun's altitude over the year makes seasons and there's a lot to know about weather safety in the winter and weather safety in the summer.

Air is invisible but it’s everywhere. Air covers the planet like a thin blanket. It is a gas because it can be squeezed and change shape. Air can hold up a truck when it’s in the tires. Air can slow down the space shuttle when the parachutes open. Air can hold clouds and carry them around the world. All of that means air is strong and air can be very heavy. We really notice how heavy air is when it moves as wind

Wind is so much a part of our lives. It cools us down in the summer. It robs us of heat in the winter. Wind can be gentle or it can be deadly and damaging. When there's a major hurricane, wind damage can far exceed the six billion dollar annual average.