Weather 101, part 4

By Alan Sealls Chief Meteorologist

Thunderstorms are the focus of Weather 101 for Kids, part 4. Storms can make all sorts of damage but they are an important part of balancing moisture and temperature. See more in the three minute video. Weather 101, part 4

Published: Fri, February 01, 2008 - 12:42 am Last Updated: Mon, April 21, 2008 - 9:19 pm

Alan Sealls

Lightning is electricity that is hotter than the sun. It could burn you or it could shock you. The best thing to do when a thunderstorm is near is stay inside a strong building. When thunder roars go indoors and when it comes to lightning if you can see it, flee it. Lightning often hits tall things like trees and towers so you don’t want to stand under those. Lightning can also strike things close to the ground or even on the ground. Lightning also hits water. When it hits metal fences, train tracks or water, the electricity can travel a long way so you want to stay away from those in a thunderstorm.

Thunderstorms that grow very tall and very fast sometimes drop little pieces of ice called hail. Hail forms because the top of the storm is so high that the temperature is way below freezing and the water that high up forms ice. Hail could be the size of a marble and cover the ground, or it could be much larger like a golf ball.

At News 5 we keep you updated on strong storms using our Doppler Radar.

One way we know what the wind and temperature is high up in the air is by launching weather balloons. Weather balloons carry instruments to measure temperature, humidity, wind and pressure. All of that is important to know because all weather on Earth is connected. It’s the winds way up high in the air that move weather systems around the planet.

Everyone knows that winter in the north delivers snowstorms but more people are learning that summer and fall in the south can deliver tropical storms and hurricanes. These are huge storms that come from the ocean that can do a lot of damage.