- Define and explain What Is Weather? in your own words
- Use key terms such as weather accurately
- Apply what you have learned to new examples and questions
- Avoid the common mistakes learners make with this topic
Weather is what the sky is doing right now — is it sunny, rainy or windy? In this chapter you will observe the weather like a scientist, measure it with simple instruments, and find out why the seasons change through the year.
This lesson focuses on What Is Weather?: name and describe sunshine, cloud, rain, wind, snow and fog.
Name and describe sunshine, cloud, rain, wind, snow and fog.
Key ideas
Instruments measure the weather
A thermometer measures temperature, a rain gauge collects and measures rainfall, a wind vane shows wind direction and an anemometer measures how fast the wind blows. Using instruments turns 'it feels cold' into a number you can compare.
Weather changes, seasons repeat
Weather can change from morning to afternoon, but the seasons follow the same pattern every year. In the UK, summers tend to be warmer with longer days and winters colder with shorter days. Recording the weather every day helps you spot these patterns.
Key term — weather: What the air outside is like at a particular time: its sunshine, cloud, rain, wind and temperature.
Your class recorded the weather each day: Mon — sunny; Tue — sunny; Wed — cloudy; Thu — rainy; Fri — rainy; Sat — windy and rainy; Sun — sunny. Which days were wet, and how many sunny days were there?
List the days with rain: Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Saturday had both wind and rain, but it still counts as a wet day. Count the sunny days: Monday, Tuesday and Sunday. Wednesday was cloudy but neither sunny nor wet.
Answer: Thursday, Friday and Saturday were wet. There were three sunny days: Monday, Tuesday and Sunday.
- Saying 'the weather is climate' Weather is what is happening today; climate is the usual pattern over many years. A cold day in summer does not change the climate.
- Thinking summer happens because Earth is nearer the Sun The seasons are caused by the tilt of the Earth's axis, not by distance from the Sun — the whole planet shares the same orbit.
Practice
Rain, snow, sleet and hail (any three).
A wind vane.
No — fog is cloud at ground level; precipitation must fall from clouds.
A thermometer.
Quick check
Which of these best defines "weather"?
What causes the seasons?
- What Is Weather?: name and describe sunshine, cloud, rain, wind, snow and fog.
- Instruments measure the weather: A thermometer measures temperature, a rain gauge collects and measures rainfall, a wind vane shows wind direction and an anemometer measures how fast the wind blows.
- precipitation: Water falling from clouds — rain, snow, sleet and hail are all types of precipitation.
- Watch out for: saying 'the weather is climate'