Observe: The Weather Elements in My Area

Weather instruments collect data in numbers that can be recorded and compared.

Antarctica is one of the most beautiful natural areas in the world, but the weather there makes visiting quite challenging.  Did you know the ice level in the Antarctic is slowly increasing?  Did you know that the coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth was in Antarctica? In 1983, a temperature of โ€“89.2 degrees Celsius was recorded. That is so cold that, if you were to spit, it would freeze before it hit the ground!  To learn interesting weather facts about Canada, click here.

What exactly are degrees Celsius? Celsius degrees are a unit used to measure temperature. The higher the number of degrees Celsius, the warmer the temperature. To save writing time, degrees Celsius is often abbreviated as หšC.

Other units are also important for measuring weather elements. If you learn the units used to measure weather, you will be able to record and compare weather better.

Weather Units

Weather Element Unit
Explanation
Temperature
degrees Celsius (หšC)
When air gains heat, its temperature increases.  The higher the temperature, the larger the number in หšC.
Wind Speed
kilometres per hour (km/h)
Wind speed is like any other speed, such as the speed of a car.  The greater the speed, the higher the number of km/h.
Wind Direction
compass direction (North, East, South, West)
Because the wind can blow in any direction, compass directions are used to describe which way the wind blows.  Meteorologists always describe wind based on where it comes from.  For example, a wind that blows straight from Edmonton to Calgary would be a North (N) wind.
Snow and Rain
millimetres (mm) or centimetres (cm)
Snow and rain are measured by how much has fallen.  For example, when snow piles up your doorstep, you can stick a ruler into it.  The reading on the ruler is how much snow has fallen.
Air Pressure
kilopascals (kPa)
It may not seem so, but air has weight.  That is because gravity pulls on air, just as it pulls you to the ground.  Gravity pulling on the air squishes it together.  This increases the pressure of the air.  The higher the air pressure, the higher the number of kilopascals.
Humidity
percent (%)
Water vapour is in the air.  The more vapour, the "wetter" the air is.  Air can hold only so much water.  At the most amount, it is said to have 100% humidity.  By that time, it is usually raining.  The lowest humidity (driest air) possible is 0%, but that is very unlikely in Alberta!

How can I use units to record the elements of weather?

Resources

Notebook

Click here to download the instructions for this activity. Save to your Weather Notebook.

  Math Connection

In various parts of the world, various units are used to record temperature.  For example, in the United States, degrees Fahrenheit (หšF) are used for temperature.  In Canada, we use degrees Celsius (หšC).  You can use math to convert Fahrenheit to Celsius by doing the following:

Degrees F - 32, then รท 1.8 = degrees Celsius
Example: What is 82หšF in degrees Celsius?โ€จโ€จ
Solution: 82 - 32 = 50 โ€“โ€“โ€“โ€“> 50 รท 1.8 = 28หšC