⛹️♂️ Sept. 4 - Recess: Spotting and escaping rip currents
If you are lucky enough to spend this weekend at the beach, don’t let rip currents ruin your trip!
Here’s how you can spot dangerous rip currents that can push you out into the deeper part of the ocean, and what you can do if you get caught in one – the main thing to remember is not to panic:
The scary thing is that the weather doesn’t have to be bad for there to be rip currents -- a far away storm, such as a hurricane, can stir up rip currents at the beach you are headed to. Plus, you don’t have to be at the ocean to be threatened by rip currents – they can happen along any large body of water, including in the Great Lakes.
It’s time to gather around for storytime and hear one man tell his story of how he nearly died in a rip current along the shores of Lake Michigan – it’s scary, but a good reminder to always swim with a lifeguard present:
🔬 Sept. 4 - Weather Lab - Wind is not the deadliest part of a hurricane
A hurricane is about to make landfall along the coast – what images come to your mind of what videos you will see on social media from that area? Powerful winds bringing down trees and causing damage to homes?
Hurricanes whip up extremely strong winds, but did you know that those winds are not what causes the most deaths in a hurricane? Flooding from storm surge and heavy rain is what has killed the most people in the United States during hurricanes in the last 50 years.
Views of inundated areas in New Orleans following breaking of the levees surrounding the city as the result of Hurricane Katrina. (Photo/Lieut. Commander Mark Moran, NOAA Corps, NMAO/AOC)
It’s easy to understand how a lot of rain can lead to flooding, but what is storm surge flooding? Check out the video below for the answer:
The water from the Gulf of Mexico that Hurricane Katrina pushed onto the coast rose 25 to 28 feet (7.5 to 8.5 meters) above normal tide levels. OK, think of how tall you are and picture yourself standing at the beach – if you are five feet (1.5 meters) tall, that means it would have taken 5 to 6 of you standing on top of one another to equal how high the water rose.
AccuWeather not only has traditional green screen sets like most television studios, but also a more modern and sleek television set. The main difference between the two sets is that Brittany and Geoff can wear green on the new set but not the green screen set!
On November 15, 1962, Dr. Myers began forecasting the weather for a gas utility company in Pennsylvania.More and more clients followed -- Dr. Myers first provided weather to a ski resort in 1963 and then added the company’s first forensic weather customer in 1965. The first radio station to be served by AccuWeather was WARM-AM in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pennsylvania, and the first television station served was WPVI-TV in Philadelphia beginning in 1972.
Fast-forward to today and AccuWeather serves more than 1.5 billion people daily to help them plan their lives and get more out of their day. AccuWeather has offices in State College, Pennsylvania, Wichita, Kansas, New York City, and elsewhere across the globe!
Did you know that not all meteorologists forecast the weather? Some meteorologists are working hard to solve questions about the weather (this is called research), which may in turn lead to better forecasts for you and your family.
It may make sense that meteorologists are working hard to learn more about powerful hurricanes and tornadoes, but even simple questions have yet to be answered -- such as does boiling water freeze faster than cold water? Let’s see how close meteorologists are to solving that mystery by clicking on this link.
🎨 Sept. 2 - Art Class: Exploring light pillars streaking in the sky
Let’s explore light pillars a little more – it’s really fascinating how they look and form!
When the sun is setting or rising and there are cirrus clouds overhead, keep an eye out for a sun pillar – that’s a single streak of light extending straight up from the sun. Why do you need cirrus clouds to see a sun pillar? The key to them forming is the ice crystals that are only found in these clouds, which float in the really cold air high above our heads.
🛎 Sept. 2 - Morning Bell: Why can you see rays of sunshine at times?
Have you ever seen rays of sunshine streaking through clouds? It definitely creates a pretty sight!
(joosepkuusik/Pixabay)
There is actually a name for these rays – (big word time!) they are called crepuscular rays. Much like when the sky will turn vibrant colors of yellow, orange and red, crepuscular rays are seen at sunrise and sunset – and are also typically yellow or red.
If you want to see these pretty rays of sun, you need clouds or other things, such as mountains, for the rays to stream through, as well as dust or haze in the air for the sunlight to reflect off of and make the rays visible.
Here’s another interesting tidbit on crepuscular rays – they always look like they are starting from one spot in the sky, but that’s just our eyes playing tricks on us. The same thing happens when you stand on a long stretch of railroad tracks; the tracks look like they come together far away – but we all know that isn’t the case (thanks to University of Illinois for helping us understand that!).
🔬 Sept 1. - Weather Lab: Birthday candles can help explain hurricanes
AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Bob Larson challenges you to try to light birthday candles in front of a fan – again with the help of an adult. Having trouble doing that?
“Similarly, if there is a lot of wind high in the atmosphere [that’s wind shear], it will not let the hurricane form,” Bob said.
Have you ever noticed that when an ice skater pulls his/her arms in toward their chest, they will spin faster? That’s exactly what happens with a hurricane – the tighter the spiral, the stronger and more destructive a hurricane will get.
🌎 Sept. 1 - History Class: Remembering Hurricane Katrina
While Hurricane Laura recently made news headlines, nearly every news station was covering Hurricane Katrina on this date in 2005. Katrina is blamed for more than 1,200 deaths and $125 billion in damages in August 2005 with the city of New Orleans hit particularly hard.
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News / AccuWeather Ready
AccuWeather School Fall Semester: Week 1
By Kristina Pydynowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Oct. 24, 2020 5:13 PM EST
⛹️♂️ Sept. 4 - Recess: Spotting and escaping rip currents
If you are lucky enough to spend this weekend at the beach, don’t let rip currents ruin your trip!
Here’s how you can spot dangerous rip currents that can push you out into the deeper part of the ocean, and what you can do if you get caught in one – the main thing to remember is not to panic:
The scary thing is that the weather doesn’t have to be bad for there to be rip currents -- a far away storm, such as a hurricane, can stir up rip currents at the beach you are headed to. Plus, you don’t have to be at the ocean to be threatened by rip currents – they can happen along any large body of water, including in the Great Lakes.
It’s time to gather around for storytime and hear one man tell his story of how he nearly died in a rip current along the shores of Lake Michigan – it’s scary, but a good reminder to always swim with a lifeguard present:
🔬 Sept. 4 - Weather Lab - Wind is not the deadliest part of a hurricane
A hurricane is about to make landfall along the coast – what images come to your mind of what videos you will see on social media from that area? Powerful winds bringing down trees and causing damage to homes?
Hurricanes whip up extremely strong winds, but did you know that those winds are not what causes the most deaths in a hurricane? Flooding from storm surge and heavy rain is what has killed the most people in the United States during hurricanes in the last 50 years.
Views of inundated areas in New Orleans following breaking of the levees surrounding the city as the result of Hurricane Katrina. (Photo/Lieut. Commander Mark Moran, NOAA Corps, NMAO/AOC)
It’s easy to understand how a lot of rain can lead to flooding, but what is storm surge flooding? Check out the video below for the answer:
The water from the Gulf of Mexico that Hurricane Katrina pushed onto the coast rose 25 to 28 feet (7.5 to 8.5 meters) above normal tide levels. OK, think of how tall you are and picture yourself standing at the beach – if you are five feet (1.5 meters) tall, that means it would have taken 5 to 6 of you standing on top of one another to equal how high the water rose.
Buildings cannot take on that much water, creating a very dangerous situation for anyone who did not evacuate ahead of a hurricane.
🏕️ Field Day: Behind-the-scenes tour of the AccuWeather TV studios
The national AccuWeather TV Network broadcasts from AccuWeather’s Headquarters in State College, Pennsylvania, and you get to enjoy a virtual tour of our two different television sets thanks to AccuWeather on-air meteorologists Brittany Boyer and Geoff Cornish.
AccuWeather not only has traditional green screen sets like most television studios, but also a more modern and sleek television set. The main difference between the two sets is that Brittany and Geoff can wear green on the new set but not the green screen set!
From these television sets, Brittany, Geoff and AccuWeather’s other on-air meteorologists broadcast to more than 24 million homes. Are you in one of those homes that sees the AccuWeather Network on Verizon Fios, AT&T TV NOW, Frontier Cable and DIRECTV®?
🌎 Sept. 3 - History Class: AccuWeather has been providing forecasts since 1962
AccuWeather has been providing forecasts to your family before you and, for some, your parents were even born! AccuWeather was founded in 1962 by Dr. Joel N. Myers.
On November 15, 1962, Dr. Myers began forecasting the weather for a gas utility company in Pennsylvania. More and more clients followed -- Dr. Myers first provided weather to a ski resort in 1963 and then added the company’s first forensic weather customer in 1965. The first radio station to be served by AccuWeather was WARM-AM in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pennsylvania, and the first television station served was WPVI-TV in Philadelphia beginning in 1972.
Fast-forward to today and AccuWeather serves more than 1.5 billion people daily to help them plan their lives and get more out of their day. AccuWeather has offices in State College, Pennsylvania, Wichita, Kansas, New York City, and elsewhere across the globe!
How about AccuWeather’s name? That’s simple – Accuracy + Weather = AccuWeather!
🎓 Sept. 3 - AP class: Does boiling water freeze faster than cold water?
We spent the day getting a behind-the-scenes tour at AccuWeather -- seeing the television studios and learning how AccuWeather has been providing forecasts since before some of your parents were born!
Did you know that not all meteorologists forecast the weather? Some meteorologists are working hard to solve questions about the weather (this is called research), which may in turn lead to better forecasts for you and your family.
It may make sense that meteorologists are working hard to learn more about powerful hurricanes and tornadoes, but even simple questions have yet to be answered -- such as does boiling water freeze faster than cold water? Let’s see how close meteorologists are to solving that mystery by clicking on this link.
🎨 Sept. 2 - Art Class: Exploring light pillars streaking in the sky
We learned earlier about what the rays of sun that streak through the sky are called, but the nighttime hours can bring other neat sights in the sky – moonbows, Northern Lights and light pillars, to name a few.
Let’s explore light pillars a little more – it’s really fascinating how they look and form!
When the sun is setting or rising and there are cirrus clouds overhead, keep an eye out for a sun pillar – that’s a single streak of light extending straight up from the sun. Why do you need cirrus clouds to see a sun pillar? The key to them forming is the ice crystals that are only found in these clouds, which float in the really cold air high above our heads.
🛎 Sept. 2 - Morning Bell: Why can you see rays of sunshine at times?
Have you ever seen rays of sunshine streaking through clouds? It definitely creates a pretty sight!
(joosepkuusik/Pixabay)
There is actually a name for these rays – (big word time!) they are called crepuscular rays. Much like when the sky will turn vibrant colors of yellow, orange and red, crepuscular rays are seen at sunrise and sunset – and are also typically yellow or red.
If you want to see these pretty rays of sun, you need clouds or other things, such as mountains, for the rays to stream through, as well as dust or haze in the air for the sunlight to reflect off of and make the rays visible.
Here’s another interesting tidbit on crepuscular rays – they always look like they are starting from one spot in the sky, but that’s just our eyes playing tricks on us. The same thing happens when you stand on a long stretch of railroad tracks; the tracks look like they come together far away – but we all know that isn’t the case (thanks to University of Illinois for helping us understand that!).
🔬 Sept 1. - Weather Lab: Birthday candles can help explain hurricanes
Hurricanes produce really strong winds that can destroy homes, but winds over the area where the hurricane is forming or moving through have to be light or the hurricane may never exist. Time to get out our birthday candles to understand that:
AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Bob Larson challenges you to try to light birthday candles in front of a fan – again with the help of an adult. Having trouble doing that?
“Similarly, if there is a lot of wind high in the atmosphere [that’s wind shear], it will not let the hurricane form,” Bob said.
🎨 Sept. 1 - Art Class: Make a hurricane at home!
Don't worry, this activity won't be as difficult as the tornado machine that AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Bob Smerbeck created in his basement at home (though that was pretty cool). All you need is a bowl of water, spoon and food coloring to see how a hurricane would look from outer space.
Have you ever noticed that when an ice skater pulls his/her arms in toward their chest, they will spin faster? That’s exactly what happens with a hurricane – the tighter the spiral, the stronger and more destructive a hurricane will get.
Thanks to Experiment Exchange for coming up with this fun activity!
🌎 Sept. 1 - History Class: Remembering Hurricane Katrina
While Hurricane Laura recently made news headlines, nearly every news station was covering Hurricane Katrina on this date in 2005. Katrina is blamed for more than 1,200 deaths and $125 billion in damages in August 2005 with the city of New Orleans hit particularly hard.
Let’s revisit this devastating hurricane by listening to the AccuWeather This Date in Weather History podcast:
Did you know September 10 is the peak of hurricane season for the Atlantic Ocean? This time of year is when the ocean water temperatures are at their warmest – and warm water is the main fuel for hurricanes.
Additional experiments and reporting by Jason Nicholls.
Previously:
AccuWeather Summer Camp: Week 13
AccuWeather Summer Camp: Week 12
AccuWeather Summer Camp: Week 11
AccuWeather Summer Camp: Week 10
AccuWeather Summer Camp: Week 9
AccuWeather Summer Camp: Week 8
AccuWeather Summer Camp: Week 7
AccuWeather Summer Camp: Week 6
AccuWeather Summer Camp: Week 5
AccuWeather Summer Camp: Week 4
AccuWeather Summer Camp: Week 3
AccuWeather Summer Camp: Week 2
AccuWeather Summer Camp: Week 1
AccuWeather School: Week 1
AccuWeather School: Week 2
AccuWeather School: Week 3
AccuWeather School: Week 4
AccuWeather School: Week 5
AccuWeather School: Week 6
AccuWeather School: Week 7
AccuWeather School: Week 8
AccuWeather School: Week 9