ð¶ Jan. 15 - Music class: Sing catchy ‘Turn Around, Don’t Drown’ song
Even though a car is very heavy, your family's vehicle can float – so meteorologists say "Turn Around, Don't Drown" when someone encounters a flooded roadway. To help you remember that very important phrase, let’s head to music class and learn this catchy tune!
It’s easier to remember something with a catchy song – did you learn the alphabet by singing the A-B-C song? Hopefully once this song gets stuck in your head, you can help keep your family out of harm’s way!
The reason so many people die in floods each year is that they likely do not realize how strong moving water really is. You can jump around in a small puddle and get dirty all you want, but when the water is rushing through your yard or street, that is when you need to stay away.
Ask someone to hold a ruler up against your leg and mark off six inches from the ground. That’s not high at all, right? An adult can get knocked down by water that high when it is moving really fast.
â Jan. 15 - Math class: How can heavy cars float in flood waters?
Most cars weigh between 2,500 and 3,000 pounds (1,100 to 1,360 kilograms), but many will float for a period of time if they're in as little as 12 inches (30 cm) of water. How is that possible? Let’s find out with this at-home activity from AccuWeather On-Air Meteorologist Geoff Cornish and his adorable helper:
A car sits submerged in water from Hurricane Dorian in Freeport, Bahamas, on Sept. 3, 2019. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
ð¬ Jan. 12 - Weather Lab: Best weather to have your snowman last
What is your favorite thing to do after it snows – make a snow angel, have a snowball fight, go sled riding or build a snowman? After you make a snowman, you hope that it lasts a long time!
It is obvious that cold weather will keep your snowman from melting, but don’t just watch the temperature forecast. The dew point plays a big role for how long Frosty and snow will stay on the ground.
So how does that help us with knowing how long our snowmen will last? Let’s find out:
Here’s another tip to extend Frosty’s life as long as possible – build your snowman in a north-facing lawn where the sun shines less in the winter (in the Northern Hemisphere). Plus, keep away any excited dogs – as seen in this video, they’ve been known to demolish snowmen!
â¹ï¸âï¸ Jan. 12 - Gym class: How much longer will this snow pile last?
Guesses ranged from three to six weeks, but this pile doesn’t show signs of leaving anytime soon:
A surge of warmer air and rain right before Christmas caused the snow pile to shrink, then more snow was added to it as colder weather quickly returned.
It’s the dead of winter in central Pennsylvania, so submit your new guess for when this snow pile will finally melt through Facebook or Twitter. Use the hashtag #AccuWeatherSchool to get credit! You can get a hint by looking at the long-range AccuWeather forecast.
𥪠Jan. 8 - Lunch break: Bounce a raw egg without making a mess
If we told you that you could drop a raw egg into a bowl and not have it crack open, would you believe us? AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Jason Nicholls accepted the challenge, so let’s see if he can do it:
Obviously, Jason didn’t just grab a raw egg from his fridge. He let the egg sit in vinegar for about a day or two before this experiment.
ð Jan. 8 - AP class: Contrails can help predict the weather!
Have you ever looked up in the sky and seen the streaks of clouds that follow airplanes? These are called contrails and they can actually help you predict the weather. Learn this new forecasting trick in the video below!
So what are contrails? Think of chilly mornings when you can see your breath – that’s what happens when the hot and humid air blowing out of the airplane’s exhaust clashes with the cold air way above our heads – instant cloud formation!
ð¬ Jan. 5 - Weather Lab: Make it rain at home, but you won’t get wet!
Do you like ferris wheel rides? Water likes the ride so much that it takes it every day!
Water first evaporates from puddles, lakes and oceans. As that water vapor rises up in the air, it cools and condenses and forms clouds. When the clouds fill up with enough water, rain or snow falls back down to the ground – the ferris wheel or the water cycle keeps going around and around.
Let’s do a fun activity to see the ferris wheel ride that water takes in the air – but in your own home. Don’t worry, when rain begins to fall, you shouldn’t get wet!
ð Jan. 5 – Homework: Ahh, the smell of rain ... but what are you actually smelling?
For your homework – if it rains in your area, go outside and take a deep breath through your nose. Does it smell nice? So many people like that smell that there are rain-scented laundry detergents and candles. It may surprise you that you aren’t really smelling raindrops. You are actually getting a whiff of dirt, worms and other things in the ground.
Here’s a big word to impress your parents and teachers with – petrichor. That’s the scent that fills the air as raindrops hit the ground. It’s caused by oils from plants, mainly leaves, that settle onto soils or pavement over time. The more time that passes between rain events, the more the oil will build up and the stronger the scent.
Don’t forget when you head outside to smell the rain, grab an umbrella or raincoat or you’ll get soaked!
𥪠Jan. 1 - Lunch break: Melt butter in your car during winter?
It wasn’t a surprise when AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Krissy Pydynowski melted butter in her hot car on a sizzling summer day. It’s winter now in central Pennsylvania, so what do you think will happen when she attempts the same experiment? Let’s find out:
Krissy filmed the above video about a week after the winter solstice when the air temperature outside was in the 30s Fahrenheit (lower single digits Celsius). Despite that, the butter still became really soft!
ð Jan. 1 - Study Hall:All rise – meteorology court is now in session!
Most meteorologists you may know predict the weather, either on TV or the radio. However, the job of some meteorologists is to help solve crimes or other court cases – these weather detectives are known as forensic meteorologists.
Forensic meteorologists dive into past weather information and go to court to give their expert opinions. That means sitting in the witness stand and being ready to answer hard questions from lawyers.
What cases can meteorologists help solve? Anything that involves the weather! People slipping on ice and suing businesses are common cases, but forensic meteorologists have even helped solve murder cases!
Now it is your turn to help solve a case – one that involves a snowy footprint. Let’s get the details from AccuWeather’s Senior Forensic Meteorologist Steve Wistar:
So what do you think – did the police have the right shooter? Or what do you think happened to the snowy footprint as the air got warmer? Here’s Steve with the answer:
âï¸ Gold Star Time: Everyone gets a gold star for their hard work solving the case from Steve. Being a weather detective isn’t easy. It takes a lot of time to look at all of the information, but forensic meteorologists can provide that last piece of the puzzle to put a bad person in jail or settle arguments.
ð¨ Dec. 29 - Art Class: Let the solar system invade your yard
You may know that the Earth is about 93 million miles (150 million km) away from the sun, but what about the closest and farthest planet? Mercury is roughly 35 million miles (58 million km) away, while 2.8 billion miles (4.5 billion km) separates the sun and Neptune.
Since the solar system is so big, you may have a hard time picturing how far apart the planets are from each other and the sun. Well, here is a fun activity to help with that – let’s get out our art supplies and make a solar system in our yards (this can replace your holiday decorations!).
All you need for this activity is construction paper, tape, sticks to put your planets in the ground and a tape measure.
Cut out circles for the sun and planets (and feel free to decorate them with how the planets may actually look – don’t forget the Giant Red Spot on Jupiter!), and tape the circles to your sticks. Pick a part of your yard that is 100 feet (30 meters) long – remember the solar system is big! – and place your sun as the starting spot. From that point, measure out the following distance for where to put each planet in the ground:
Mercury: 15 inches (38 cm)
Venus: 28 inches (72 cm)
Earth: 3.3 feet (1 meter)
Mars: 4.9 feet (1.5 meters)
Jupiter: 17 feet (5.2 meters)
Saturn: 31 feet (9.5 meters) – is your tape measure that long?
Uranus: 63 feet (19.2 meters)
Neptune: 99 feet (30.1 meters)
Did you have to put Neptune into your neighbor’s yard? Neptune is more than 30 times as far from the sun as Earth is – and it takes 165 Earth years for Neptune to take one journey around the sun!
Thanks to Education.com for the idea of this fun activity, and NASA for stats on the planets.
âï¸Dec. 29 - Astronomy Class: No weather on the moon to wash away astronauts' footprints
Neil Armstrong was the first human to step foot on the moon on July 20, 1969, and that famous footprint is still there – more than 50 years later! If you stepped into mud or dirt today, the weather will likely erase it the next time it rains or winds blow the dirt around. So why didn’t that happen to Neil’s footprint?
"The moon has virtually no atmosphere, so there is no weather like clouds or wind [solar wind is different],” AccuWeather Meteorologist and Digital Journalist Brian Lada said. “Since there is no weather, there is nothing to wash away the footprints left behind by Neil Armstrong when he became the first human to walk on the moon. His footprints will likely remain on the surface of the moon for thousands of years – if not longer!"
Astronaut Buzz Aldrin walks on the surface of the moon near the leg of the lunar module Eagle during the Apollo 11 mission. Mission commander Neil Armstrong took this photograph with a 70mm lunar surface camera. (Photo/NASA)
What is the word atmosphere that Brian talked about? Earth’s atmosphere is the dome of air that extends from where we are standing to the edge of the Earth – 6,200 miles (10,000 km) up in the sky! It protects us from meteors, holds in the air we breathe and allows weather to happen.
ð Dec. 25 - History Class: Up close view of the tornado-destroyed Kinzua Bridge
At the Kinzua Bridge State Park in northwestern Pennsylvania, you can get very close to the damage left behind when the railroad bridge that stood 301 feet tall took a direct hit from a tornado in July 2003.
Part of the remaining bridge was made into a skywalk that allows us to stand 225 feet above the ground and look down at the destruction (we hope you aren’t afraid of heights!). The other end of the bridge was left untouched, and you can see the rails that were pulled and twisted as the tornado swept through:
The Kinzua Bridge Viaduct was the highest railroad bridge in the world when it was completed in 1882, according to the state park. It was first made of iron, but as trains got bigger and heavier, the bridge was rebuilt out of steel in 1900 – it then weighed 6.7 million pounds!
In addition to the bridge being used for train traffic, people were allowed to walk across the span up until the summer of 2002 (just a year before the tornado hit). Inspectors had found that the sections of the steel towers had rusted through, making it dangerous for people and trains to cross the bridge.
Work to repair the bridge started in February 2003, but that came to an end when the tornado swept through. The debris left behind in this state park allows us to see firsthand the true power of tornadoes.
Are you thinking maybe a tornado that had an EF4 or EF5 ranking? Actually, it was an F1 tornado with winds of 73-112 mph that destroyed the bridge (this tornado occurred before the Enhanced Fujita Scale was used, that is why there isn’t an “E” in front of F1). This proves that all tornadoes should be taken seriously, and you need to seek shelter as soon as a tornado warning is issued for your community.
Kinzua State Park
ðï¸ Dec. 25 - Excursion Day: Tour of railroad bridge demolished by a tornado
On the morning of July 21, 2003, the Kinzua Bridge Viaduct stood 301 feet tall over a creek in northwestern Pennsylvania. By the end of the day, this steel railroad bridge that weighed around 6.7 million pounds was reduced to ruins after taking a direct hit by a tornado.
Eleven pillars of the bridge were ripped from their concrete foundation and tossed onto the ground – a sight that you can still see to this day by visitingKinzua Bridge State Park. The park converted part of the remaining bridge into a 225-foot-high skywalk that overlooks the destruction, and you are allowed to walk down in the valley and get close to the destroyed pillars.
Want to see the true power of this tornado but can’t make a trip to northwestern Pennsylvania? AccuWeather School has you covered, as we take you on a virtual excursion into the park:
ð Dec. 22 - Homework: Take deep breaths like this forest
A forest breathing? Trees breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen, but not like how you take a deep breath. They use photosynthesis instead.
However, let’s watch the video below – that looks like the forest is breathing!
What you are seeing are trees swaying in the wind and their roots moving back and forth. When the ground is really soggy, roots have a hard time holding onto the soil. Think of it this way – which is easier for you to grab, mud or dirt? Mud will slip through your fingers, not dry dirt.
Seeing a video of the forest breathing is neat, but when the roots don’t have a firm grip on the wet soil as winds are blowing, trees can easily get knocked down.
â¹ï¸âï¸ Dec. 22 - Gym class: Guess how long this snow pile will last!
For anyone who lives where snow falls frequently, you are likely familiar with seeing big mounds of snow in parking lots. With many of us on winter break for the holidays, we thought to have fun with a contest during AccuWeather School – guess how long this massive snow pile in State College, Pennsylvania, will last:
However, check out the 90-day forecast for State College as AccuWeather’s long-range forecasting team is expecting January and February to be milder than normal.
Stay tuned as we keep you updated on this snow pile through the winter, and we will announce the winner when the snow pile is fully melted!
ð Dec. 18 – Morning Bell: Meteorologists look for doughnut holes on radar, and not for a snack!
Your mouth may water when you see doughnut holes, but meteorologists can get a big clue about the weather when they see something that looks like a doughnut hole on radar.
Think of times when you have seen green on weather radar showing precipitation over your home. You can look outside, and it is raining, right? At other times, red on radar will depict heavy rain, blue shows snow, and pink is ice.
However, there are times when the radar will fool everyone but meteorologists into thinking that it is raining or snowing when, in fact, it is not. Meteorologists keep an eye out for a doughnut hole on radar, much like what you see in the image below.
This radar image is courtesy of the National Weather Service Office in Omaha, Nebraska, from January 2019.
A doughnut hole on radar typically means that the rain or snow falling out of the cloud is not reaching the ground. The air is too dry near the ground, and the rain or snow will evaporate (big word time – this is called virga).
In the above image, the radar is right in showing no rain or snow around Des Moines, Iowa. The problem is that the radar beam is angled up higher in the sky the farther away from Des Moines, so it thinks it is seeing rain or snow when nothing is actually reaching the ground.
Do you see any doughnut holes on your local radar or just real ones in your kitchen?
ð Dec. 18 - History Class: Any truth in ‘Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning?'
Are you familiar with any examples of weather folklore – a phrase where if someone sees something, it means a certain weather event will happen?
Have you heard of how the stripe on woolly caterpillars can predict how harsh a winter will be? Or how when an older relative says their bones are creaking, that means that a storm is coming? The phrase “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight” or “Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning" is one of the most common weather folklore.
Weather folklore has been passed down from generations. Many are centuries old and stem from when people did not have computers and smartphones to get a weather forecast. People would notice things that occurred ahead of certain weather and used that to make their own forecasts.
Some of the folklore is true; other catch phrases have been proven false. Back to the “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight" – there is actually truth to it! Learn more below:
â¹ï¸âï¸ Dec. 15 - Gym class: Don’t let frostnip ruin your outside playtime!
We learned earlier at AccuWeather School that mittens will keep your fingers warmer than gloves. More than not causing you to shiver, mittens will help prevent frostnip from cutting your time playing outdoors short.
It may feel like it only when you have a fever, but your body is constantly giving off heat – that’s right, even as you are reading this, you are radiating heat.
Another fun way to see how much heat is coming from your body is to visit NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center outside of Washington, D.C., and see yourself in infrared light. Check out AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Krissy Pydynowski’s infrared selfie.
AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Krissy Pydynowski took this infrared selfie at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Visitor Center outside of Washington, D.C., in late April 2019.
ð Dec. 15 - Pop quiz! Do gloves or mittens keep your fingers warmer?
Since it’s getting colder in the Northern Hemisphere, many of you are starting to bundle up when heading outside to play – and you definitely need gloves and mittens to keep your hands warm.
Between gloves and mittens, which one will keep your fingers warmer? Find out if you aced this pop quiz:
ð¨ Dec. 11 - Art Class: Volcanoes can make glass?? (It’s true!)
Before you go searching online to buy a glass mug made out of volcanic glass, know that the amount of glass that is produced is very small – but it shows thepower of volcanoes.
The steam from a boiling pot of water isn’t too dangerous as long as you don’t put your face right near the hot pot. However, the laze steam is made up of hot water vapor, toxic gases and tiny shards of volcanic glass – known as Pele's Seaweed.
Instead of being able to pick up the glass and make a mug out of it, people who are too close to the laze can develop breathing issues. Also, the laze may bother their eyes or skin – definitely something to stay away from!
The Anak Krakatau (Child of Krakatau) volcano sends up powerful clouds of hot gasses, rocks, and lava as a fishing boat is moored offshore on Nov. 8, 2007. (AP Photo/Ed Wray)
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News / Weather News
AccuWeather School Winter Break
By Kristina Pydynowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Mar 21, 2021 12:32 PM EDT
ð¶ Jan. 15 - Music class: Sing catchy ‘Turn Around, Don’t Drown’ song
Even though a car is very heavy, your family's vehicle can float – so meteorologists say "Turn Around, Don't Drown" when someone encounters a flooded roadway. To help you remember that very important phrase, let’s head to music class and learn this catchy tune!
It’s easier to remember something with a catchy song – did you learn the alphabet by singing the A-B-C song? Hopefully once this song gets stuck in your head, you can help keep your family out of harm’s way!
The reason so many people die in floods each year is that they likely do not realize how strong moving water really is. You can jump around in a small puddle and get dirty all you want, but when the water is rushing through your yard or street, that is when you need to stay away.
Ask someone to hold a ruler up against your leg and mark off six inches from the ground. That’s not high at all, right? An adult can get knocked down by water that high when it is moving really fast.
â Jan. 15 - Math class: How can heavy cars float in flood waters?
Most cars weigh between 2,500 and 3,000 pounds (1,100 to 1,360 kilograms), but many will float for a period of time if they're in as little as 12 inches (30 cm) of water. How is that possible? Let’s find out with this at-home activity from AccuWeather On-Air Meteorologist Geoff Cornish and his adorable helper:
The second the tires lose contact with the road beneath, moving water can carry cars downstream and very bad things can happen. Eventually, most cars will sink, but only after the inside fills with water – and that can take several minutes or longer to occur.
A car sits submerged in water from Hurricane Dorian in Freeport, Bahamas, on Sept. 3, 2019. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
ð¬ Jan. 12 - Weather Lab: Best weather to have your snowman last
What is your favorite thing to do after it snows – make a snow angel, have a snowball fight, go sled riding or build a snowman? After you make a snowman, you hope that it lasts a long time!
It is obvious that cold weather will keep your snowman from melting, but don’t just watch the temperature forecast. The dew point plays a big role for how long Frosty and snow will stay on the ground.
The dew point temperature tells us how much moisture is in the air – in the summer, the higher the dew point, the stickier the air feels. In the winter when dew points are really low, your hair may stick up after taking off a sweater or you can get a shock from static electricity – that’s because low dew points mean that the air is dry.
So how does that help us with knowing how long our snowmen will last? Let’s find out:
Here’s another tip to extend Frosty’s life as long as possible – build your snowman in a north-facing lawn where the sun shines less in the winter (in the Northern Hemisphere). Plus, keep away any excited dogs – as seen in this video, they’ve been known to demolish snowmen!
â¹ï¸âï¸ Jan. 12 - Gym class: How much longer will this snow pile last?
After a big snowstorm, massive snow piles are a common sight along the edges of parking lots – and depending on the weather for the rest of winter, they can sit there a long time. Remember the snow pile that we investigated in State College, Pennsylvania, around Dec. 20, and you submitted your guesses for when it would fully melt?
Guesses ranged from three to six weeks, but this pile doesn’t show signs of leaving anytime soon:
A surge of warmer air and rain right before Christmas caused the snow pile to shrink, then more snow was added to it as colder weather quickly returned.
It’s the dead of winter in central Pennsylvania, so submit your new guess for when this snow pile will finally melt through Facebook or Twitter. Use the hashtag #AccuWeatherSchool to get credit! You can get a hint by looking at the long-range AccuWeather forecast.
𥪠Jan. 8 - Lunch break: Bounce a raw egg without making a mess
If we told you that you could drop a raw egg into a bowl and not have it crack open, would you believe us? AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Jason Nicholls accepted the challenge, so let’s see if he can do it:
Obviously, Jason didn’t just grab a raw egg from his fridge. He let the egg sit in vinegar for about a day or two before this experiment.
This was really fun to watch, and eggs often help meteorologists understand the weather and science. We learned earlier about inertia thanks to an egg, and we’ve found how air wants to flow from the Hs (high pressure systems) on weather maps to the Ls (storms) by simply exploding an egg in a bottle! Now, who’s hungry and ready for an egg-cellent snack!
ð Jan. 8 - AP class: Contrails can help predict the weather!
Have you ever looked up in the sky and seen the streaks of clouds that follow airplanes? These are called contrails and they can actually help you predict the weather. Learn this new forecasting trick in the video below!
So what are contrails? Think of chilly mornings when you can see your breath – that’s what happens when the hot and humid air blowing out of the airplane’s exhaust clashes with the cold air way above our heads – instant cloud formation!
ð¬ Jan. 5 - Weather Lab: Make it rain at home, but you won’t get wet!
Do you like ferris wheel rides? Water likes the ride so much that it takes it every day!
Water first evaporates from puddles, lakes and oceans. As that water vapor rises up in the air, it cools and condenses and forms clouds. When the clouds fill up with enough water, rain or snow falls back down to the ground – the ferris wheel or the water cycle keeps going around and around.
Let’s do a fun activity to see the ferris wheel ride that water takes in the air – but in your own home. Don’t worry, when rain begins to fall, you shouldn’t get wet!
ð Jan. 5 – Homework: Ahh, the smell of rain ... but what are you actually smelling?
For your homework – if it rains in your area, go outside and take a deep breath through your nose. Does it smell nice? So many people like that smell that there are rain-scented laundry detergents and candles. It may surprise you that you aren’t really smelling raindrops. You are actually getting a whiff of dirt, worms and other things in the ground.
Here’s a big word to impress your parents and teachers with – petrichor. That’s the scent that fills the air as raindrops hit the ground. It’s caused by oils from plants, mainly leaves, that settle onto soils or pavement over time. The more time that passes between rain events, the more the oil will build up and the stronger the scent.
Don’t forget when you head outside to smell the rain, grab an umbrella or raincoat or you’ll get soaked!
𥪠Jan. 1 - Lunch break: Melt butter in your car during winter?
It wasn’t a surprise when AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Krissy Pydynowski melted butter in her hot car on a sizzling summer day. It’s winter now in central Pennsylvania, so what do you think will happen when she attempts the same experiment? Let’s find out:
Krissy filmed the above video about a week after the winter solstice when the air temperature outside was in the 30s Fahrenheit (lower single digits Celsius). Despite that, the butter still became really soft!
A car is like a greenhouse when the windows are up – turning dangerously hot in the summer, but a nice spot to escape frigid winds on a sunny day in the winter.
ð Jan. 1 - Study Hall: All rise – meteorology court is now in session!
Most meteorologists you may know predict the weather, either on TV or the radio. However, the job of some meteorologists is to help solve crimes or other court cases – these weather detectives are known as forensic meteorologists.
Forensic meteorologists dive into past weather information and go to court to give their expert opinions. That means sitting in the witness stand and being ready to answer hard questions from lawyers.
What cases can meteorologists help solve? Anything that involves the weather! People slipping on ice and suing businesses are common cases, but forensic meteorologists have even helped solve murder cases!
Now it is your turn to help solve a case – one that involves a snowy footprint. Let’s get the details from AccuWeather’s Senior Forensic Meteorologist Steve Wistar:
So what do you think – did the police have the right shooter? Or what do you think happened to the snowy footprint as the air got warmer? Here’s Steve with the answer:
âï¸ Gold Star Time: Everyone gets a gold star for their hard work solving the case from Steve. Being a weather detective isn’t easy. It takes a lot of time to look at all of the information, but forensic meteorologists can provide that last piece of the puzzle to put a bad person in jail or settle arguments.
ð¨ Dec. 29 - Art Class: Let the solar system invade your yard
You may know that the Earth is about 93 million miles (150 million km) away from the sun, but what about the closest and farthest planet? Mercury is roughly 35 million miles (58 million km) away, while 2.8 billion miles (4.5 billion km) separates the sun and Neptune.
Since the solar system is so big, you may have a hard time picturing how far apart the planets are from each other and the sun. Well, here is a fun activity to help with that – let’s get out our art supplies and make a solar system in our yards (this can replace your holiday decorations!).
All you need for this activity is construction paper, tape, sticks to put your planets in the ground and a tape measure.
Cut out circles for the sun and planets (and feel free to decorate them with how the planets may actually look – don’t forget the Giant Red Spot on Jupiter!), and tape the circles to your sticks. Pick a part of your yard that is 100 feet (30 meters) long – remember the solar system is big! – and place your sun as the starting spot. From that point, measure out the following distance for where to put each planet in the ground:
Mercury: 15 inches (38 cm)
Venus: 28 inches (72 cm)
Earth: 3.3 feet (1 meter)
Mars: 4.9 feet (1.5 meters)
Jupiter: 17 feet (5.2 meters)
Saturn: 31 feet (9.5 meters) – is your tape measure that long?
Uranus: 63 feet (19.2 meters)
Neptune: 99 feet (30.1 meters)
Did you have to put Neptune into your neighbor’s yard? Neptune is more than 30 times as far from the sun as Earth is – and it takes 165 Earth years for Neptune to take one journey around the sun!
Thanks to Education.com for the idea of this fun activity, and NASA for stats on the planets.
âï¸Dec. 29 - Astronomy Class: No weather on the moon to wash away astronauts' footprints
Neil Armstrong was the first human to step foot on the moon on July 20, 1969, and that famous footprint is still there – more than 50 years later! If you stepped into mud or dirt today, the weather will likely erase it the next time it rains or winds blow the dirt around. So why didn’t that happen to Neil’s footprint?
"The moon has virtually no atmosphere, so there is no weather like clouds or wind [solar wind is different],” AccuWeather Meteorologist and Digital Journalist Brian Lada said. “Since there is no weather, there is nothing to wash away the footprints left behind by Neil Armstrong when he became the first human to walk on the moon. His footprints will likely remain on the surface of the moon for thousands of years – if not longer!"
Astronaut Buzz Aldrin walks on the surface of the moon near the leg of the lunar module Eagle during the Apollo 11 mission. Mission commander Neil Armstrong took this photograph with a 70mm lunar surface camera. (Photo/NASA)
What is the word atmosphere that Brian talked about? Earth’s atmosphere is the dome of air that extends from where we are standing to the edge of the Earth – 6,200 miles (10,000 km) up in the sky! It protects us from meteors, holds in the air we breathe and allows weather to happen.
The atmosphere also acts as a thermostat, keeping temperatures at livable levels. On the moon, temperatures range from -414 to 253 degrees Fahrenheit (-248 to 123 degrees Celsius) – that’s too hot and cold for any person!
ð Dec. 25 - History Class: Up close view of the tornado-destroyed Kinzua Bridge
At the Kinzua Bridge State Park in northwestern Pennsylvania, you can get very close to the damage left behind when the railroad bridge that stood 301 feet tall took a direct hit from a tornado in July 2003.
Part of the remaining bridge was made into a skywalk that allows us to stand 225 feet above the ground and look down at the destruction (we hope you aren’t afraid of heights!). The other end of the bridge was left untouched, and you can see the rails that were pulled and twisted as the tornado swept through:
The Kinzua Bridge Viaduct was the highest railroad bridge in the world when it was completed in 1882, according to the state park. It was first made of iron, but as trains got bigger and heavier, the bridge was rebuilt out of steel in 1900 – it then weighed 6.7 million pounds!
In addition to the bridge being used for train traffic, people were allowed to walk across the span up until the summer of 2002 (just a year before the tornado hit). Inspectors had found that the sections of the steel towers had rusted through, making it dangerous for people and trains to cross the bridge.
Work to repair the bridge started in February 2003, but that came to an end when the tornado swept through. The debris left behind in this state park allows us to see firsthand the true power of tornadoes.
Are you thinking maybe a tornado that had an EF4 or EF5 ranking? Actually, it was an F1 tornado with winds of 73-112 mph that destroyed the bridge (this tornado occurred before the Enhanced Fujita Scale was used, that is why there isn’t an “E” in front of F1). This proves that all tornadoes should be taken seriously, and you need to seek shelter as soon as a tornado warning is issued for your community.
ðï¸ Dec. 25 - Excursion Day: Tour of railroad bridge demolished by a tornado
On the morning of July 21, 2003, the Kinzua Bridge Viaduct stood 301 feet tall over a creek in northwestern Pennsylvania. By the end of the day, this steel railroad bridge that weighed around 6.7 million pounds was reduced to ruins after taking a direct hit by a tornado.
Eleven pillars of the bridge were ripped from their concrete foundation and tossed onto the ground – a sight that you can still see to this day by visiting Kinzua Bridge State Park. The park converted part of the remaining bridge into a 225-foot-high skywalk that overlooks the destruction, and you are allowed to walk down in the valley and get close to the destroyed pillars.
Want to see the true power of this tornado but can’t make a trip to northwestern Pennsylvania? AccuWeather School has you covered, as we take you on a virtual excursion into the park:
ð Dec. 22 - Homework: Take deep breaths like this forest
A forest breathing? Trees breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen, but not like how you take a deep breath. They use photosynthesis instead.
However, let’s watch the video below – that looks like the forest is breathing!
What you are seeing are trees swaying in the wind and their roots moving back and forth. When the ground is really soggy, roots have a hard time holding onto the soil. Think of it this way – which is easier for you to grab, mud or dirt? Mud will slip through your fingers, not dry dirt.
Seeing a video of the forest breathing is neat, but when the roots don’t have a firm grip on the wet soil as winds are blowing, trees can easily get knocked down.
â¹ï¸âï¸ Dec. 22 - Gym class: Guess how long this snow pile will last!
For anyone who lives where snow falls frequently, you are likely familiar with seeing big mounds of snow in parking lots. With many of us on winter break for the holidays, we thought to have fun with a contest during AccuWeather School – guess how long this massive snow pile in State College, Pennsylvania, will last:
Before you send in your guess through Facebook or Twitter using the hashtag #AccuWeatherSchool, remember that there is still plenty of winter left in central Pennsylvania (Monday was the first day of astronomical winter in the Northern Hemisphere), so more snowstorms can make the pile bigger.
However, check out the 90-day forecast for State College as AccuWeather’s long-range forecasting team is expecting January and February to be milder than normal.
Stay tuned as we keep you updated on this snow pile through the winter, and we will announce the winner when the snow pile is fully melted!
ð Dec. 18 – Morning Bell: Meteorologists look for doughnut holes on radar, and not for a snack!
Your mouth may water when you see doughnut holes, but meteorologists can get a big clue about the weather when they see something that looks like a doughnut hole on radar.
Think of times when you have seen green on weather radar showing precipitation over your home. You can look outside, and it is raining, right? At other times, red on radar will depict heavy rain, blue shows snow, and pink is ice.
However, there are times when the radar will fool everyone but meteorologists into thinking that it is raining or snowing when, in fact, it is not. Meteorologists keep an eye out for a doughnut hole on radar, much like what you see in the image below.
This radar image is courtesy of the National Weather Service Office in Omaha, Nebraska, from January 2019.
A doughnut hole on radar typically means that the rain or snow falling out of the cloud is not reaching the ground. The air is too dry near the ground, and the rain or snow will evaporate (big word time – this is called virga).
In the above image, the radar is right in showing no rain or snow around Des Moines, Iowa. The problem is that the radar beam is angled up higher in the sky the farther away from Des Moines, so it thinks it is seeing rain or snow when nothing is actually reaching the ground.
Do you see any doughnut holes on your local radar or just real ones in your kitchen?
ð Dec. 18 - History Class: Any truth in ‘Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning?'
Are you familiar with any examples of weather folklore – a phrase where if someone sees something, it means a certain weather event will happen?
Have you heard of how the stripe on woolly caterpillars can predict how harsh a winter will be? Or how when an older relative says their bones are creaking, that means that a storm is coming? The phrase “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight” or “Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning" is one of the most common weather folklore.
Weather folklore has been passed down from generations. Many are centuries old and stem from when people did not have computers and smartphones to get a weather forecast. People would notice things that occurred ahead of certain weather and used that to make their own forecasts.
Some of the folklore is true; other catch phrases have been proven false. Back to the “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight" – there is actually truth to it! Learn more below:
â¹ï¸âï¸ Dec. 15 - Gym class: Don’t let frostnip ruin your outside playtime!
We learned earlier at AccuWeather School that mittens will keep your fingers warmer than gloves. More than not causing you to shiver, mittens will help prevent frostnip from cutting your time playing outdoors short.
You may hear frostnip mentioned in some holiday songs, but what is frostnip, and why are kids more likely to get it than adults? Let’s find out below:
It may feel like it only when you have a fever, but your body is constantly giving off heat – that’s right, even as you are reading this, you are radiating heat.
Another fun way to see how much heat is coming from your body is to visit NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center outside of Washington, D.C., and see yourself in infrared light. Check out AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Krissy Pydynowski’s infrared selfie.
AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Krissy Pydynowski took this infrared selfie at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Visitor Center outside of Washington, D.C., in late April 2019.
Look at how warm her forehead and neck are compared to her nose and fingers – you can see why you are more likely to get frostnip and frostbite on your cooler nose and fingers!
ð Dec. 15 - Pop quiz! Do gloves or mittens keep your fingers warmer?
Since it’s getting colder in the Northern Hemisphere, many of you are starting to bundle up when heading outside to play – and you definitely need gloves and mittens to keep your hands warm.
Between gloves and mittens, which one will keep your fingers warmer? Find out if you aced this pop quiz:
ð¨ Dec. 11 - Art Class: Volcanoes can make glass?? (It’s true!)
Before you go searching online to buy a glass mug made out of volcanic glass, know that the amount of glass that is produced is very small – but it shows the power of volcanoes.
It’s actually the lava from volcanoes that makes tiny glass particles – and the volcano has to be near an ocean. When the lava hits the ocean, a dense white steam known as laze forms.
The steam from a boiling pot of water isn’t too dangerous as long as you don’t put your face right near the hot pot. However, the laze steam is made up of hot water vapor, toxic gases and tiny shards of volcanic glass – known as Pele's Seaweed.
Instead of being able to pick up the glass and make a mug out of it, people who are too close to the laze can develop breathing issues. Also, the laze may bother their eyes or skin – definitely something to stay away from!
The Anak Krakatau (Child of Krakatau) volcano sends up powerful clouds of hot gasses, rocks, and lava as a fishing boat is moored offshore on Nov. 8, 2007. (AP Photo/Ed Wray)
Previously:
AccuWeather School Fall Semester: Weeks 14-15
AccuWeather School Fall Semester: Weeks 12-13
AccuWeather School Fall Semester: Weeks 10-11
AccuWeather School Fall Semester: Weeks 8-9
AccuWeather School Fall Semester: Weeks 6-7
AccuWeather School Fall Semester: Weeks 4-5
AccuWeather School Fall Semester: Weeks 2-3
AccuWeather School Fall Semester: Week 1
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