extreme events

Trusted Resources

Extreme Weather Resources

Beginners

• SciJinks: Games, Resources, Multimedia, for kids and instructors, material on weather and extreme events

• UCAR: Kid’s Crossing on weather and climate, Games & Activities, fun facts and dangerous weather

• Weather Wiz Kids: Good resource with lots of details for various weather events, natural disasters, FAQ section for these topics: Created by meteorologist Crystal Wicker, this site has explanations and experiments on weather events, weather forecasting and natural disasters

• UCAR: Web Weather for Kids, good basics for younger kids on various storm events

• NASA: Climate Kids

• National Geographic: Kids: Wonder About Weather

• Austin’s Butterfly: Video 1 and Video 2

• Models of Excellence: Full website

• A kid’s guide to climate change: Learning about climate change? Here's a comic for kids about what it is and how it's affecting the planet — as explained by kids who are experiencing it. And find out how to print this comic at home!
  

advanced

• K12 Reader: Understanding extreme weather: 1 page download document with questions for students  and a teacher answer guide

• National Geographic: Extreme Weather on Earth Activity, has very good video on general extreme weather events and the causes

• UCAR: Weather student resources on weather basics, storms

• NOAA: NOAA Severe Storms Laboratory: Severe Weather 101: (has pages on most common severe weather events)

• National Geographic: How in the World do Hurricanes form by National Weather Service and Virginia Beach Schools

• Vox:  How a warmer Arctic could intensify extreme weather

• Probable Futures

• Asbestos and Natural Disasters Guide

• Atmospheric Animation Library

Heat Waves

Resources for Heat waves and Summer 2019 Heat Wave (Central and Eastern US)

• World of Phenomena: Heat Wave

• Kansas City Star article announcement: Outside the realm of normal’: Dangerous heat wave to stay in KC area until Saturday

• Washington Post Article: Widespread, dangerous heat wave to expand across much of the U.S.

• NPR: Heat Wave Blankets Much Of The U.S. This Week

• Vox: The worst part of a heat wave is when it doesn’t cool off at night

• 13 News Now: How heat waves are formed

• World Meteorological Organization: Heat Waves

Extreme Storms

2021 SEASON

• Science News: Human-driven climate change sent Pacific Northwest temperatures soaring

2020 SEASON

• Science News: Predictions for the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season just got worse

• The New York Times: Fire Tornadoes Reported in Northern California Wildfire

• Science News: Hurricanes have names. Some experts say heat waves should, too

• Science News: What’s behind August 2020’s extreme weather? Climate Change and bad luck

Winter storm grayson

• UCAR: Winter Weather Elementary friendly

• NOAA: What is a storm surge?

• NOAA: What is hide tide flooding?

• Vox: Winter storm 2018: almost the entire East Coast is covered in snow

• Washington Post: The ‘bomb cyclone’ by the numbers: Here’s how much snow, wind and flooding it unleashed

• The Weather Channel: Winter Storm Grayson's Bombogenesis 

• NOAA: East Captures East Coast 'Bomb Cyclone'

• NOAA: 2018 Bomb Cyclone Blizzard - Center of the Storm Satellite Imagery

• New York Times: What Is a ‘Bomb Cyclone’? Explaining the Winter Storm

Winter Storm Riley (March 2018)

• The Weather Channel: Winter Storm Riley Underwent Bombogenesis

• Mashable: Car caught in coastal flooding (Scituate, MA)

• Time: RileyThis Photo Shows How Massive the Nor'easter Looks From Space

• Newsweek: Winter Storm Path (Quincy, MA)

Extreme Weather in the Midwest (Winter 2018-2019)

• The Weather Channel: Record Cold, Snow, Flooding & Tornadoes in 2019

• Pacific Standard: What’s Causing the Wild Weather in the Midwest?

• NOAA: The science behind the polar vortex

• BBC: Polar Vortex explained in under 120 seconds

• Vox: Explaining the conditions in the Midwest and why there are so many thunderstorms & tornadoes

• WHAS11: What is a bomb cyclone?

Thunderstorms

• Kid’s Crossing: How do Thunderstorms form?

• Web Weather for Kids: Thunderstorms (Elementary Friendly)

• NOAA: Thunderstorms 101 

• NOAA: Lightning 101

• NOAA: Tornadoes 101

• National Geographic: Thunderstorms 101 (Good focus on heat transfer, impacts on humans, a little serious for young kids- intermediate to advanced.)

• National Geographic: The Science of Lightning (Good connection to heat and electricity, intermediate to advanced.)

• Vox: Why the US has so many tornadoes (Explains formation of thunderstorm too.)

• SciShow: Anatomy of a Super Storm (Uses example from Midwest in 2017)

• Youtube: What causes thunderstorms, explained for kids by Leo Lightning

• The Weather Channel: How a thunderstorm is formed demonstration on how the air moves

• Science News: More tornadoes are popping up east of the Mississippi

Heat Transfer Basics

• NOAA: Heat Transfer (Grades 9-12)

• NOAA: Energy in the Ocean and Atmosphere

• NOAA Energy in the Atmosphere: Links for Students

• PhysicalGeography: Introduction to the Atmosphere (Grades 9-12)

Ocean Temperature Basics

• National Ocean Service: What is a thermocline?

• National Ocean Service: What is the global ocean conveyor belt?

Virtual Resources to Support Digital Learning for Science Educators

• Massachusetts Association of Science Teachers: Virtual Resources to Support Digital Learning for Science Educators