20-Year Map of Global Rainfall

This visualization from NASA shows global rainfall patterns over a 22-year span. It incorporates data from a combination of remote-sensing and ground-based sources.

Arctic Haze

In this video segment adapted from KUAC, find out why the horizon in Alaska is sometimes shrouded in pollution and what it means for climate change in the Arctic.

Atmosphere

In this video from WVIZ Cleveland, learn about measuring and recording the properties of air using weather instruments, maps, and graphs.

Chasing Tornadoes

In this video segment adapted from NOVA, scientists are on the hunt for tornadoes. Using Doppler radar, they gather data in the hopes of solving the mystery of how tornadoes form.

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Cloud Types

This interactive resource, adapted from NASA's S'COOL Project Tutorial, explains how you can classify and identify various types of clouds.

Compare and Contrast Warm and Cold Fronts

This visualization from McDougal Littell/TERC visualizes the movement of warm and cold fronts and the cloud types that are generated as a result.

Earth System: Drought and Air Quality

This video segment adapted from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center discusses how a drought can have negative effects locally, for example by increasing the number of forest fires, and also globally, for example by impacting air quality thousands of miles away.

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Earth System: El Niño

This video segment adapted from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center describes El Niño, how it forms, and the chain reaction of consequences it triggers around the globe.

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Earth System: El Niño's Influence on Hurricane Formation

This video segment adapted from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center explains how hurricanes develop and why there are fewer hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean in strong El Niño years.

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A Five-Day View of the Jet Stream

This animation from NOVA Online lets you examine a five-day view of the jet stream.

Giving Rise to the Jet Stream

This interactive activity from NOVA Online uses animation and graphics to offer a detailed explanation of the jet stream. A thorough account is given of the role played by the Sun's heat and Earth's shape and rotation, among other factors.

The Great Flood of 1993

In this video segment adapted from NOVA, a meteorologist explains how an unusual weather pattern led to one of the most devastating floods of this century.

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How Do Tornadoes Form?

In this video segment adapted from NOVA, scientists use computer simulations to explore the question of how supercell thunderstorms produce tornadoes.

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How Hurricanes Form

This animation from NASA illustrates the phases in the formation of a hurricane.

Hurricane Katrina: Possible Causes

This media-rich essay from NOVA scienceNow explores new research into hurricanes that may help explain Katrina's devastating impact and discusses the possibility that global warming played a role.

Hurricanes: New Tools for Predicting

This video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW features new advances in predicting the intensity of hurricanes.

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The Jet Stream and Horizontal Temperature Gradients

Explore and manipulate the relationship between wind speed and temperature gradients in this interactive activity adapted from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Jet Streams and Weather

Students learn about jet streams and explore the effects of the polar-front jet stream on weather conditions in North America.

Mountain Weather

In this interactive activity from NOVA Online you can move an air mass over a mountain and see how several distinct microclimates are created.

Rate Tornado Damage

In this interactive activity from NOVA Online, use the Fujita tornado intensity scale to assess the level of destruction left in the wake of actual tornadoes.