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.

Airborne Wind Energy

The strongest and most consistent winds are found in the jet stream as high as 30,000 feet above the earth. In this video from QUEST produced by KQED, learn about the benefits and challenges of wind energy.

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.

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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Climate Models

In this video by ThinkTV, explore the many uses of climate models and see a visualization of a global climate model. Models are tools scientists use to see patterns and trends.

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Clouds and Weather

Learn about different types of clouds and the weather they signal in this video featuring original stop-motion animation.

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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The Effect of Jet Streams on Climate

This video produced by ThinkTV visualizes jet stream patterns around the world and explores their effect on weather systems and regional climates.

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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.