Overview: Weather and Wave Patterns

In this unit, students are first introduced to weather forecasting and generate questions about how and why forecasts are made. Students use various media resources to see what is included in weather forecasts and why that information is important. Students view or download recent online forecast reports and note the information these reports provide. They also investigate data gathering devices (buoys, radars, satellites, and others) used by NOAA and other scientists and organizations to collect weather data and wave measurements, which are transmitted to data centers where the data is used to create accurate computerized weather models.