Weather forecasting

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/weather-forecasting

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is weather forecasting?Weather forecasting is guessing what the weather will be like tomorrow by using science and computers.
2. Why do weather forecasts sometimes change?Because the atmosphere is very complex and small changes in the data can lead to different results, so forecasters run many models to see a range of possibilities.

Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP): A system that uses mathematical models and computational power to forecast future weather conditions.
Data Assimilation: The process of integrating observational data with numerical models to create an accurate initial state of the atmosphere.
Ensemble Forecasting: Running a weather model multiple times with slight variations to determine the probability of different weather outcomes.
Synoptic Weather Map: A map displaying weather observations from a specific time across a wide area, used for analysis and forecasting.