EnCom Needs Wind!
(Question #1)

One of your biggest clients as a weather consultant is EnCom, an energy utilities corporation. Usually, they need to know about upcoming heat waves or cold snaps so they can prepare for extra energy consumption. But this time, they need you to help them plan for the future.

The EnCom Corporation is looking into harnessing wind energy as an alternative to fossil fuels. They want to conduct experiments in some windy locations. Which of the following locations has the highest average wind speed?

A. Chicago, Illinois (near O'Hare Airport)
B. Amarillo, Texas
C. Reno, Nevada

The answer is B. Amarillo's average wind speed is almost 13 mph.

EnCom Wants Sun!
(Question # 2)

EnCom is also looking to use Solar Energy in the future. They need to find a location with lots of sun.

Which of the following cities has the most possible sunshine each year?

A. Miami, Florida
B. Phoenix, Arizona
C. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

The answer is B. Phoenix has the highest percentage of possible sunshine.

Selling Snow Shovels
(Question #3)

You have received a call from the Mondo-Marketing firm in New York City. The company wants to find places to sell some new products that have just been developed.

The first product is a new heavy-duty snow shovel. Mondo-Marketing is looking for a location that receives a lot of snow.

Which of the following cities receives the most snow each year?

A. Minneapolis, Minnesota
B. Denver, Colorado
C. Syracuse, New York

The answer is C. Syracuse receives over 100 inches of snow each year.

New Rain Jacket
(Question #4)

A Scientist has invented a new rain-proof leather jacket. The marketing firm is looking for a rainy place to sell this new jacket. Which of the following cities receives the most rain?

A. New Orleans, Louisiana
B. Augusta, Maine
C. Portland, Oregon

The answer is A. New Orleans receives more than 60 inches of rain each year.

Hot New Jacket
(Question #5)

A different scientist has invented a new fabric designed to give off heat on very cold days. The marketing firm is looking to sell this new jacket in a city that has a very cold winter.

Which of the following cities has the coldest January mean temperature? (Remember: the mean temperature is the average between the high and low temperatures)

A. Juneau, Alaska
B. Boston, Massachusetts
C. Cedar Rapids, Iowa

The answer is C. Cedar Rapids' January mean temperature is only 17.6 degrees.

The Cool Breeze Refrigeration Division has created a new T-shirt that has its own portable air conditioner! People who wear this shirt will never be hot! The marketing firm is looking to sell this new T-shirt in a city that has a very hot summer.

Which of the following cities has the hottest July mean temperature? (Remember: the mean temperature is the average between the high and low temperatures)

A. Atlanta, Georgia
B. Memphis, Tennessee
C. Flagstaff, Arizona

The answer is B. The July mean for Memphis is over 80 degrees.

With the situations you just went through, the climate facts gave a simple answer. In other cases, though, you need more than just numbers to understand a location's climate.

Your customers need your knowledge and analysis. Answer the following questions with a short answer.

Seattle, Washington and Youngstown, Ohio both receive about 37 inches of precipitation a year. However, the precipitation patterns are quite different.

Write a short answer telling how the pattern of precipitation is different in the two cities.

Seattle receives most of its rain in the "rainy season" of November through March. The summers are usually dry. For Youngstown, the precipitation is much more evenly distributed. Summer thunderstorms in Youngstown make the warmest months the wettest months. It is interesting to note that Seattle receives only 7 inches of snow while Youngstown gets more than 50 inches of snow.

Bill's Bicycle Rentals is looking for a place to start a new shop. They have heard about two nice cities, San Francisco and Saint Louis. They want you to tell them what kind of temperatures they can expect.

San Francisco, California and Saint Louis, Missouri both have an average annual temperature of 57 degrees. The annual average is the same, but the temperature pattern is quite different.

Write a short answer telling the company how the temperature patterns are different.

For San Francisco, there is only a small diurnal (daily) temperature range. There is also a small temperature difference in the yearly temperatures extremes, in an average year. The warmest month of the year is October. For St. Louis, there is a much larger diurnal (daily) temperature difference. There is also a large temperature difference in yearly temperature extremes. St. Louis has a distinct four season climate while San Francisco's weather does not change much season to season.

Planning the Golden Years
(Research Question #1)

Now that you know more about the country's climate, you truly are an expert. And as with most experts, everybody is always asking for free advice.

In these final questions, you can recommend any location in the United States. These questions will take a bit more research than the first ones.

Your parents ask your advice first. They are starting to plan their retirement and want you to recommend a place to move.

• They love the sun, so they want to move to a rather dry climate.
• They don't like intense heat or cold, however, so they want someplace that doesn't have extreme high and low temperatures.

Write a short answer telling where would you recommend that your parents move and why.

Search the climate database for a city with the best mix of dry weather and mild temperatures. There is no absolute right or wrong answer to this question. Instead, you must find a location that your "parents" would like, then support your short answer with some temperature and precipitation facts for that city.

Answers will vary. Some elements you might consider in grading this answer are:

1. Supporting precipitation facts for the student's chosen city.
2. Supporting temperature facts for the student's chosen city.
3. How good a choice the student made in finding a compromise between the two elements of dry vs. mild.

One good choice might be coastal southern California, such as San Diego. Temperatures are mild and the rainy seasons are brief. Here is the climate data for San Diego:

The Four Seasons
(Research Question #2)

Your neighbors are looking to move. They are looking for a place that has a four season climate - where spring-like, summer-like, fall-like and winter-like weather last about the same amount of the year.

Where would you recommend they move to and why?

Search for a city that has:

• A very warm or hot June, July, August
• A cold December, January, February
• Moderate temperatures during the rest of the year.
• Snow (average) that starts after mid-October and ends before late May

Include supporting facts about each of those items.

Answers will vary. Answers will have to be justified with the required information.

The best locations will be away from the oceans and not too far north or south. One possible location could be Saint Louis.

If you have a good printer, you might have students print out and turn in the climate graphic for their selected city.

What About You?
(Research Question #3)

Your turn! What is important to you in the weather? Do you like sun, rain, snow...or all of them!

• If you were chosing a new home based only on climate, where would you move?
• Why?

In this question, you will share your answer with other WeatherEye students. You will do that by posting your answer to the WeatherEye site.

To complete the question:

• Choose a city from the climate database. Be sure to note some key facts about the weather in the city, such as highs, lows and precipitation.
• Post a message to the following Climate Forum, telling about your chosen city and why you have selected the town.
• Your teacher may want you to print out your message for grading. To do that, first post your message to the forum. Then browse to the message on the forum. Once you have your message on screen, print the message.

Answers will vary.

Please note that this question is designed to be answered on the "Climate Lesson Forum," making the student's answer available to other students in the WeatherEye program.

You may wish to review the choices made by students from different classes/schools. Your students can read these online from the Climate Lesson Forum.

Students will need their student user name/password to access the forum.

Go to the Climate Lesson main page
Go to the Teachers' Lounge main page

Climate lesson created by Meteorologist Mike O'Lenick