Let's Find Out! Weather and Climate

This highly informative and fascinating resource is filled with information that explains precisely and comprehensibly how weather and climate are different yet also have an impact upon each other. Eye-catching diagrams and pictures help to illustrate the featured scientific concepts. Readers will come to understand how weather is formed, what affects the weather in different parts of the Earth, how climate and weather affect the way people live, and even how people's actions (and inaction) may be influencing Earth's changing climate and weather.

If there's one thing that many of us find ourselves talking about, it's the weather. Such discussions, however, usually involve general observations, not data-based information derived from the instruments that actually measure such variables as air pressure, humidity, or wind strength. In this concise and compelling volume, young readers will be treated to clear information and useful illustrations that will help them gain a true understanding of what's behind all the talk about weather. In fact, this accessible book provides tips so that would-be meteorologists can take a hands-on approach to measuring rainfall, wind direction, humidity, and more.

Even though we can't change the weather ourselves, we can understand the factors that account for changing conditions. Weather fronts are responsible for a host of meteorological phenomena, and learning how to interpret them can help us prepare for the worst of winter or celebrate the best of summer. This volume breaks down the differences between the various weather fronts and explains how they generate the weather we experience. It also examines the relationship between weather fronts, air masses, jet streams, and related events, such as El Niño.

In this stimulating volume, readers learn about the elements of the weather, such as temperature, wind, humidity, clouds, precipitation, and atmospheric pressure. They also examine weather satellites, Tornado Alley, condensation, and the water cycle. Vocabulary boxes offer additional guidance to readers, and the Compare and Contrast and Think About It sidebars provide students with opportunities to ponder concepts in exciting and creative ways; for example, "The terms 'alto' meaning 'high' and 'nimbus,' meaning 'rain,' further describe clouds. What do you think a cumulonimbus cloud is?"

In this lower elementary–level guide to meteorology, both the science and basic premises of weather forecasting are explained in dynamic, full-color spreads. Readers are invited to examine the role of cause and effect in weather patterns and predict the possible consequences of specific weather events. Compare and Contrast boxes invite readers to relate different means of predicting weather phenomena, while Think About It boxes excite readers to return to the text and engage in critical thinking-all key components of the Common Core Standards for reading informational text. Vocabulary boxes define unfamiliar terms, helping make this a truly accessible text.

Earth's life-enabling atmosphere, unique in the known universe, is the topic of this engaging title. Readers will learn about the atmosphere's layers, composition, and evolution. The atmosphere's role in creating weather is explained, with topics such as atmospheric pressure, cloud formation, and precipitation clearly addressed. Readers will also learn about the greenhouse effect, as well as the problematic effects of air pollution. Curious minds will be enthusiastic to discover why the sky is blue and what other planets' atmospheres are like. An information-packed, accessible resource on an important Earth science topic.