The Unofficial Student Activity for
Bob Ryan's 1998 Almanac & Guide for the Weatherwise

by Walter Sanford
Planetarium Teacher, Sandburg Center for Sky Awareness
Fairfax County Public Schools

By completing this activity, hopefully you will become more familiar with weather in general, and Washington, D.C. weather in particular. You will also learn a little about how the weather in Washington, D.C. compares with the weather in other parts of the United States and the world (and with the weather in space, too!).

Sources of Weather Information

  1. What is the Internet address (also known as the Uniform Resource Locator or URL) for WeatherNet4?

  2. Who is the WeatherNet4 Webmaster (to whom you should e-mail questions and/or comments regarding the WeatherNet4 Web site)?

  3. What are the URLs for the following National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Web sites?
    1. National Weather Service (NWS)

    2. National Climatic Data Center (NCDC)

Weather Terms

Personal Almanac Data

Temperature & Precipitation - What's Average
and What's Unusual?

  1. In the following data table, record the duration of insolation (number of hours of daylight) in Washington, D.C. for the 21st of each month. To calculate the number of hours of daylight, subtract the time of sunrise from the time of sunset. (Hint: Before subtracting, times should be expressed in 24-hour format. Be careful -- times are tricky to subtract!) Construct a line graph.

    Data Table - Duration of Insolation

    Month | JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC 
------|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----
# Hrs |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |

    Line Graph: Duration of Insolation & Average High Temperature
    Washington, D.C.

    H  16 --|
O      -|
U  15 --|
R      -|
S  14 --|                                               |-- 90  T
       -|                                               |-      E
D  13 --|                                               |-- 80  M
A      -|                                               |-      P
Y  12 --|                                               |-- 70  E
L      -|                                               |-      R
I  11 --|                                               |-- 60  A
G      -|                                               |-      T
H  10 --|                                               |-- 50  U
T      -|                                               |-      R
   09 --|-----------------------------------------------|-- 40  E
        | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
                          MONTHS OF YEAR

  2. In the data table below, record the average high temperature in Washington, D.C. for the 21st of each month. Construct a line graph (using the graph in Question #1, Temperature & Precipitation - What's Average and What's Unusual).

    Data Table - Average High Temperature

    Month | JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC
------|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----
Temp. |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |

  3. In Washington, D.C., on average, which month is the COLDEST? The HOTTEST?

  4. When/where/what was the lowest temperature ever recorded in the contiguous United States? (Hint: This record-setting temperature was observed during the average coldest month of the year in Washington, D.C.)

  5. What are the world's records for temperature extremes? 
    Highest__________ Location______________________________
    
Lowest___________ Location______________________________

  6. In Washington, D.C., on average, during which month does the MOST precipitation (average rain) fall?

  7. Calculate the total ANNUAL precipitation (rain) in Washington, D.C. by adding the monthly average rain amounts.

  8. Which U.S. city (among those cities listed in the almanac) receives the LEAST average annual precipitation?

  9. Which U.S. city (among those cities listed in the almanac) receives the MOST average annual precipitation?

Washington Winters

  1. For each month listed in the data table below, record the average snowfall for Washington, D.C. Construct a bar graph. (Note: "Trace" equals less than .1 inch.)

    Data Table - Average Monthly Snowfall

    Month    | OCT | NOV | DEC | JAN | FEB | MAR | APR |
---------|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|
Snowfall |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |

    Bar Graph: Average Snowfall - Washington, D.C.

       7"--|                                          
      -|                                          
S  6"--|                                          
N     -|                                          
O  5"--|                                          
W     -|                                          
   4"--|                                          
A     -|                                          
M  3"--|                                          
O     -|                                          
U  2"--|                                          
N     -|                                          
T  1"--|                                          
      -|                                          
   0"--|------------------------------------------
Months | OCT | NOV | DEC | JAN | FEB | MAR | APR |

  2. On average, during which month does the MOST snowfall typically occur in Washington, D.C.?

  3. List the name/date/snowfall amount for the GREATEST recorded snowstorm in Washington, D.C. (Hint: This event occurred in January.)

  4. To determine the total ANNUAL snowfall in Washington, D.C., add the monthly average snowfall amounts (from the data table in Question #1, Washington Winters).

  5. At Dulles Airport (IAD) in suburban Washington, D.C., the Winter of 1996 was the snowiest ever recorded. What was the total annual snowfall? (Hint: This information is listed under "Strange Weather, Events, and Happenings" for March.)

  6. For the following U.S. cities, list the total ANNUAL snowfall:
    1. Buffalo, NY:
    2. Dallas, TX:
    3. Kansas City, MO:
    4. San Francisco, CA:

  7. If we assume that 1 inch of liquid precipitation equals approximately 10 inches of snow, then what percentage of the total annual precipitation in Washington, D.C. (refer to Question #7, Temperature & Precipitation - What's Average and What's Unusual?) falls as snow? [Hint: To solve this problem, the first step is to convert the total annual snowfall (refer to Question #4, Washington Winters) to its liquid equivalent.]

Washington Summers

  1. On average, during which two months do we have the GREATEST number of thunderstorms in Washington, D.C.?

  2. What is the HOTTEST temperature ever recorded in Washington, D.C.? (Hint: This record-setting temperature occurred on 6 August, but is listed under "Strange Weather, Events, and Happenings" for 9 August.)

  3. In 1998, what will be the FIRST named Atlantic hurricane?

  4. In 1998, what will be the LAST named Atlantic hurricane?

  5. Define the following terms:
  6. If a strong hurricane is currently located at 35oN latitude, 71oW longitude and moving northwest at 10 miles per hour, then a hurricane watch would be most likely in effect for which East coast United States cities? (Hint: The scale of the map can be approximated by knowing that 1 degree of latitude equals nearly 70 miles, 5 degrees = 350 miles, etc. Ignore the fact that the value of one degree of latitude is slightly greater at the top of the map than at the bottom, due to the map projection used for the Channel 4 Hurricane Tracking Chart.)

  7. In a hurricane, what is the "STORM SURGE?"

El Nino and the Coming Winter
by Bob Ryan

  1. What is El Nino?

  2. During which season (Spring, Summer, Fall, or Winter) are the national and worldwide effects of El Nino most pronounced?

  3. What is Bob Ryan's long-range forecast for El Nino's effects on the '97-'98 winter weather in the Mid-Atlantic states?

  4. What is the URL for the NOAA El Nino Web site?

Punxsutawney Phil's Furry Furcasts
by H. Michael Mogil

  1. What is the URL for Punxsutawney Phil's Web site?

  2. What percentage of the time has Phil forecast Winter to continue for six more weeks?

Weather Under Foot
by Tom Keirein

Riders of the Wind
by John Trott

  1. What type of weather system (e.g., Highs, Lows, warm fronts, cold fronts, etc.) favors the southern migration of birds in autumn?

  2. Which birds are known as "snow birds?"

Doppler 4000...What Is It?
by Bob Ryan

  1. What is the "Doppler Effect?"

  2. What do astronomers use the Doppler Effect to measure?

  3. What is the meaning of the acronym RADAR?

  4. What is wind shear?

  5. What is GIS?

Sky Awareness (including Astronomy)

  1. When is "Sky Awareness Week?" Don't forget to mark your calendar! (Hint: To find the answer to this question, you will have to be very Resourceful!)

  2. For the MONTH IN WHICH YOU WERE BORN (e.g., August), list THREE astronomical phenomena that you may observe in the night sky in 1998.
    1. MONTH ____________________


  3. What is astronomically significant about June 21st, 1998 at 10:03 p.m.?

  4. For the month of FEBRUARY, record the dates of the phases of the moon.

  5. Every year, Easter occurs on the first Sunday after the first Full Moon after the Spring (or Vernal) Equinox.
    1. What date is the Spring Equinox?

    2. On what date is the NEXT Full Moon AFTER the Spring Equinox?

    3. What date is Easter Sunday? (If necessary, refer to a calendar.)

  6. If the distance around the Capital Beltway (I-495/95) is 66 miles, and the distance to the moon is approximately 240,000 miles, then how many times would you have to go around the beltway to "travel to" the moon?

  7. Most days, how many high tides occur? Approximately how many hours apart?

  8. Most days, how many low tides occur? Approximately how many hours apart?

  9. Approximately how many hours pass between one high tide and the next low tide?

  10. The greatest tidal range (difference between high and low tide) occurs during the New and Full Moon phases. For the month of May, on which dates will the tidal range be greatest?

  11. Assume that you would like to go fossil shark tooth collecting along the Potomac River near Colonial Beach, VA, and you know that the best time to go collecting is during low tide. Use the "Tide Correction Table" on page 2 of the almanac to find the best times (there are two times!) to go collecting on 4 July 1998.

Storms in Space
by Ramon E. Lopez

  1. What is the solar wind?

  2. What is the aurora?

  3. List two ways in which "magnetic storms" in space impact us on Earth.

From Mars to You...How Did They Do That?
by Dave Jones

  1. At the WeatherNet4 Web site, where should you look to find real-time space weather?

  2. What is the name of the unmanned mission to Mars which landed on 4 July 1997?

  3. What is the temperature range (lowest to highest temperature) recorded at the landing site on Mars by the Carl Sagan Memorial Station?

  4. The speed of light is 187,500 miles per second. If it takes approximately 11 minutes for electronic transmissions (travelling at the speed of light) to reach the Earth from Mars, then what was the Earth-Mars distance during the Summer of '97? Give your answer in miles. Ask yourself if your answer is reasonable by checking to see if it falls within the range of possible Earth-Mars distances (49 million to 236 million miles). (Hint: First, you must calculate the number of seconds in 11 minutes.)

Comets Unlock Secrets of the Solar System
by Fred Espenak

  1. List the names of the two very bright naked-eye comets which were visible during the past two years.

  2. Comet facts:
    1. What are comets made of?

    2. How wide are comets?

    3. Why do comets have tails?

    4. How much of a comet is vaporized as it passes near the Sun?

    5. What is the name of the scientific instrument used by astronomers to identify, analyze, and measure the gasses and material which make up comets?

Is the Sky Falling? A Guide to Annual Meteor Showers
by Geoff Chester

  1. What is a "shooting star?"

  2. Typically, how big are meteoroids?

  3. What causes annual "meteor showers?"

  4. What is the most famous of annual meteor showers? On which date does this shower peak?

  5. Why are you likely to see more meteors after midnight?

Copyright (c) 1998 by Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
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