Dial "M" for Meteogram
or Discovering Interrelationships Among Weather Variables Using Meteograms

Objectives

• Interpret meteograms to describe the current weather conditions for selected weather stations across the United States;
• Discover simple interrelationships among weather variables by studying a time series of meteograms;
• Make short-range (6-12 hours) single-element weather predictions (e.g., temperature, precipitation, etc.) based on information obtained from a single meteogram, and optionally, a current surface weather map.

Materials

• UTC/EST/EDT Time Conversion Chart
• A variety of meteograms (downloaded from the DataStreme Metgrams for the US Internet World Wide Web site) for various surface weather stations, including a two-week time series of daily meteograms for a single location.
• Meteogram Observation Chart for Students
• Online Reference Materials
  • Meteogram Explanation
  • Surface Meteogram Details

Procedure

After several days of meteogram observations, guide students to discover some simple interrelationships among weather variables. The list of some common interrelationships among weather variables may be useful in helping you to understand what kinds of interrelationships for which to look, but should not be shared with students.

Student Activity:

• For your location, e.g., Washington, D.C., study a current (near real-time) meteogram.
• Use the EST/EDT/UTC Time Conversion Chart to record the local time (EST) under the first graph on each meteogram.
• For a two-week period, collect daily meteograms for the nearest surface weather station. If possible, try to obtain meteograms for the same 24-hour period each day.
• Use the Meteogram Observation Chart to record your daily meteogram observations.

Your feedback is welcome!
Joanne Goodwin, Technology Resource Teacher, Fairfax County Public Schools
Walter Sanford, Earth Science Teacher, Fairfax County Public Schools