Weather is the detailed conditions on a daily or perhaps weekly basis: it refers to many elements of

the weather, all of which can be measured and forecasts made, such as wind direction and speed
and the amount of moisture in the air (called humidity)

Reading University’s Weather Station

Figure 4: Elements of weather, traditional instruments used to measure them and the measurement units

Weather element Instrument Units

Air pressure Barometer mb (millibars)
Cloud cover Human sight oktas (how many eighths of the sky
is covered by cloud)
Cloud type Human sight and chart Names of cloud types (e.g.
cumulus)
Precipitation Rain gauge mm (millimetres)
Relative humidity Hygrometer % (percentage of the moisture in
the air compared to what the air
could hold at its present
temperature)
Sunshine Sunshine recorder Hours per day
Temperature Maximum and minimum °C (degrees centigrade)

thermometer
Wind direction Wind vane Compass point that the wind is
coming from (e.g. north)
Wind speed Anemometer m/s or km/h (metres per second or
kilometres per hour) or sometimes
the Beaufort scale
Figure 5: Images of selected weather instruments (thermometers in screen, rain gauge, barometer, wind vane and
anemometer)
Measuring the weather

Weather data is collected daily at weather stations at the ground level by professionals and
amateurs, and by professionals using weather balloons in the troposphere and even in the
stratosphere. The standard weather station consists of a Stevenson Screen which houses most of
the weather instruments in a louvered box a set height above the ground. This box is painted white
to stop it absorbing heat energy from the Sun, while at the same time providing shade inside with
an airflow so that instruments can accurately measure aspects of weather. A weather station needs
to be in a large open space away from any interference that may alter the readings and make them
inaccurate.

Weather stations in contrasting sites can reveal interesting local patterns, such as differences
between a slope facing north compared to one facing south, or between the bottom of valley
compared to the top of a hill, or differences between a rural and an urban area, or between the
coast and inland.

Most weather stations – on the ground or at sea - are now automated and send measurements
directly to a computer, such as at Reading University. Many instruments are now electronic and look
very different to the traditional ones, especially things like max/min thermometers, wet bulb
thermometers, barometers and sunshine recorders.

Remote sensing is also used with various measurements taken by satellites orbiting the Earth.
Radar is another powerful modern tool, providing information about rainfall. Electronic detectors pick
up lightning strikes. Weather forecasts today also often mention UV (ultraviolet light), pollution and
pollen levels to help people look after their health (e.g. sunburn, breathing difficulties and hay fever).

Practical weather measuring

As well as instruments gathered together at fixed points (i.e. weather stations) , portable instruments
create the possibility of a range of fieldwork opportunities for KS3 geographers, some suggestions
are shown below.

The Royal Meteorological Society can lend some instruments to schools free of charge – information
can be found at http://www.metlink.org/observations-and-data/instruments/. Otherwise, many
simple instruments can be easily made – for example wind speed, direction and rainfall (see
http://www.metlink.org/observations-and-data/top-10-ideas-weather-fieldwork/). Thermometers are
found in a wide variety of gadgets from clocks to phones and cars – or borrow some from the science
department. Just make sure that they are left in situ long enough to adjust to the temperature.

Some suggestions for KS3 fieldwork involving weather readings

Fieldwork aim Practical arrangements

To discover the Choose contrasting locations (perhaps 5 or 6) around a
variations in weather school site and set up thermometers and anemometers (or
patterns on a school use bubbles). One site should be in the best location for
site accuracy, while others could be near a building, in a shaded
area, in a sunny area, under a tree, near a pond, high up and
low down. Link the observations to where the students like to
congregate. http://www.metlink.org/wp-
content/uploads/2013/06/USBmicroclimate.pdf and
http://www.metlink.org/pdf/teachers/urban-wind-teachers-
notes.doc Explore GIS or other methods of recording the
data collected.
AND/ OR do the same inside the school – how do students’
perceptions of different classrooms compare to the
temperature measurements in those rooms?
To discover the Choose systematic (evenly spaced) points along a straight
variations in transect from the centre of a town or city to a purely rural
temperature from the area. There is guidance at
centre of an urban http://www.metlink.org/pdf/teachers/teachers_notes_uhi.pdf
area to a rural area .
on one day
To discover the Over a one month period, ask your students to record the
relationship between weather (temperature and wind speed) – alternatively they
student behaviour could use archived data from wow.metoffice.gov.uk.
and the weather The teacher should rate students’ attention in lessons over
this period using the following scale
Behaviour
1 No interruptions from the class

2 Very few interruptions to the lesson

3 When they are completing their own work some pupils get distracted

4 A few pupils start to distract each other and lose focus for longer periods
5 Level
5 Level of noise starts to increase and more off task behaviour is seen

6 Pupils are distracted from their work and find it difficult to work

7 Lots of interruptions to the lesson from a range of pupils both in their

own work and when listening to the teacher
8 Constant interruptions to the lesson, unable to work in the lesson

Students could then use scatter graphs to investigate

whether there is a correlation.

To compare the Set up a school weather station (thermometer, rain gauge and
weather experienced anemometer) and take readings at 09.00 every day for a
on a school site in week. Use a website such as WOW.metoffice.gov to gather
one week with those
 experienced in a the same weather readings from a chosen contrasting
contrasting UK location.
location
To link the weather to Take rainfall and cloud cover readings at 09.00 daily in the
the amount of catchment area of a stream for two weeks prior to a second
discharge in a measuring of the stream (depth, width, velocity). Measure
selected stream the stream at the start of the two weeks and the end of the
two weeks.
To link traffic and Take weather readings at a few safe locations in an urban
people flows to local environment and carry out counts of people and traffic
weather conditions passing these sites or others nearby on days which are dry,
and wet.
To link the Select a transect through an urban area that covers all types
perceptions of the of urban zone. At one or two points in each urban zone
quality of an urban (could be random or systematic) students use a pre-
environment to the prepared questionnaire to score the quality of the urban
weather environment. At the same time at these sites weather
readings are taken. This exercise is best repeated in different
weather conditions.
Many school sites are large enough to provide a variety of sites where the weather elements will
vary from a location in a large grassy space. The figure below shows the plan of a school site in
Reading and the location of contrasting sites for weather measurements. Each of these sites has
an influence that would affect accurate measurements, such as the influence of buildings or trees.

The Wren School site, Southcote, Reading

5 1
2

1 = In corner of building behind facing south

with nearby shrubs
2 = To west of main entrance to school on
path facing west
3 = In open garden area with trees to north
6 and buildings to south
N 4 = Underneath mature trees and not far
from road
5 = In the middle of a playground with a
hard surface
6 = In the middle of a large grassed area
occasionally used for sports
As well as plans of school sites, Google maps can provide satellite images which can be used for
GIS presentations

Geographic Information System image to show results of temperature and precipitation weather readings for 10.00 in
July at the Wren School site, Southcote, Reading (background image from Google maps satellite view – note that this
image is before the new plans for the school as shown above).

Scales:
Temperature bars (red) 1
mm = 1 oC
Precipitation circles (blue)
diameter 1 mm = 1 mm

Secondary data sources

Once weather readings at a site have been obtained it is useful to consider the bigger picture in
order to explain the weather measurements obtained. Simple options include:

Radar images showing current and recent rainfall: http://www.raintoday.co.uk/ . This can be used
as a great introduction to forecasting – the need to know not just where it is raining now but how fast
that rain is moving. Can the class estimate when the rain will reach them/ stop?

Satellite images also help to identify the position of weather systems through the shape and amount
of cloud cover. http://www.sat.dundee.ac.uk/gallery/

Websites such as http://wow.metoffice.gov.uk allow students to see their school in the context of
wider observations.