Weather, climate, and hazards (grade 3) · lesson

Weather and climate

💡 Weather is what the air is like right now, and climate is the usual weather over many years.

Weather is what it is like outside at one time. It can be rainy and cool this morning and sunny this afternoon.

Climate is the usual weather in a place over many years. A town with cold, snowy winters every year has a cold winter climate.

To learn a place's climate, you need weather records from many years. One day is not enough.

🧠 How to think about it

Look for time words. "This morning" or "today" is weather. "Every year" or "usually" is climate.

weather: what the air is like at one place and time
climate: the usual weather in a place over many years

Reading weather data

💡 Weather tools and tables show patterns that help us predict what is coming.

We measure the weather with tools. A thermometer tells how hot or cold it is. A rain gauge tells how much rain fell. A wind vane shows which way the wind blows.

We can put the numbers in a table or chart. Then we can compare. The biggest number of rain is the wettest day.

If the same thing happens every year, it is a pattern. We can use it to predict. If July is warm every year, next July will most likely be warm too.

🧠 Let's work it out

Read each number.
Then sort them.
0 mm, 3 mm, 6 mm, 10 mm goes from least rain to most rain.

What do you think comes next?

thermometer: a tool that measures how hot or cold something is
rain gauge: a tool that measures how much rain falls

Climates around the world

💡 Places near the equator are usually warm, and places near the poles are usually cold.

The equator is an imaginary line around the middle of Earth. Places near it get strong sun all year. They are usually warm.

The North Pole and South Pole are at the top and bottom of Earth. They get weak sun. They are cold most of the year and have lots of snow and ice.

So different parts of the world have different climates.

🧠 Let's work it out

Find the place on a globe.
Near the middle? Likely warm.
Near the top or bottom? Likely cold.

What do you think comes next?

equator: an imaginary line around the middle of Earth

Staying safe from weather

💡 We can't stop storms, but we can build and plan in ways that keep people safe.

Floods, tornadoes, and lightning are weather hazards. A hazard is something that can hurt people or homes.

Floods: water flows downhill. So homes on high ground or on tall posts stay drier. Walls along a river help hold water back.

Tornadoes: listen for warnings. Go to a basement or shelter. Stay away from windows.

Lightning: it often hits the tallest thing. A lightning rod is a metal pole with a wire to the ground. It gives the lightning a safe path down.

🧠 Let's work it out

Name the danger first.
Then pick the plan that keeps people away from it.
Rising water? Go up high.
Strong wind? Get low and inside.

What do you think comes next?

hazard: something that can cause harm
levee: a wall of earth along a river to hold back flood water