WD1 Explore the causes and impact of severe weather in Canada

Suggested time: 3-5 hours

Learning Objectives

1. Identify and explain those characteristics that distinguish weather from climate. (CCT)
   
2. Identify and explain the causes of Canadian severe weather events (e.g., tornadoes, hurricanes, blizzards, hailstorms, thunderstorms, flooding, ice storms, and droughts) .
   
3. Identify tools scientists use to describe and classify severity of weather phenomenon (i.e., Beaufort wind scale, Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, wind chill chart, humidex, UV index) . (TL)
   
4. Investigate how scientists use computer technologies for modeling and predicting severe weather events. (TL)
   
5. Explore careers related to weather forecasting. (CD 5.2)
   
6. Explore the technical, social, and cultural implications of present technology and potential future technological developments. (TL)
   
7. Discuss the ethical considerations meteorologists face when deciding when and how to share severe weather information with the public.
   

Enrichment Learning Objectives

1. Identify and explain the causes of severe weather that occur outside of Canada .
   
2. Identify Canadian weather records and compare them with world weather records.
   

Key Questions

1. What are the similarities and differences between weather and climate?
   
2. Where do severe weather events occur in Saskatchewan ? Canada ? The world?
   
3. What characteristics do severe weather events share?
   
4. How do scientists classify severity of weather phenomenon?
   
5. What methods do meteorologists use to share information about severe weather events?
   
6. What responsibility do scientists have to share severe weather information with the public?
   

Key Concepts

• Weather is the day-to-day environmental conditions in a location.
  
• Climate is the weather conditions of an area averaged over many years.
  
• A blizzard is a severe storm with strong winds (greater than 40 km/h), low temperatures, and blowing snow that reduces visibility to 1 km or less and that lasts for at least three hours.
  
• A drought is a period in which the rainfall for an area is much less than average.
  
• A flood is excess water from rain, rivers, or oceans that cannot be absorbed by the surrounding land.
  
• An ice storm is where falling rain freezes instantly when coming in contact with a surface, forming a coat of ice on the surface.
  
• A tornado is a vortex of rapidly moving air associated with a thunderstorm.
  
• A thunderstorm is a severe storm several kilometres in diameter created by the rapid lifting of moist warm air which creates a cumulonimbus cloud and which may include lightning, thunder, heavy rain, or hail.
  
• A cyclone is a low pressure, air mass that is rotating inward (counter clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere, clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere).
  
• Monsoons are seasonal winds that blow from land to sea in the winter and from sea to land in the summer. Summer monsoons usually bring heavy precipitation.
  
• Science is based on cause and effect relationships that enable predictions of future events.
  
• Scientists use numbers to convey important information such as the use of scales to represent severity of weather events.
  

Pre-Instructional Questions

1. What questions do students have regarding weather and climate?
   
2. What characteristics do students associate with the terms weather and climate ?
   
3. Do students realize that the term's weather and climate are not interchangeable?
   
4. Are the students able to identify examples of severe weather events (tornadoes, hurricanes, blizzards, hailstorms, thunderstorms, flooding, cyclones, monsoons, ice storms, droughts)?
   
5. Are students able to describe commonalities and differences among these types of severe weather events?
   
6. Are students able to identify locations within Canada generally and their own region specifically where these different types of severe weather events are likely to occur?
   
7. Are students able to identify human activities that are, or could be, influenced by severe weather?
   
8. Are students aware of the tools that scientists have developed for classifying the intensity of severe weather events and the reasons for these tools?
   

Suggested Teaching Strategies and Activities

1. Students should discuss their understandings of climate and weather. They could create a concept map of climate and weather terms to help strengthen understanding of the similarities and differences between these concepts. Students may add to their concept maps (or similar graphical representation) throughout the unit as students develop deeper understandings of the relationships that exist between climate and weather-related concepts.
   
   
2. Students could research severe weather events to develop a general understanding of the types of severe weather that occur throughout Canada . Students could use a map of Canada to indicate locations where severe weather events tend to occur and which types of events occur in which locations. An excellent starting point for this research is Environment Canada's annual Top Ten Weather Stories. This website provides brief overviews of the weather stories that made headlines across Canada each year since 1996. (IL, NUM)
   
   
3. Students could create a pamphlet, poster, presentation, video, or television broadcast highlighting one type of Canadian severe weather event. They could include information such as a description of the event, explanations of the scientific principles of the event, a map of where this event might occur in a specific region, descriptions of the types of human and environmental damage that typically result from this event, and recommendations for public safety before, during, and after this event. Students may incorporate pictures or videoclips of a severe weather event into their publication or presentation. With this activity, students are able to improve on their strategies to locate, interpret, evaluate, and use information. (COM, CD 5.3)
   
   
4. Scientists throughout the world have developed common standards for sharing information about severe weather (e.g., Beaufort wind force scale, Fujita tornado intensity scale, Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale, wind-chill chart, humidex). Students could work in small groups to develop their own categories with descriptors and then share the results in order to arrive at consensus on the use of one common chart. The class could discuss the rationale for using common terminology in the class chart and then extend the discussion to a consideration of why scientists develop such tools using common standards. (TL)
   
   
5. Students could discuss the challenges of collecting data from severe weather events. For example, "storm chasers" follow storm systems, often putting their own lives at risk. Some are thrill-seekers, some are professional photographers, and some are scientists trying to measure and understand storms. Students should speculate on what draws these people to this dangerous pursuit and what they hope to accomplish.
   
   
6. Meteorologists in Canada issue weather watches, weather advisories, and weather warnings to indicate the possibility of severe weather in a region. This information is available on-line and in a real-time map at the Environment Canada website. Students could use the map and accompanying background information or the website to determine the criteria that Environment Canada uses to determine which level of weather warning to issue.
   
   
7. Weather professionals must make difficult decisions about when to inform the public of impending severe weather events, and when to issue weather watches, advisories, or warnings. Students could conduct a public deliberation, debate, or role play regarding the public's right to be informed of impending severe weather. Roles might include: meteorologist, television weather broadcaster, small business owner, employee, government official, parent, community member, student, and teacher. Students will need to be able to express their feelings, reactions, and ideas in an appropriate manner. (PSD, CD 2.3)
   
   
8. The public can access weather information through the newspaper, television, radio, Weatheradio, and Internet sites. Students could compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of each of these media sources for delivering information about severe weather events. Students should demonstrate strategies for locating, interpreting, evaluating, and using life information. (CCT, CD 5.3)
   
   
9. Humans have written about the weather, particularly extreme weather, throughout recorded history. Students could find examples from Canadian literature that include references to severe weather events. Students might create a poster that highlights the literature and then choose or create relevant graphics and fonts to provide an appropriate setting for the literature. Alternatively, students might create a dance, drama, or music piece to represent severe weather events from history or literature. (COM)
   
   
10. Enrichment: Students could construct a model to demonstrate one example of a severe weather event (e.g., Tornado Tube). Models can be physical, mental, or mathematical. Students should be able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of their model by identifying which aspects of the phenomena are included in the model.