Rocket arrives on the roof in a raincoat, boots and a sun hat all at once.
"I checked the Climate Normals," he says. "This month is usually wet, usually warm and usually sunny. So I dressed for all of it."
Raven looks at the clear sky and the still flag. "What do you notice right now, though?"
Rocket peels off the raincoat. "Dry. Calm. Bright."
Nova hums. "Normals told you what to keep in the closet," she says. "The log tells you what to wear today."
"So I need both," Rocket says. "Climate for planning. Weather for deciding."
Raven writes that down in big letters at the top of the log.
Climate Normals describe what to expect in a place: hot and humid summers, cold and snowy winters, or dry springs.
They can tell you when the warmest or coldest day of the year usually comes.
But they do not say what the weather will be on any given day. For that, you need today's observations and forecast.
Farmers, builders, pilots, coaches and families all use both kinds of information.
| Decision | Uses climate | Uses weather |
|---|---|---|
| Which coat to own | Yes | No |
| Whether to carry an umbrella today | No | Yes |
| When to plant a garden in your area | Yes | A little |
| Whether to hold practice outside this afternoon | No | Yes |
| Statement | True or false? |
|---|---|
| Weather is the state of the atmosphere at a given point in time. | ? |
| Climate is the average weather over a long period of time. | ? |
| Climate Normals average three years of weather. | ? |
| Almost all weather occurs in the troposphere. | ? |
| A rain gauge measures wind speed. | ? |
Two reminders for your log. Wind is named for the direction it comes from, and the troposphere is the layer you are measuring.
Both facts come up every time you read your flag and the forecast.
Next week you find out why weather exists at all. The answer starts with the Sun.
The Sun does not heat the Earth evenly. Some places get strong, direct sunlight. Others get weak, slanted sunlight.
You will test how land and water warm in sunlight, and read NASA data on how sunlight is shared across the globe.
Keep your log going every day. Next week's lab needs a sunny spot and a careful recorder.
A full week of weather thinking. Tomorrow is Station Day: a family weather walk.