We have been learning about air and water in science. This week we did some experiments to show what we learned about air.
Our next set of questions are about how air and water make weather. We have just started learning about the water cycle. We are hoping someone reading our blog can help us answer these questions.
1. How is a tornado made?
2. Is it true that a hurricane is made by a bunch of thunderstorms coming together?
3. How do rain drops make clouds?
4. What is lightning? We think it’s made from energy. But we aren’t sure what that means. We know if comes from the clouds.
Mrs. Cassell and the Busy Bees
Leigh Cassell Consulting 
Great questions class…I’ll do the best I can to answer them.
1. How is a tornado made? Weather people still aren’t positive how tornadoes form. But one possible reason is that on some days the winds blow along the ground like a cardboard paper towel roll…rolling over and over. Sometimes that rolling air comes into contact with an area where the air is rising rapidly and that makes the rolling air spin upwards into the clouds. If the air is spinning fast enough, a tornado forms.
2. Hurricanes forming from a bunch of thunderstorms. You’re right. Hurricanes need very warm ocean water to form. Bands of thunderstorms can form over these patches of very warm water and if the wind pattern is right…the thunderstorms will start to spin and a hurricane can form.
3. How do rain drops make clouds? Well it is actually lots and lots of cloud drops that make clouds. Cloud drops are much much smaller than rain drops and form when moisture in the air forms on tiny pieces of dust or salt in the air. Clouds form in areas where the air is rising since this helps to create more cloud drops. Once there are lots and lots of cloud drops in the air, we can then see the cloud they form.
4. What is lightning? You’re right, lightning is a form of energy…electrical energy. Lightning is a form of static electricity…the same type of electricity that happens when you rub your sock feet along a carpet and then touch something metal. That spark you create is a release of static electricity just like lightning is. However in the case of lightning the spark is much bigger and more powerful.
Regards,
Geoff Coulson
Environment Canada
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Dear Mr. Coulson,
Thank you for answering our questions. We didn’t know that hurricanes formed over water. We also learned a lot about lightning. We talked about where we see static electricity in our homes. We see it under the covers when we have fuzzy blankets of stuffed animals in bed. We feel it when we rub our feet on the carpet and shock our brothers and sisters. We hear it and see it when we pull clothes out of the dryer because it’s so hot and dry. After reading about lightning, we decided to try to make our own static electricity in the classroom. We used balloons, metal utensils from the staff room, cotton balls, feathers, hair, socks, carpet, clothes, and Mrs. Cassell’s wool sweater. There were sparks flying in grade 2! Please read our next blog post about making static electricity and lightning. We have pictures and videos of our experiments!
Thank you,
Mrs. Cassell and the Busy Bees
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