There's one thing about living in our area of South Carolina - there's no shortage of thunderstorms. I realized I was passing up some great opportunities to get audio files by taking the storms for granted. One day this summer, I got myself organized and took the digital camcorder outside (remaining in a safe area) to capture the sound of the storm. The result was several audio clips that I extracted from the tape. For the fun of it, I went to NOAA and got one of their incredible photos to use as a backdrop for a one-frame project. To that one frame, I added several of my thunderstorm sound clips. If you loop the clips and crank up the volume, the effect can get quite dramatic and very realistic.

Figure 1: The one-frame project

This photo came from:
Multiple cloud-to-ground and cloud-to-cloud lightning strokes during night-time. Observed during night-time thunderstorm.

Image ID: nssl0010, National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) Collection
Photographer: C. Clark
Credit: NOAA Photo Library, NOAA Central Library; OAR/ERL/National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL)

http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/nssl/nssl0010.htm

I've made a smaller version of the project available here as a 1-frame QTI project. The audio files constitute about 600KB so it will take a few minutes to load if you're on dial-up.  Just close the page that will open up to shut down the thunderstorm. The original one I created had all of the audio files in the list below going at the same time.
The Storm

Here are the audio files of the thunderstorm I created that day :
Thunderstorm 1 (623 KB)

Thunderstorm 2 (200KB)

Thunderstorm 3 (249 KB)

Thunderstorm 4 (252 KB)

Thunderstorm 5 (252 KB)


Internet Resources:
Lightning photos from NOAA
http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/nssl/lightning1.html

NOAA Severe Storm Photos
http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/nssl

Structure and Dynamics of Supercell Thunderstorms
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lmk/soo/docu/supercell.htm

Questions and Answers About Thunderstorms
http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/edu/storm/

Types of Thunderstorms
http://weather.cod.edu/sirvatka/ts.html

Thunderstorms and Tornadoes
http://www.geog.ouc.bc.ca/physgeog/contents/7t.html

The National Weather Service on Thunderstorms and Lightning
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/brochures/trw.htm

All the basics to do with storms at 3 levels - beginner, intermediate, advanced
http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/earth/Atmosphere/tstorm.html&edu=elem

From the KGAN Weathereye page - Thunderstorms: A Recipe
http://weathereye.kgan.com/expert/tstorms/

Lots of links on lightning!
http://www.cln.org/themes/lightning.html

Being Safe in a Storm
http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/keepsafe/readythunder.html

From FEMA for Kids - more information on storms and safety issues
http://www.fema.gov/kids/thunder.htm

BrainPop - Science
http://www.brainpop.com/science/seeall.weml

Lesson on Tornadoes including Science Experiments
http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson116.shtml

A Teacher's Guide to the Basics of Weather
http://www.weatherandkids.com/index.htm

Weather-related lessons
http://www.theteachersguide.com/Weather.html


Using Real Science Probes
PASPORT 6-in-1 Weather Sensor -- PS-2154
http://www.pasco.com/comingsoon/ps2154.html
To quote the people at PASCO, 'Our new Weather Sensor allows students to collect and observe six key measurements (temperature, barometric pressure, relative and absolute humidity, dew point and altitude). Whether you're comparing outdoor measurements to indoor, or monitoring an approaching storm, this powerful MultiMeasure Sensor™ does it all. Once you've collected data, graphically view it in DataStudio to identify trends and correlations."



I have purloined the photo of the sensor from the PASCO link noted above. Check it out - along with the other sensors.

I had a PASCO barometric pressure science probe handy as a storm could be heard moving into the area. I hauled it outside and turned it on so it could start collecting data. Here was the result.




If you haven't started using science probes - no matter what your grade level - and if you've put it off because you think they're going to be too complicated, then go check out the PASCO USB probes. You and your students just won't look at things the same way again. If you're thinking that your students aren't going to ever be able to figure out charts and graphs; that they struggle when it comes to acquiring skills in data analysis - then get one of these probes. You could be opening the door to a whole new way of learning for your students. These probes are for all students - not just those who get the top marks. In fact, this is one way to really get students involved who might never have thought to raise their hand in class before. Just try it.