What shape is the weather today?

For the Kids Here in Washington, we experience many different kinds of weather. We have sunshine, rain, fog, wind and snow. But did you know that there are different shapes to the weather?

Of course we’ve all seen the perfect arch of a rainbow, the roundness of the sun and the ever-changing clouds. What other weather shapes can we see?

Let’s first look at some shapes within a rainstorm. Sometimes thunder and lightning accompany a rainstorm. Lightning travels in jagged lines and can even be shaped like a ball. Even though we can’t see the thunder that follows lightning, it has a shape of its own.

Thunder is the sound that lightning makes and sound travels in waves. Even though we can’t see the thunder, we know that its shape is like a wavy line.

The wind helps shape the clouds. The wind can blow straight or swirl around in a circle to form a cloud shaped like a cone, called a funnel cloud. If the funnel touches the ground, it is called a cyclone or tornado.

Besides the swirling and changing winds, there is rain. Most of us think that raindrops are shaped like tears. In truth, as raindrops fall, they are shaped more like a hamburger bun.

When the air turns cold, the rain begins to freeze, which causes its shape to change. Freezing rain is rain that falls from the sky and freezes upon impact, forming a thin layer called “glaze.” Freezing rain takes the shape of whatever it lands on.

Sleet falls in the shape of pellets. Hail is spherical or round and has layers like an onion. This is caused by the hailstone getting tossed up and down among the cloud and adding layers until it’s heavy enough to fall to the ground.

Each snowflake has a design that is as unique and individual as you are. However, nearly all snowflakes are similar in shape. Snowflakes generally have six sides. Sometimes a snowflake forms with only three or four sides and is called an ‘irregular’ snowflake.

From snowflakes to hail, wind and rain, lightning and thunder, and clouds and rainbows, we know that the weather can have many different shapes. Some of these shapes are rigid or fixed like snowflakes and rainbows. Other weather shapes are fluid and always changing like the clouds. Most weather shapes, like hail stones, can be seen. But some, like thunder, are invisible.

WEATHER ACTIVITIES

Try these activities at home. The next time it snows, head outside with a piece of black paper and a magnifying glass. Catch snowflakes on the paper and view them with a magnifying glass. See how many shapes you can catch. Don’t touch or breathe on them or they’ll melt.

The next time it’s windy, look for items blowing in the wind. Can you see any flags? Are the clouds changing shape? Is the wind blowing straight or swirling around? What is the shape of the wind?

This month’s column was written by the staff at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park.

To learn more

 • www.skydiary.com/kids

 • www.illiniweather.com/pages/kids_weather_links.htm

 • www.weatherwizkids.com