It all started on a chilly Wednesday night when my mom and I were looking at the weather app because we wanted to check if it would rain the next day. My mom and I noticed that there was a warning saying it might snow the next day. I was uninterested but had some hope. On Thursday, it snowed! I then felt an urge of curiosity. How do meteorologists predict the weather? I thought. I decided right then to start researching right away! It all starts with the satellites. Satellites orbit around the earth and use their cameras to see the weather up above. Several satellites are up there, each covering a piece of land. Satellites pictures can help meteorologists, people who study the weather. There are three types of satellites so meteorologists can get a better understanding of future weather. The first type of satellites is polar-orbiting satellites. They orbit closely to the earth and take approximately 7 detailed shots a day. Geostationary satellites stay at the same location and take the same picture around every half a minute. Lastly, there are deep-space satellites. They stay close to the sun to monitor space weather or solar storms. NOAA also may use information from other satellites owned by other companies. For a review in temperature, airspeed, wind direction, and wind speed, they use something called weather balloons. Weather balloons have special devices attached to them to measure. They are made of latex and synthetic rubber and inflated with either hydrogen or helium. Most people know what weather balloons are, but don’t know much about what they do. Parachutes are often attached to help retrieve it once it falls. Radars are used to measure participation, which means the chance of it going to rain. They can also be used to see if there are any thunderstorms or tornadoes. To be more specific, the radar used to measure participation are called doppler radars. They detect radio waves, which show wind speed and even direction. They use the Doppler effect to predict the chances of rain from a far distance. The doppler effect is when the frequency from a sound wave changes as the observer moves away or closer. Lastly, the information from these devices is gathered and sent to the meteorologists’ computers. They use a system called AWIPS (NOAA’s Advanced Weather Information Processing System), which is a computer system that combines all the data received from the following devices and turns it into a graph. They use that for predicting the actual weather and then display it onto a map. Humans there also predict the weather. To predict storms or blizzards, humans can use the forecasts from previous years. For example, if there was a blizzard every year for the past 6 years, chances are there will be a blizzard the current year. Also, if the clouds might be grey, chances are it might start raining! At 10:33 a.m, when my mom and I looked at the weather, that question popped in my head, making me feel very inquisitive. Weather is an unpredictable part of mother nature and most people have many questions about it. But using modern technology thanks to humans, we can precut weather using radars, balloons, satellites, and even our brains! Sources: Warrilo, Chrissy. “Students Ask: How Do Meteorologists Predict The Weather?” GPB Blogs, 5 Feb. 2012. Web. 29 Feb. 2021. “6 tools our meteorologists use to forecast the weather”. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 14 Aug. 2017. Web. 29 Feb. 2021.
Young Bloggers
Pandemic Echoes, a poem by Sofie, 10
Sofie Dardzinski Pandemic Echoes by Sofie Dardzinski, 10 An invisible enemy has changed our lives. Lives lost, all too soon. Soon slinks fear, that we contain in isolation. Isolation bringing bitter loneliness; thoughts echoing. Echoing around the world, clouds of chaos and uncertainty. Uncertainty in each other, infected with suspicion. Suspicion of one another, seems like our jobs. Jobs vanishing, economy at a standstill. Still, hope is in our nature. Nature is renewing, the world is clean and quiet. Quiet acts of kindness, binding us together. Together we lead, enlightened by our journey.
About the White House
This year I watched the whole election. I have wanted to know what it’s like to live in the White House. I’ve heard there are like 50 bathrooms. I want to know the truth about living in the White House. History The White House was built on October 13, 1792. The White House and its grounds are 18 acres big. It is located on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. John Adams was the first President to live in the White House. The White House was designed by James Hoban. The White House has three parts: The East Wing, The West Wing, Executive Residence. Rules of Living in the White House Living in the White House comes with many rules. You can never open windows, not even to let in the fresh air. Of the many jobs in the White House, there is no interior designer. The first lady is to hire a designer the first family likes. As you can see living in the White House comes rules. Inside the White House The White House consists of 32 rooms, 35 bathrooms, 412 doors, and 28 fireplaces. According to Joe Biden, the White House is “a gilded cage, in terms of being able to walk outside and do things.” The White House is six stories tall. There are two basement levels, a ground floor where staff works, a state floor for events, and two floors where the first family lives. The oval room is blue and has been blue since 1837. There are also a red and green room. The east room is the biggest in the White House. It is meant for speeches, ceremonies, and concerts. The State Dining Room can fit 150 people. The Lincoln Room has furniture from Abraham Lincoln’s time. The Yellow Oval Room is located above the Blue Oval Room and is the first family’s living room. On the top floor is a Solarium, it has floor to ceiling windows. There is also a bowling alley in the basement. They also have a movie theater. There are two bunkers in the White House. There is an Oval Office which is where the president works. The Resolute Desk in the Oval Office is from the 1800s and weighs 1000 pounds. The Cabinet Room is where the president meets with the ministers. The vice president also has an office located in the West Wing. There are a lot of rooms in the White House. Conclusion I hope you learned about the White House. During my research, I learned that the White House has 35 bathrooms. The White House is huge! I hope to one day visit the White House myself and look at everything inside. Sources Weber, Asher. “Strict Rules The First Family Must Follow In The White House.” Icepop, 8 Oct. 2020. Web. 16 Feb. 2021. “Inside the White House.” The White House President Barack Obama. Web. 16 Feb. 2021. McDowell, Erin. “8 presidents and first family members on what it’s like to live in the White House.” Business Insider. Web. 1 Mar. 2021. “The White House has 132 rooms and its own restaurant. Here’s what it’s like inside Joe Biden’s new home.” Insider. Web. 2 Mar. 2021.
