🎈 "Up, Up, and Away — The Story of Weather Balloons!"
R1: Hi, everyone! Today we’re going to learn about something amazing—weather balloons!
R2: Weather balloons? Do they float around like birthday balloons?
R1: Kind of! But weather balloons are much bigger and much more important. They help scientists learn about the weather high up in the sky.
R2: Whoa! I thought weather was just what we see out our windows—sunshine, clouds, or rain.
R1: That’s part of it, but weather is happening all around us—up in the air, way above where airplanes fly!
R2: So, what do weather balloons actually do?
R1: Great question! Weather balloons carry tiny instruments called sensors. These sensors measure things like temperature, air pressure, humidity, and wind speed.
R2: Wait—what’s humidity?
R1: Humidity is how much water is in the air. When it’s humid, the air feels sticky. That’s one way scientists can tell if it might rain soon!
R2: So the balloon flies up and sends all that information back to Earth?
R1: Exactly! The instruments send data to computers on the ground using radio signals. Meteorologists—those are weather scientists—use that data to make weather forecasts.
R2: So when I see the weather report on TV or my tablet, it might come from one of those balloons?
R1: You got it! Every single day, weather balloons are launched all around the world—about 900 balloons go up each day!
R2: Whoa, that’s a lot of balloons! How high do they go?
R1: They can go as high as 20 miles into the sky—almost to the edge of space!
R2: That’s higher than airplanes! What happens when the balloon gets that high?
R1: The air gets thinner and colder, so the balloon expands and finally pops! Then a small parachute helps the instruments float safely back to Earth.
R2: That’s awesome! So the next time I see clouds or hear about a storm, I’ll remember—weather balloons helped us know it was coming.
R1: Exactly! Weather balloons are silent helpers that fly high above us, keeping people safe and informed.
R2: Up, up, and away—for science!
Both: The end!
https://malloyclass.weebly.com/east-weather-unit.html
