This Saturday in (Weather) Science

Hopefully, this is not what the new weather apparatus at Pottsgrove High School will be observing....

Blogger's Note: This week's This Saturday in Science entry is devoted to all the new meteorological learning opportunities that will be available this year at Pottsgrove High School, which will now also be a weather station.

They say everyone complains about the weather but nobody does anything about it, but you can’t say that about Pottsgrove High School any more.

This week, equipment was installed on the roof which will make the high school another location for weather observations that are part of the Weatherbug network.

Hopefully, the weather observed at Pottsgrove will be more like this...

Workers installed a high-definition camera, lightning sensor and educational software that will not only allow the station to provide data for the weather team at CBS Philly, but also to enhance the science, technology and math curriculum at the school.

“We are excited to be bringing a WeatherBug station to our school district because it will help us bring science to life for our students,” said Michael Wagman, director of technology and communications at Pottsgrove School District. “We see immediate application in our high school earth science curriculum.”

The WeatherBug Schools interactive software program, WeatherBug Achieve, enables teachers to apply real-world conditions to help teach skills and concepts in math, science and geography.

The community at large will also benefit.

“This weather station and software from Weatherbug will give members of the Pottsgrove school community the opportunity to further their knowledge about weather and climate using modern technological tools,” said Wagman.

Once up and running, the up-to-the-minute hyper-local weather conditions will be available to the community through Pottsgrove’s new web site.

Also, the district will also get advance warning of lightning and severe weather as a result of the partnership, which “will help us make critical decisions with regard to the safety of our students during athletic activities, when transporting them and with other outdoor activities,” Wagman said.

A science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) grant helped offset start-up costs “and made the technology more affordable to us,” said Wagman.

Through that technology, teachers and students have access to local weather conditions from any of the 8,000 WeatherBug sites across the country.

Teachers can also create learning activities based on both current and historical weather conditions from the stations and cameras located at the school.

“WeatherBug is pleased to welcome the students and faculty of the Pottsgrove School District as the newest members of WeatherBug Schools Program,” said Frank McCathran, director of WeatherBug Education. “CBS Philly/KYW is a strong media partner and we are delighted that a new school in the area is able to provide local weather information.”