Make Weather Observations

Learn about your local weather by making observations.

Want to learn more about your local weather? Grab a pencil and make some observations!

Making notes about rain, clouds, and temperature is a great way to learn more about weather. As you watch how things change over a day or a week, think about how the different aspects of weather are related. Are clouds related to temperature? Is pressure related to rain?

Use the observation sheet below to get started. Time to investigate!

What you need

How to take observations

Download the sheet above and grab a pencil. Then, record the following:

Date and time: It’s important to know when you took observations.

Clouds and rain/snow: Look outside! Observe the sky and record if there’s any rain or snow. Write this on your observation sheet. If you can, go outside and see what the weather feels like. How warm is it? How windy?

Temperature, humidity, wind direction, wind speed, and pressure: For this stuff, we want precise measurements. If you have a home weather station, use it. Otherwise, check your local weather at weather.gov.

Drawing: Every once in a while, make a drawing. If you see something especially cool, like a storm, neat cloud, or wind-blown tree, a drawing will help you remember it better! Note the time of your drawing too.

Try to make observations over one day or a week. Here are some tips:

Record the weather over a day

Make weather observations every hour or once every couple hours over the course of a day. Then, think about these questions:

  • What’s the warmest time of the day? Is this what you expected?

  • Did you have any clouds or rain? If so, did it change the temperature?

  • If you got up early, how cold was it in the morning? What do you think the coldest time of night is?

  • Did you see any changes in clouds, wind, humidity, or pressure during the day?

Record the weather over a week

Make a weather observation at the same time each day. Consider the following:

  • Did you get any cloudy or stormy days? If so, did the pressure change in the days beforehand? (Often, lower pressure can lead to stormy weather!)

  • How did the temperature and wind feel each day? Do you have a favorite temperature? If you got clouds, did that affect the temperature?

  • Did you get any particularly interesting weather? Look back at your drawings to remind yourself.

As you make observations, think about how weather changes. Do you notice any relationships between pressure, humidity, storms, clouds, temperature, or anything else? If you lived somewhere else, what sort of weather do you think you’d get? Feel free to share your observations with family and friends.

And remember to have fun!