In February of 2008...National Weather Service Meteorologists Stephen Keebler and Erik Heden taught a three part series on meteorology at South Topsail Elementary School in Hampstead North Carolina. In March of 2008, Stephen and Erik continued to educate the students of Pender County. This time they visited North Topsail Elementary and taught them a two part series on meteorology.

The focus of the series remained the same...tornado safety. During the final class...minature tornadoes...were distributed to all fifth graders with tornado safety reminders printed on the side. These were furnished through a grant from The Bright Ideas Grant Education Grant Program and The Jones-Onslow Electric Membership Corporation A big thank you goes out to these folks. Also a big thank you to North Topsail and the 5th grade class...

See the breakdown of the sessions below.

The first day we went over basic weather features and systems. These included air masses...frontal systems(cold/warm fronts etc...high pressure systems...and cloud types. At the end of class the students were able to win a National Weather Service sticker by answering interactive questions.

On the second day we had a lot to cover. With the series being condensed from three days into two...we started the class right off with the basic definition of thunderstorms...where they are most likely to form...and what time of day/year they are most likely. We also covered thunderstorm safety...specifically how to protect yourself from lightning. We continued on the theme of severe weather by going over tornadoes. We covered how they form...where they are most likely to occur...and what time of day/year they are most likely to form. We ended the class on tornado safety in the home...outside...and in the classroom. At the end of class each student received a mini-tornado. The tornado had the same safety tips that they learned in class...detailed on the side of the mini-tornado. Each tornado also had the school's logo on the side. In addition to the mini-tornadoes...each student received a NOAA pamphlet on thunderstorms/tornadoes along with a sky chart detailing the different types of clouds. In total about 75 students were able to participate in the series.

National Weather Service
Weather Forecast Office, Wilmington NC
2015 Gardner Drive
Wilmington, NC 28405
(910) 762-4289


Page Author:
Web Master's E-mail:  ilm.webmaste r@noaa.gov
Page Last Modified: April 14, 2008

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