Wet Weather, Wet Climate? Interactive slide show

I need your help! Hi kids, I’m Pixel the Satellite. When I orbit the Earth, I see lots of clouds swirling about the globe. See the clouds? How much of North America do you think is covered in clouds here?

But I have a hard time telling which of these clouds are raining, which ones are snowing, and which ones are just... hanging out!

Some of my satellite friends sit and watch clouds all day, so they can help people figure out where it will rain or snow. Here is an example of what my friend, named GOES, can see: Look at all the cool clouds she sees down there! You GOES, girl! GOES

Sometimes my friend GOES gets to see these swirled clouds that make up a storm. Do you know what this kind of storm is called?

It’s called a hurricane! Hurricanes drop lots of rain and have STRONG winds! Yikes! Have YOU ever been in a hurricane?

The amount of water that falls as rain or snow each year is very important for determining the types of plants that can live in an area. Which place do you think gets more than 250 cm of rain and snow water per year? Which place do you think gets less than 20 cm of rain and snow water per year? Sherry Ballard © California Academy of Sciences

I need your help! Can you help me figure out how much precipitation falls at your school over a month, or a season, or a whole year? I’d like to know how much rain and snow you get! Thanks for the help! See you soon!

Photo Credits All GOES-related images used courtesy of NOAA. The black-and-white hurricane photo comes from the Library of Congress. All other images are used courtesy of NASA. Many thanks to Uncle Sam.