Overview
The RENCI Weather Web program uses research and operational grade weather stations to enable North Carolina educators to teach required meteorology and atmospheric science classes. RENCI provides the weather stations throughout the state in underserved areas that lack the stations needed to provide good quality climate-related data. The weather data retrieved from the stations are used by teachers and their students in the classroom, and provide information to RENCI disaster response researchers, state climatologists, emergency responders, agricultural managers, and citizens.
In collaboration with the State Climate Office of North Carolina, RENCI organizes the Weather Web competition each year and sends out a challenge to the schools in the targeted counties to develop curricula that would use a weather station and the data it produces. The area students are also asked to participate in an essay competition by researching and writing a composition about the local benefits of weather stations. Proposals and essays are evaluated on whether they make good use of weather station data in teaching concepts of meteorology and involve as many students, teachers and/or members of the community as possible.
Originality and creativity of the proposals are also considered. After the recipients are chosen, the State Climate Office finds suitable locations for the weather stations, and provides installation and maintenance.
The 2009 Weather Web winner is New London Choice Middle School in New London, Stanly County.
2009 Weather Web Program Winner
Stanly County
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The winners from last year’s 2008 Weather Web competition came from Alexander Central High School in Taylorsville in the west central part of the state; Ocracoke School on Ocracoke Island on the Outer Banks; and from a collaboration of several schools in Yancey County in the Appalachian Mountains near the Tennessee border. For information about the program winners’ lesson plans, see below.
2008 Weather Web Program Winners
Yancey, Alexander, Hyde counties
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Eligibility
Middle and High School science teachers in NC counties that currently lack research and operational grade weather stations are eligible.
Questions
For questions, please contact Jennifer Shelton project manager, at jshelton at renci.org. Please include “RENCI Weather Web” in the subject line of your email.
Funding
State of North Carolina
Collaborators
Ryan Boyles, director, State Climate Office of North Carolina
Partners
State Climate Office of North Carolina
Project Team
- Jennifer Shelton, project leader
- Jessica Proud
Links
www.nc-climate.ncsu.edu
NC counties could win weather stations through RENCI Weather Web project
Three NC counties win weather stations through RENCI competition
