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Friday, December 24, 1999 |
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INTRODUCTIONReading about the weather
Merry Christmas! At this time of year, my thoughts always turn to the weather. It is generally cool here and this reminds me of my home in Minnesota. Actually, comparing the weather here and there makes an interesting lesson. Let’s learn how the weather is described in the two areas. Let’s begin with how we report the weather in the Bangkok Post. The Bangkok Post has a weather forecast every day, usually on the last page of the first section. Since the weather in Thailand tends to change very slowly (as compared to colder countries), you will see the same vocabulary day after day. This makes it easy to learn and easy to remember. In fact you can learn to read Thailand’s weather in one or two days. The weather report in the Bangkok Post quite naturally begins with Bangkok. But since our newspaper is distributed nationally, the report also includes a forecast for each of Thailand’s regions. Below is a recent example. I chose a day in November because this is one of the few times of the year there is a real difference in weather between the various regions in Thailand.
When people talk about the weather, they usually focus on temperature, precipitation (rain, etc.), cloud cover and the wind. People who live in coastal areas may also take note of the sea conditions. As you can see from the above example, weather reports are designed to give people the information they want. Since all of us here experience Thai weather everyday, your only problem in understanding weather reports in the Bangkok Post will be in learning the vocabulary. That is the purpose of the next section. Notice, however, that this lesson is not confined to Thai weather. I have also included vocabulary you will see in weather reports from areas of the well as well – including my very cold home state of Minnesota in the United States. Weather vocabulary
adjectives
temperature-related
precipitation-related
wind
cloud cover
other useful words
WEATHER REPORTS
Weather in Thailand Below are two more weather reports from Thailand for you to read. One is from Tuesday of this week and the other is from October during the rainy season. In each case, decide which part of Thailand has the kind of weather you would prefer to have. Next, find today’s weather report in your Bangkok Post. Has the weather changed much from last Tuesday? If so, how? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weather from my home Weather is a big subject at my home in Minnesota. It is so important, in fact, the local television stations often have their own meteorologists – scientists who study weather conditions – to report the weather news. It is now winter and although it has been relatively mild so far, temperatures have now fallen to their normally frigid levels. What is a bit unusual, however, is the lack of snow. Everyone wants a white Christmas so they have been following the weather forecasts very closely. Below are parts of three recent weather forecasts by a well-known television meteorologist from the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St Paul, Minnesota. He also writes for a newspaper and that is where these reports come from. Try to imagine the weather he is describing. Does it look likely that my home will have a white Christmas? Remember that snow melts when the temperature goes above freezing. Obviously, the temperatures below do not use the Celsius scale we use here in Thailand. They are Fahrenheit temperatures. To make sense of them, you will probably want to convert them to Celsius. Do you remember how? Here is the formula: C = 5/9 * F -32. To go from Celsius to Fahrenheit, use this formula: F = 9/5 * C +32. From Paul Douglas’ "NowCast" (Minneapolis, Minnesota) December 17, 1999: (Low: 03 High: 19) Yes, it definitely feels more like mid-December out there. It is more than a little strange to see temperatures so cold without any snow on the ground. And as chilly as it was today, the mercury would be a cool 10 degrees colder if we had a fresh coating of white (snow) to trudge through. As it is, snow will remain scarce, at least in the metro area. The Twin Cities will probably be on the far northern fringe of any snow, with mostly flurries, and little more than a dusting, if that. Skies will clear again on Friday, with cool sunshine into Saturday, although temperatures will modify just a bit. The next system may shove a period of light snow into town on Sunday… I haven’t given up on the prospect of a white Christmas. But we are quickly running out of time, and my hunch is that it's going to come right down to the wire. December 18: (Low: 27 High: 31) Finally! Some snow (you remember snow, don’t you?) is in our forecast for the next 12 to 24 hours, and it should be enough to coat lawns and fields and make it look a little more like the holidays out there! Snow amounts of 2-3 inches are possible in the metro by late tonight, with a few 4-inch amounts possible close to home...almost enough to shovel and plow in some neighbourhoods and towns. Over north-western Minnesota (MN) and North Dakota the combination of high winds (40 mph+) and freshly fallen snow will produce near-blizzard conditions later today and tonight, with wind chill readings dipping as low as -40. I would not recommend travelling into these areas later today unless absolutely necessary, and only then with 4-wheel drive and a winter survival kit in the car. Temperatures will fall through the teens tomorrow as arctic air floods into the state, and a few subzero nights are possible Monday and Tuesday. But a quick thaw is brewing for later this week, with temperatures at or near freezing by Christmas Eve. December 21: (Low: -14 High: 08) Cold enough for ya? Well, I sure hope so! Arctic high pressure will remain nearby Tuesday into Wednesday, so cold temperatures will continue. We will have much less wind Tuesday, so wind chill temperatures will not be nearly as cold as they were on Monday. This is an impressively cold air mass, with high temps over parts of North Dakota and portions of northern Minnesota expected to remain below zero on Tuesday. No big snow storms are in sight, but an upper level disturbance could drop a few flurries over south-western MN Tuesday night. Do you like warmer weather? You are in luck; a warm-up should begin Thursday and continue into Christmas Day. Until then, try to stay warm.
As an additional exercise, pretend your are in the United States. How would you describe Thailand’s weather to people there? Remember that when you talk about temperatures, you should use the Fahrenheit scale. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This is the kind of scene people at my home in Minnesota are hoping to see on Christmas -- enough snow to make everything look clean and white. Will they get it? It's going right down to the wire. —Photo courtesy Elana Scraba
While snow may be beautiful, a lot of people from colder climates would prefer the beauty and warmth of a Thai beach. Even as temperatures drop into the teens here, that is still 20 or 30 degrees warmer than my home.
Teacher’s Note
This is another good example of the "classic lessons" I have been introducing this term. You can use the idea behind this lesson to create your own lessons again and again. All you have to do is to use updated examples. With the Internet, you can even get examples from Minnesota or other places in the world.
It is also a classic lesson in another way. Your students learn to understand much more than the examples presented on this page. When they finish, they should be able to read almost any standard weather report they find, especially those found each day on the back page of the front section of the Bangkok Post.
This is the holiday season, so I have made the lesson as light as possible. It is mainly designed to have your students practice reading weather reports. I suggest that you encourage them to learn the vocabulary thoroughly. The short exercise at the very end – describing Thai weather to foreigners – might be a good one to assign as a short homework exercise.
No lesson next week. We’ll see you next year, in the new millennium.