What Causes a Rainbow? King Students Quiz WGN Meteorologist

It takes a wide variety of tools to forecast the weather.

So says WGN and National Weather Service Meteorologist Paul Merzlock who helped Irene King 2nd graders wrap up their water cycle unit with a personal visit to the Romeoville elementary school.

“Weather moves. What we’re seeing today (snow flurries) was falling in Kansas and Texas a day or two ago,” he said, pointing out weather forecasters use satellite photos, radar and computer programs to predict the weather.

Merzlock utilized several hands-on tools to show students what makes clouds and how water vapor is created.

During Q&A, he spent time talking about what created the tornadoes that struck Illinois a little over a week ago.

“That warm air we had contained a lot of water vapor and when it collided with cold air, that made thunderstorms form,” Merzlock said. “You also need big winds that blow in different directions at different levels of the atmosphere. As the air rises, it starts to spin and the thunderstorms spiral around like they were on a carousel.”

Other questions students asked:

How hot is the sun? “Really, really hot.” (6,000 degrees) “But a bolt of lightning is even hotter.” (50,000 degrees)

What causes a rainbow? High clouds reflecting light.

How do clouds move? “They move wherever the wind blows them.”

How is snow made? “Snow is not a frozen rain drop, that’s sleet.” A snowflake is groups of ice crystals stuck together.

Merzlock also talked about floods, hurricanes and typhoons, and stars.