NARRATOR: Most of the time, if we pay attention to clouds at all it's because of their effects on our local weather. Or maybe it’s because they make a sunset prettier.
But, what you might not know is that clouds affect us every day, even if we’re staring at a clear blue sky.
The clouds we see when we look out the window are important components of a complex global weather system. They play a key role in Earth’s water cycle, carrying huge amounts of fresh water and dropping it as precipitation. And depending on their properties, and where and when they form, clouds can have dramatic effects on our climate, influencing the locations and severity of floods and droughts, and even the temperature of our planet as a whole.
In NOVA’s Cloud Lab, you’ll learn how to classify clouds and find out what clouds can tell us about the weather. You’ll track the movements of Hurricane Sandy, one of the most destructive storms to ever strike the U.S. You’ll investigate how storms develop by analyzing data collected from tropical cyclones. And you’ll use live satellite imagery and data from NASA to track storms and predict their paths.
With an increased understanding of clouds, we can better predict weather patterns, severe storms, and perhaps even the course of climate change.
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