U.S. Climate Atlas

Provided by: NOAA |Published on: April 27, 2021

Data, Graphs, and Maps

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Scientist Reviewed

Synopsis

This interactive map allows students to view data on the precipitation, minimum temperature, and maximum temperature in the contiguous United States for a specific month and year (1895-2020).
Students can use the compare function to view different types of data maps side by side.

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Subjects: Earth and Space Sciences, Geography

Authors: NOAA

Region: United States, New Jersey

Languages: English

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Teaching Materials

Positives

This resource is fun and easy to use.
The compare function allows students to view a half and half view of the map, two maps side by side, or an animated map that morphs from one data set to the other.

Prerequisites

This map only contains data for the contiguous United States.
Students may have to scroll up and down in order to see the legend, which is located below the map.
The "select year" section defaults to climatology, but students can use the dropdown to select any year between 1895-2020.

Differentiation & Implementation

Elementary science classes could use this resource to give students a visual for how climate change is affecting temperature and precipitation in the United States.
History classes could use this resource to compare an historical event, such as precipitation data during the Dust Bowl, with current data. Students could reflect on the migration that took place as a result of the Dust Bowl as people moved from the Great Plains to places like California. Students could then watch this video about how drought is currently affecting Stratford, an agricultural town in California.
Other resources on this topic include this video that explains how the world has changed over the last century, this article about changes in climate throughout history, and this article on what governments around the world are doing to adapt to higher temperatures.

Scientist Notes

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Scientist Reviewed

This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.

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U.S. Climate Atlas

Synopsis

Teaching Materials

Scientist Reviewed

Related Teaching Resources