Air Pressure and Wind

Air Pressure and Wind

Air Pressure and Wind
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 6 to 8
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	6.39

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		curveball, forecasters, stopper, atmosphere, barometer, directly, lower, cause, hurricane, pressure, expect, pitchers, pressing, develop, predict, noticeable
	content words:		Bermuda High, United States

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Air Pressure and Wind
By Sharon Fabian

¹     Air is the atmosphere that is always around us. Most of the time we don't even notice that it is there. We are so used to living in this ocean of air that we don't even feel it most of the time. But when the air moves, that's a different story. We can feel the change when the wind blows and when the air pressure drops or rises. Air pressure and wind are two features of wind that are very noticeable.

²     Air pressure is the weight of the air pressing down on us and on everything else around us. It is what makes a balloon get bigger when you blow it up. Air pressure also causes the air to shoot out all at once when you poke even a tiny hole in a balloon. Air pressure is what makes your ears pop when you go up a mountain. This happens because the air pressure inside your body and the air pressure outside are usually balanced, but when you go up a mountain the pressures become unbalanced. There is less pressure in the air on top of a mountain than there is at lower altitudes. So your ears pop to let the pressures even out. Baseball pitchers even make use of air pressure when they throw a curveball. It helps to cause the spinning motion that makes the ball curve.

³     Weather forecasters use air pressure everyday in their job. They use a measuring instrument called a barometer to measure air pressure, which helps them to predict whether the day will be clear, rainy, or stormy. When the barometer shows that the air pressure is high, they can predict cool, clear weather. When the air pressure is low, they expect warmer weather, and may predict rain or storms.

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