Dear Educator,

How do we predict the weather? If you're like me, you may rely on professional meteorologists. I may tune into my local news station to get a weather forecast or even use an app like WeatherBug on my smartphone or computer. Meteorologists are scientists who monitor weather conditions and forecast what will happen. They have access to modern technologies like radar maps and satellite imagery from space to help them map out the positions of air masses circling the earth to help them predict weather patterns.

But what about military commanders of the 19th century whose goals were to conquer continents? What tools did they have? Well, they may have had some historical data collection, observations, and folklore for one region or another, but not for an entire continent far larger than (and located north of) their home country.

But was the weather the reason Napoleon did not succeed in his takeover of Europe? Many seem to think that Napoleon made one of the greatest military blunders in history and that weather may have been the cause. Join WeatherBug Meteorologist Rachel Peterson as she takes a closer look at Napoleon Bonaparte in this month's Real-World Instruction (RWI) video, Weather and Military Mistakes.

Rachel's RWI Video	RWI Lesson
Weather and Military Mistakes Rachel investigates how weather may have led to two of the biggest military blunders in history. View in Windows Media View in QuickTime	Science Projects – Provided by the NEED Project Ice and snow can be found in many parts of the country these days. Salt and other compounds are used on sidewalks and roads. This month's RWI Lesson involves two experiments to help explain why. View K-5 Project in PDF View 6-9 Project in PDF

Thanks for reading this month's issue of Classroom Connections! Let me know if you have any questions on how you can get more involved with the WeatherBug Schools Program.

Regards,

The WeatherBug Schools Team
Phone: 800-544-4429, extension 2
Email: edsales@aws.com
Web: weatherbugschools.com