Dear Educator,

Summer has officially started and the heat is on. Many areas of the country, especially those in the west, are already experiencing severe drought this year. When we think of extreme weather, we rarely think of drought. It is unlike tornadoes, floods and hurricanes but the truth is, droughts can be extreme. A shortage in rainfall can impact farming, wildlife, city water supplies, tourism and recreation as well as things like energy production. In some parts of the world drought can even mean a shortage of food. WeatherBug Meteorologist Rachel Peterson explains all about drought and why it occurs in this month's RWI Video.

Special thanks to the almost 300 weather enthusiasts that joined us for Mark Hoekzema's 2009 Hurricane Webinar Forecast! We hope you enjoyed it and found it of value. For those who could not attend, we have made a recording of the 30-minute webinar available in Windows Media – click to view 2009 Hurricane Webinar Forecast.

For schools in the WeatherBug Schools Program: We appreciate all you do to keep your weather station working during the year! As a reminder, we ask that you perform a quick check on the weather station before you head out. Not only can the kids access the online lessons all summer, but your weather data is used by emergency decision makers, local broadcasters, and the general public to track weather conditions that affect lives and property in your immediate area. Please remember to communicate with your co-workers and network administrators who will be working over the summer to ensure that they understand the importance of keeping the weather station running. We greatly appreciate your dedication to the weather station and your help. Please give us a call with any Tech Support questions to 800-624-4205.

Thanks for being an active subscriber to Classroom Connections. We look forward to returning to your inbox in August for the start of the 2009-10 school year!

Regards,

The WeatherBug Schools Team

Phone: 800-544-4429, extension 2