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          Is it sunny or rainy? Is there snow
        
        
          on the ground or a thunderstorm
        
        
          brewing? People are always
        
        
          interested in the weather because
        
        
          it affects what we do and what
        
        
          we wear.
        
        
          Weather
        
        
          
            Predicting the weather
          
        
        
          Weather forecasters look at
        
        
          pictures beamed back from
        
        
          weather satellites. Computers
        
        
          then help forecasters work
        
        
          out what the weather is
        
        
          going to be like over the
        
        
          next few days.
        
        
          Which is bigger: a tornado or a hurricane?
        
        
          
            Planet Earth
          
        
        
          
            Rainy days
          
        
        
          Rain clouds form when
        
        
          warm, moist air rises
        
        
          upwards and then
        
        
          cools. Droplets of water
        
        
          join together until they
        
        
          become so heavy that
        
        
          they fall. Rain clouds
        
        
          look dark because
        
        
          sunlight cannot shine
        
        
          through the droplets.
        
        
          Kites stay high in the air
        
        
          by catching the wind.
        
        
          
            Clouds
          
        
        
          are made from tiny
        
        
          water droplets. Dark clouds
        
        
          mean rain is coming.
        
        
          
            Rain
          
        
        
          is drops of water
        
        
          that fall from clouds. Rain
        
        
          is very good for plant life.
        
        
          
            Hailstones
          
        
        
          are balls
        
        
          of ice that grow inside
        
        
          thunderclouds.
        
        
          
            Snow
          
        
        
          is made from tiny
        
        
          bits of ice. It falls instead of
        
        
          rain when it is very cold.
        
        
          
            Sunshine
          
        
        
          gives us heat
        
        
          and light. It warms the
        
        
          air and dries the land.
        
        
          
            Wind
          
        
        
          is air moving
        
        
          around. Winds can be a
        
        
          light breeze or a strong gale.
        
        
          
            Weather words
          
        
        
          Here are some main
        
        
          features of the weather.