Image captured by NOAA’s GOES-16 weather satellite that shows a long line of storm clouds moving across the Midwest with many flashes of lightning.

The Most Extreme Weather in America

Click the image above to learn more!

Image of white clouds in the sky.

Types of Clouds

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Illustration of Earth with the jet stream on it.

What Is the Jet Stream?

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Illustration of Earth with arrows representing trade winds.

What Are Trade Winds?

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Cartoon illustration of Bill the groundhog wearing a rain jacket in the rain.

What Is Precipitation?

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Cartoon illustration of a GOES-R series weather satellite in a thunderstorm with text reading WHAT CAUSES A THUNDERSTORM.

What Causes a Thunderstorm?

Click the image above to find out!

Cartoon illustration of firefighters looking toward a wildfire.

How Do Wildfires Spread?

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An image of a weather forecast map from the National Weather Service.

How to Read a Weather Map

Learn what all of those symbols mean for tomorrow's weather!

Videos

Storms
Cartoon silhouette of a tornado extending from the clouds to the ground.

How Do Tornadoes Form?

The funnel-shaped winds of a tornado are easily recognizable—and they can be very dangerous.
Tides and Oceans
Cartoon of the Moon between the Earth and the Sun.

What Causes Tides?

High and low tides are caused by the moon.
more videos

Interactives

Storms
Pixelated scene of a tornado, a house, a billboard and a cow in a grass field.

Tornado Simulator

See this destructive force in action.
Storms
Red electricity with the word Zap inside. Clouds border the image and some raindrops and snowflakes are floating by.

Make Lightning with ZAP!

You are an updraft. Use your windy powers to juggle snow pellets and make lightning!
more interactives

Printables

Five coloring pages featuring various weather subjects.

Weather Coloring Pages

Color and learn about weather with these printable coloring pages!
Four pumpkins painted with different images, including a weather satellite, raincloud, hurricane and lightning bolt.

SciJinks Pumpkins

Paint your own SciJinks pumpkins with these fun weather stencils!
more printables

GOES-R Series Weather Satellites

GOES-R series weather satellites are constantly keeping an eye on Earth's weather. Check out our GOES-R series page for more information about what they do! You can also check out a 3D model of a GOES-R series weather satellite below.

Explore a GOES-R Series weather satellite! Click and drag to rotate the satellite. Scroll or pinch to zoom in and out. Then, learn about how the GOES-R series of weather satellites help monitor weather down here on Earth! Credit: NASA Visualization Technology Applications and Development (VTAD)