Crestwood Elementary and Middle School in Cresco

I got to visit with the 8th graders at Cresco Middle School on Tuesday, April 27th.   Ms. Becky Bohr is one of the many fine teachers in Cresco, and her students have been studying weather for several weeks now.  Ms. Bohr has 5 sections of science that she teaches…so I was at school from the beginning of the day until mid-afternoon.  We learned about Iowa’s severe weather season (which is right now!) and about some of the different kinds of severe weather that occur here each year.  A very bright group of students…good listeners and many excellent questions.  Spaghetti and garlic toast for lunch!  Yum…

How 'bout those Cadets?!

Cresco welcomes you!

Click here to see the Cresco students class I saying hello

Click here to see the Cresco students class II saying hello

Click here to see the Cresco students class III saying hello

Click here to see the Cresco students class IV saying hello

Click here to see the Cresco students class V saying hello

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Wednesday, April 21 was another beautiful spring day, and I was glad to make the trip to Dubuque to visit the teachers and students at Eisenhower Elementary School.  The whole room was full of third graders!  They were great listeners, and they had many interesting stories to tell me.  We saw pictures of storms…we talked about the different seasons and how much variety we have in the weather.  We also learned the names of lots of different clouds.  The third garders also have a couple tornado machines that are way cool!  Thanks very much for a nice day in Dubuque, everyone.  I enjoyed my time at Eisenhower Elementary. 

Jeff and the Eisenhower third graders!

Click here to see the Eisenhower kids saying hello!

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Last time I was supposed to visit Sageville the weather was very foggy, and school was cancelled for the day!  Tuesday, April 20th, however, was a beautiful spring day and I was able to make the trip.  The second graders at Sageville were a good group of listeners, and they had lots of good questions for me.  We learned the names of some clouds, talked about the different seasons and saw movies of the Parkersburg tornado.  I really enjoyed my time in Sageville.  Thanks, everyone!

Sageville Elementary School

A sunny day in Sageville

Blue sky above Sageville School!

Click here to see the Sageville kids saying hello!

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Thanks to the students and teachers at St. Athanasius Catholic School in Jesup.  I got to visit Ms. Sitzmann’s class on Monday, April 19th.  We learned about how the Earth and Sun work together to make the seasons change.  We also talked about severe local storms and tornadoes.  Lots of good questions from the students!

Jeff and the 5th graders at St. Athanasius

St. Athanasius Church and school in Jesup

Click here to see the St. A’s kids saying hello!

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A big “Thank You” to the teachers and students at Tri County Community School.  I got to go visit the 8th grade science students on Tuesday, April 13.  Since we are now in severe weather season in Iowa, we talked about severe local storms, hail and tornadoes.  We talked about Earth/Sun relationships and how the seasons change.  A very bright group…lots of good questions, too.  I enjoyed my time in Thornburg!

Tri County School in Thornburg

How 'bout those Trojans?!

Click here to see the Thornburg 8th graders saying hello!

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Thanks to the teachers and students at Community Lutheran School near Readlyn.  I got to visit on Wednesday afternoon.  We learned about severe local storms and tornadoes, hail and lightning.  The students had some very good questions, too!

Jeff and the students at Community Lutheran School

Click here to see the Community Lutheran kids saying hello!

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This is the first image from GOES-15, the newest weather satellite launched by NASA on March 4th.  GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite) allows weather forecasters to observe the Earth’s weather from an altitude of 22,236 miles.  On this image you can see a shield of clouds over the Northern Plains.  At the same time the Sun was shining over much of the Southern US.  This photo was taken just a couple hours before severe storms developed over Iowa!

You might also notice the large swirl of clouds just off the Southern tip of South America.  Storms rotate the other way in the Southern Hemisphere!

First image from GOES-15

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I planted my tomato crop mid-March.  We have some non-hybrid tomato seeds that we plant each year.  They produce HUGE tomatoes and seem to be quite hardy.  We also like to can tomatoes and make spaghetti sauce each fall.  Not too much can beat fresh tomato sauce in the middle of winter!  My plants seem to be doing well…most of them are about 3-4 inches tall as of April 5.  I have some Roma tomatoes and a few of the “Heirloom” tomatoes.  I’ll try to post more pics as the season goes along.

My tomatoes on Monday April 5th

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