NOTICE and WONDER……
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Photo Sheared Mammatus Cloud. Stillwater, Minnesota. October 2019. Copyright Amy Lilienfeld/Circle of Illumination Science Education.
One cannot help but notice and wonder about something like this unusual “sheared mammatus cloud”. But like all clouds it is a phenomenon indicating the incredible things that are going on in our atmosphere.
What secrets do YOU think this cloud is trying to tell us?
But all clouds, in general, are just one element of the highly complex phenomena called “Weather” and “Climate”. Although they operate at vastly different spatial and temporal scales weather and climate are comprised of many of the same elements: air temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind direction and speed, and atmospheric pressure. Each of these elements is constantly changing but also often interacts with some of the other variables in a highly complex system. One of the major goals of Circle of Illumination Science Education is to help unpack some of this complexity while emphasizing the big ideas in a way that all teachers, regardless of prior knowledge, will be able to comprehend.
Please see workshop pages for ongoing workshop/webinar offerings (which is constantly being expanded) but see below information about brand NEW workshop being offered from late March through June 2026:
“TORNADOES in FEBRUARY? IT’s MICHIGAN! THE ROLE OF AIR MASSES ON WEATHER in MICHIGAN” (STANDARD MS-ESS2-5)
A recent forecast by meteorologist Mark Torregrossa, “Michigan’s Next Storm is Closer to Tornadoes Than a Snowstorm” (MLIVE, Feb. 18, 2026), touches upon something we all know too well: the unpredictability of Michigan’s weather. This is attributable to the impact of air masses which often bring about rapid and dramatic changes in temperature and other weather variables that are superimposed over the annual patterns we have come to expect in particular seasons. For example see temperature map below (courtesy of the American Meteorological Society’s “Weather Studies Maps and Links” web page, https://edu.ametsoc.org/dstreme/images/sfcptemp.gif) which illustrates nicely the presence of a very cold, dry air mass , referred to as “Continental Polar” (cP) directly north of Michigan on March 5, 2026.
The main goal of the workshop is to provide middle school teachers with the content mastery necessary to teach Michigan’s academic science MS-ESS2-5 MI, i.e., to “Collect data to provide evidence for how the motions and complex interactions of air masses results in changes in weather conditions”. As an important context for understanding the effect of air masses upon weather in Michigan the factors that exist behind our existing patterns of seasonality, i.e., our climate, will be covered first so that participants will be able to better appreciate what the impacts of air masses are. Because the effects of air masses on weather in Michigan involve some very complex topics in atmospheric science only some of the highlights of these impacts will be covered with more in-depth coverage gone into in more detail in subsequent workshops.
Participants will also be introduced to several sources of real-time weather data which will not only help illustrate many of the concepts presented but provide concrete ideas for how these may be incorporated into their teaching.
AFTER TAKING THIS WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS WILL:
1. understand some of the basics of seasonality in Michigan’s weather
2. understand some of the impacts of air masses on Michigan’s weather
2. be able to access, interpret and incorporate into their teaching data in a variety of forms from several real-time weather web sites including those of the American Meteorological Society, the Wyoming Weather Web, the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center, the Great Lakes Observatory System, and others if time permits.
Handouts will be distributed that will contain several examples of how this data can be incorporated into teaching.
This workshop will be 3 hours long. 3 SCECHES will be awarded to participants upon completion.
LOCATION and DATES/TIMES: At this time a centralized, convenient location that would be suitable to accommodate teachers from multiple districts is being sought. Any updates in that regard will be posted here. Otherwise, for workshops given only to single districts or RESDs please contact Dr. Lilienfeld to schedule.
Deadlines: For late March workshop deadline will be MARCH 10.
For April workshops deadline will be MARCH 22.
For May workshops deadline will be APRIL 7.
For June workshops deadline will be MAY 7th.
For unusual circumstances deadlines may be flexible by a few days.
PRICING: $350.00 per workshop. Discounts may be available to districts that are experiencing financial hardship.
Major air masses that impact weather in North America.
Source: NOAA. https://www.noaa.gov/jetstream/synoptic/air-masses
