Preparing For Launch: Pizitz Preparing To Launch Second Weather Balloon
Ashley Perry, 6th Grade Teacher
Students Faye Miceli and Ethan Nandwa work to find weather models on the AlabamaWx Weather Blog.
Vestavia Hills, AL – 6th grade students at Louis Pizitz Middle school will be launching their own weather balloon, PiBaL 2017 on Wednesday, May 10, at 12:30 PM. Students have been working with local meteorologist, Bill Murray, to forecast the perfect day for launch. Mr. Murray spent two days in April at Pizitz teaching all sixth grade students to read weather models and discuss the various weather factors that would affect their launch. Students recorded data and predictions in their own officer training manual, created by fellow meteorologist Scott Martin.
State Farm Agent Michael O’Neal provided financial assistance with the production of the workbook.
Susan Basker Raj and Jhanyl Avery read weather models to choose the perfect forecast day.
This will the second year Pizitz will launch a balloon, and students are hoping for the same level of success as last year. Science teachers Diane McAliley, Katie Cooper, and Ashley Perry have put together a team of students responsible for assisting with launch, retrieval, and documentation of the launch. “Last year was such an amazing experience, and expectations are very high for this year’s launch,” explains Diane McAliley. “Our launch day was perfect, and the balloon was able to travel over twenty miles above sea level.”
Meteorologist Bill Murray displays a sample weather model.
The balloon is equipped with a GPS tracker, various weather sensors, and video cameras. Students and parents can track the balloon via a phone application, and retrieval teams will be following the balloon
during its entire flight. Once the balloon is retrieved, video footage and data will be analyzed and edited to create a cohesive film of the flight. Bill Murray and Scott Martin of AlabamaWx Weather will be featuring student blog entries and photography of the launch on their blog at https://www.alabamawx.com.
Elle Murray assists students with finding their forecast data.
About the Author (Author Profile)
Scott Martin is an operational meteorologist, professional graphic artist, musician, husband, and father. Not only is Scott a member of the National Weather Association, but he is also the Central Alabama Chapter of the NWA president. Scott is also the co-founder of Racecast Weather, which provides forecasts for many racing series across the USA. He also supplies forecasts for the BassMaster Elite Series events including the BassMaster Classic.Subscribe
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