Student-Scientists: We would like to congratulate the 19 classes that sent in their data files! We have data files from classes in 11 U.S. states and British Columbia. If you have not yet sent your OUR_WIA file, it's not too late! The network will stay open all next week, and any data you send will go to your teammate classes. I know they will be very interested in your results. By now many of you should have gained some experience making weather observations, processing your data, and sending these data to others. I am impressed that most of you faithfully collected data every day for quite a number of days. Having data for a series of days allows you to notice warming or cooling trends and to make some good predictions. The number of additional comments that you have entered into the "Observations" section also impresses me. These comments not only help in interpreting other data taken from the instruments, but they show me that you are becoming observant of your atmospheric environment. You may have become aware that the beginning of 1999 continues a pattern of unusual and newsworthy weather events from all over the world. Several examples come to mind. During January 1999, unseasonably warm conditions were found in much of the continental United States, even though the Midwest experienced at least one blizzard along with an arctic outbreak and the East had a major ice storm. These above-average January temperatures continued from a trend that saw the 1998 average temperature for the globe and the United States to be one of the highest since reliable records began more than a century ago. In addition, a new January tornado record was set as 169 tornadoes were reported across the United States, with the greatest concentration being along the Gulf Coast and the Southern states. As we reach mid-February, the Pacific Northwest continues to be battered by storms that have been accompanied by high winds, flooding rain, and heavy mountain snow. As a result, the West Coast has remained cooler than average, while warmer than average conditions were found to the east of the Rockies. Alaska experienced two weeks of extremely cold weather. Why many of these events occur with such intensity remains an important question to meteorologists worldwide. How significant have El Niņo or La Niņa been to the weather? How much has human activity contributed to what appears as global warming? We need to continue to make observations, then collect and organize these data in order to study and understand the exceptional weather patterns. I have enjoyed using NGS Works to analyze your data in the NET_WIA data table, and I hope you will have fun doing that, too. The table shows all the data sent to NGS Kids Network by the deadline. The more closely you look at your data, the more questions you are likely to have. When you look for clues, arrange data in various graphs to find patterns, examine maps, search the Web, and write to your research teammates, you are doing what all modern scientists do. As a meteorologist, I find that meteorology is a very exciting science because it focuses primarily upon the weather, which is always changing. Whether we like it or not, weather affects us all for good or bad. Finally, it involves all of the body's senses. Have you smelled a change in the weather? Have you tasted rain or snow? How have you used your other senses during this unit? I hope you've enjoyed your weather study and that you'll keep your eyes--and other senses--on the sky! Sincerely, Ed Hopkins Lecturer Department of Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences University of Wisconsin-Madison 1225 West Dayton Street Madison, WI 53706 U.S.A.