--- title: How to Talk to Your Kids About the Weather—Really description: Winter is the most interesting time canonical: https://time.com/4155922/how-to-talk-to-your-kids-about-the-weather-really/ author: Carey Wallace article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-12-21T13:05:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:45:10.371Z og:title: How to Talk to Your Kids About the Weather—Really og:description: Winter is much more interesting than you think og:url: https://time.com/4155922/how-to-talk-to-your-kids-about-the-weather-really/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde888dd1adf1b080/69887630f887dc845ee93d53/boy-in-rain.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3455 og:image:height: 1943 og:image:alt: 147456175 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How to Talk to Your Kids About the Weather—Really twitter:description: Winter is much more interesting than you think twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde888dd1adf1b080/69887630f887dc845ee93d53/boy-in-rain.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How to Talk to Your Kids About the Weather—Really > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=d08f307a-84b9-4521-9572-5a577f19eac4&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Why You're Not Walking In A Winter Wonderland This Year [Watch (HLS stream): Why You're Not Walking In A Winter Wonderland This Year](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/BpgDEZ4W.m3u8) (0:38)  _Published 2015-12-15. This frequently referenced weather phenomenon is to blame._  by [Carey Wallace](https://time.com/author/carey-wallace/)  ## Carey Wallace Dec 21, 2015 1:05 PM UTC  boy splashing in puddle on rainy Fall day boy splashing in puddle on rainy Fall day Stephen Simpson—Getty Images  by [Carey Wallace](https://time.com/author/carey-wallace/)  ## Carey Wallace Dec 21, 2015 1:05 PM UTC People talk about the weather all the time. But is it ever really interesting? In the winter, actually yes! Winter’s a great time to get elementary kids hooked on meteorology, says Bob Henson, a meteorologist and blogger at Weather Underground: “With all the variety and rapid changes, it’s one of the coolest times to watch the weather.” And there’s no better lab, he says, than the atmosphere around us every day. Kids can set up their own inexpensive weather stations in the backyard with simple thermometers or more sophisticated technology that will beam statistics to a smart phone. Some systems will even report the conditions kids measure directly to larger weather reporting agencies, like Henson’s own Weather Underground, so kids can be part of reporting the weather to the world. Middle school kids may be asking a question that’s been on a lot of people’s minds: why is it so unseasonably warm in the north, and so unseasonably cold in the south? “This coming winter we have a very strong El Niño in place,” Henson says. “We’ve only had a couple on record this strong.” And the season El Niño affects most? Winter. So according to him, the northern U.S. can expect temperatures that are as much as 30 degrees higher than normal all winter, while the south can expect cooler temperatures. And it’s a good time to encourage kids to start exploring how global patterns, like the warmth of the Pacific Ocean, can affect local conditions—like whether they have snow in their own yard. High school kids can start to think more deeply about the consequences of changes in the weather. For instance, Henson says, the temperature of winter nights is rising more quickly than temperatures at any other time, or in any other season. And although no one knows exactly why, the effects are significant. In Henson’s native Colorado, bark beetles have begun to destroy large numbers of trees, because the winter nights don’t often get cold enough to destroy their embryos. When high school kids are old enough to drive, they can also think about how winter weather affects their personal safety, says Henson. Despite all the hype about big storms, he says, simply driving “is probably the most dangerous thing about winter.” According to the US Department of Transportation, one in five auto accidents are weather related. So next time conversation is dragging at the dinner table, call up an old favorite subject. You might be surprised how interesting it is. ## Transcript [00:00] If you are enjoying the unusually warm winter this [00:02] holiday season, you have a strong El Nino effect. The [00:05] phenomenon occurs when trade winds don't push as [00:07] much warm water toward Asia and Australia, and as a [00:10] result the portion of the Pacific Ocean near the US is [00:12] hotter than usual. Similar El Nino conditions were [00:14] recorded in 1997, which also saw an unusually warm [00:17] winter. A strong El Nino year doesn't mean hotter [00:20] temps for everyone though. Now. Much of the [00:21] southeast has had and is predicted to have colder than [00:24] average temperatures. What worries many experts [00:26] though are the extreme swings that seem to [00:28] accompany stong El Ninos across the world, such as [00:30] draughts, floods, and wildfires. Meanwhile this year's [00:33] El Nino has been strong enough that experts are [00:35] predicting 2015 will be the warmest year on record. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4155922/how-to-talk-to-your-kids-about-the-weather-really/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4155922/how-to-talk-to-your-kids-about-the-weather-really/"},"headline":"How to Talk to Your Kids About the Weather—Really","datePublished":"2015-12-21T13:05:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:45:10.371Z","description":"Winter is the most interesting time","url":"https://time.com/4155922/how-to-talk-to-your-kids-about-the-weather-really/","keywords":["Living","weather","Parenting","winter","El Nino","kids"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde888dd1adf1b080/69887630f887dc845ee93d53/boy-in-rain.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Carey Wallace","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/carey-wallace/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde888dd1adf1b080/69887630f887dc845ee93d53/boy-in-rain.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"147456175","caption":"147456175","creditText":"Stephen Simpson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4155922/how-to-talk-to-your-kids-about-the-weather-really/","name":"How to Talk to Your Kids About the Weather—Really"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Why You're Not Walking In A Winter Wonderland This Year","description":"This frequently referenced weather phenomenon is to blame.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/BpgDEZ4W/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-12-15T13:41:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/BpgDEZ4W.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4155922/how-to-talk-to-your-kids-about-the-weather-really/","duration":"PT38S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4155922/how-to-talk-to-your-kids-about-the-weather-really/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```