Student Research Reports

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So where has all the snow gone? Why has the weather changed so much in just a few years? The purpose of this project was to research historical data for snowfall, air temperature, and cloud cover for the past thirty years in my urban area for the winter months: December through February. Current data would be collected using the NASA GLOBE Observer app and atmospheric protocols which are uploaded into the NASA database. Current snowfall, air temperature were collected daily using the app and an IRT (noncontact infrared thermometer) through February and recorded in the logbook. Data was analyzed to determine if snowfall decreased over time and if there were any changes in atmospheric condition, that might have caused this. The hypothesis stated that the historical data and the current data gathered will show a decrease over time, making it impossible to generate more snowfall. It is expected that the data will support this hypothesis. As data was being gathered, it was noted that the amount of data to be collected would be far too much for this research timeframe. The data was limited to the current decade. Only data from years 2020 onward were analyzed. This amount was still staggering and very difficult to analyze alone. The results were surprising and did not really prove or disprove but shows possible trends that might lead to a more conclusive answer with a longer time span of data. Further research is vital.