Science Comics: Wild Weather: Storms, Meteorology, and Climate Hardcover – April 16, 2019

The local news team is preparing viewers for a coming snow storm. When meteorologist Stormin’ Norman gets fed up with the vapid host and his “joke” about cold weather disproving global warming, he lets loose a ton of knowledge about how weather works.It’s the character interplay — and their simplified, expressive designs — that make this so readable. Seeing Norman spin Chase McCloud around in his chair to illustrate how the Earth’s orbit creates seasons is a hoot! We also learn* why the study of weather is called meteorology* how landscape and atmosphere affect temperature* warm and cold fronts* the formation and effects of tornadoes and hurricanes* whether Chase should be afraid of “shark-filled cyclones” (I guess sharknado was trademarked)* different types of precipitation and how they form* the effects of climate change, particularly flooding* how to make rainbowsThe visuals are clever and imaginative, with air masses of different temperature represented by wrestlers and a walk underwater, among many other scenes. It’s a pleasure to see what’s coming over the next page.This volume is a bit lighter on some of the deeper scientific concepts than some of the other titles in the series, which some readers may appreciate. There isn’t a lot of complicated terminology. This is more of a survey, touching briefly on a large number of topics, and surprisingly, it doesn’t deal much with how weather forecasting works. I would have liked to have seen much more about lightning and thunder, but the humor in the character interactions still made this worth reading.The book also has a short glossary, a couple of pages on weather tools, a few pages on how to prepare for an emergency, and a fascinating text section on debunking weather myths. (The publisher provided a review copy. Review originally posted at ComicsWorthReading.com.)

Join the crew at Action News - Chase McCloud, Connie Trales, Randi Billows, and Stormin' Norman Weatherby as they find out all about weather and climate. When Snowpocalypse 20XX hits, the entire TV station is excited about the forecast, although Chase thinks that snow days prove there is no such thing as global warming. That gets Stormin' Norman a bit hot under t he collar and he decides to educate Chase and their viewing audience about how weather on Earth actually works. Lucky for us - because we get to share in the knowledge.With colorful and entertaining illustrations, "Normans_Middle_School_Presentation" explains basics like the water cycle, various cloud formations, and how the Fujita scale measures the speed of tornadoes. But this meteorologist goes beyond those basics to spell out how air pressure, jet streams, pressure fronts, and yes...he does explain the idea of climate change to Chase. (Chase is also very worried about the possibility of a sharknado.)Clear explanations combined with the illustrations make the information very easy to understand. Back matter includes a glossary, an explanation of weather tools, and a section that debunks quite a few wild weather myths. This series has the double advantage of appealing to those who already have an interest in the subject while also drawing in those who enjoy graphic novels of all sorts.I read an e-book provided by the publisher for review purposes.