News & Updates January 28th, 2025 | Issue #6

New Data Puzzler Alert: Extreme Cold in a Warming World?

Congratulations to the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles on making it to the 2025 NFL Super Bowl! These two teams have a lot in common...they both have a history of playing in this championship game (this will be the Chiefs third year in a row) and they both are used to playing football in some extremely cold weather! In fact, just last year, in January of 2024, the Chiefs hosted the 4th coldest NFL game in history with game time temperatures hovering around -4°F. The cold temperatures didn't stop the game from being played or Taylor Swift from attending...

Being an avid football fan and pop culture follower, I set out to create a Data Puzzle lesson that uses this football game as an anchoring event by which students explore the difference between weather and climate. I invite you to check it out the new lesson and join me next week to ask questions and learn more!

Weather vs. Climate: Extreme Cold in a Warming World?

Upcoming Webinars

Weather vs. Climate: Extreme Cold in a Warming World?

Thursday, February 6th, 4 - 4:45 pm MT

Join curriculum developer Jon Griffith as he guides participants through the Weather vs. Climate: Extreme Cold in a Warming World Data Puzzle, a 3-day MS/HS lesson in which students explore winter temperature patterns in the context of one of the coldest NFL football games ever played! Students will apply new understandings to construct an evidence-based explanation for the investigative question, "How have average winter temperatures in Kansas City, MO and other parts of the United States, changed over time?"

**Note that the teacher guide has a "Draft" watermark because it has not yet been classroom tested. Interested in providing implementation feedback? Stipends available.

Data Puzzle Connections to Science in the News

Why extreme cold weather events still happen in a warming world

After Earth just experienced it's hottest year on record, it may be surprising to some that many cold records were also set. In this article from The Conversation, Mathew Barlow from UMass Lowell describes how no single weather event can prove or disprove global warming.

EPA Climate Change Indicators: High and Low Temperatures

Check out this graph showing the change in unusually cold temperatures in the contiguous 48 states between 1948-2023. The number of usually cold days has generally decreased throughout the country, particularly in the western United States.

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