FOCUS ON RESEARCH. Conduct an online search to identify four websites focused on weather information and forecasting. Try to find two that appear to be addressed to technical audiences and two addressed to general, nontechnical, “consumer” audiences. Use the sites listed below as starting points.
How are these sites designed to present information to a specific audience? Are these sites designed primarily for one audience or one purpose?
How are secondary audiences and purposes addressed? Which site would be most useful to you if you were a meteorologist working on a weekend forecast? Which would be most useful to you if you were planning a family picnic? Why?
Make a list of the key features of each site that appeal to a specific audience, and present your findings in a brief report to your class. Be sure to consider visual presentation, site design, writing style, and other features (the presence or absence of advertisements, for example) when you analyze the sites.
• www.msc-smc.ec.gc.ca
The official site of the Meteorological Service of Environment Canada, which provides information on current meteorological research, weather forecasts, and publications and links.
• www.weathernetwork.ca
A national commercial weather information site directed at both technical and non-technical audiences. • www.bom.gov.au The official site of the Australian government’s Bureau of Meteorology.
• www.cmos.ca
The Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society website, with links to publications, universities, and organizations dedicated to the study of weather science.