Lesson plan
Singularity (climate)
In meteorology, a singularity is a weather phenomenon likely to occur with reasonable regularity around a specific approximate calendar date, outside of more general seasonal weather patterns (e.g., that May Day is usually warmer than New Year's Day in northern locales). The existence of singularities is disputed, some considering them due to seeing patterns in noise and statistical artifacts from small samples. In North America, the most significant purported singularities are January thaw (warmer weather around January 25) and Indian summer (warmer weather in mid-autumn). More fanciful ones include the British tradition that rain on St. Swithun's Day (15 July) will be followed by forty days and nights of rain, and similar folk beliefs around Groundhog Day.
Article summary
In meteorology, a singularity is a weather phenomenon likely to occur with reasonable regularity around a specific approximate calendar date, outside of more general seasonal weather patterns (e.g., that May Day is usually warmer than New Year's Day in northern locales). The existence of singularities is disputed, some considering them due to seeing patterns in noise and statistical artifacts from small samples. In North America, the most significant purported singularities are January thaw (warmer weather around January 25) and Indian summer (warmer weather in mid-autumn). More fanciful ones include the British tradition that rain on St. Swithun's Day (15 July) will be followed by forty days and nights of rain, and similar folk beliefs around Groundhog Day.
Key claims
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.