ScienceGrade 3

Why Can the Weather Be Different at the Same Time? Compare Two Cities

Weather is what's happening in the sky RIGHT NOW in ONE place — it is not the same everywhere.

Learning Objective

Kids will understand that weather is LOCAL — it depends on where a place is (how close to the ocean, how high up, how much moisture is nearby) — so two cities in the very same state, at the very same moment, can have completely different weather. TEKS 3.10A (weather patterns, measuring weather over time) / NGSS 3-ESS2-2 (describe climates in different regions).

What You'll Learn

Being close to a big body of water (like the Gulf of Mexico) adds moisture to the air = more rain,
Being far from water and high up (desert, mountains) = dry air, big temperature swings, less rain.
Two cities in the SAME state can have totally different weather at the SAME time for these

Words to Know

Weather: What the sky is doing right now in one place — rainy, sunny, hot, cold; "The weather in Houston today is hot and rainy."
Humidity: How much water is floating in the air, making it feel sticky; "Houston's air has so much humidity it feels wet even when it's not raining."
Elevation: How high up a place is above sea level; "El Paso has a much higher elevation than Houston."
Climate: The usual weather pattern a place has over a long time; "El Paso's climate is dry and desert-like all year."
Gulf of Mexico: The big body of ocean water next to the Texas coast; "Winds blow over the Gulf of Mexico and pick up moisture before reaching Houston."

Check What You Learned

Quick Quiz

1 / 5

Which city gets much more rain each year?

Fun Facts

Houston averages about 50 inches of rain a year, while El Paso averages only about 9 inches a year — despite both being Texas cities
Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals
El Paso sits about 3,740 feet above sea level, while Houston sits only about 50 feet above sea level
Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System
El Paso's dry desert air can swing more than 30 degrees Fahrenheit between afternoon high and nighttime low on a single day, far more than Houston's typical daily swing
Source: National Weather Service El Paso climate summary
In a straight line, El Paso, Texas is closer to San Diego, California than it is to Houston, Texas
Source: calculated great-circle distance from published city coordinates, National Geodetic Survey
Houston's closeness to the Gulf of Mexico adds moisture to the air that blows over it, which is a major reason for its humid, rainy climate
Source: NOAA National Weather Service, "Climate of Texas" regional summary

Lesson Info

Grade 3

2026-10-18

Standards Alignment

TEKS 3.10A
Measure, record, and graph weather information, including temperature, wind conditions, precipitation, and cloud cover, in order to identify patterns in the data
3-ESS2-2
Obtain and combine information to describe climates in different regions of the world