Can Animals Predict the Weather? — Reading Comprehension

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This NGSS-aligned reading passage explores how animals might sense changes in the environment before storms or natural disasters. Students learn how animals react to drops in air pressure, humidity, and sound vibrations. Examples include birds flying lower, cows lying down, and sea creatures moving away before tsunamis. The passage highlights how animals may serve as early warning systems and how scientists are studying this behavior. It supports NGSS standard MS-ESS3-2 and promotes science literacy through real-world, observation-based examples from nature.

CONTENT PREVIEW

For hundreds of years, people have believed that animals can sense changes in the weather before they happen. Farmers, sailors, and even scientists have noticed unusual animal behavior just before storms, earthquakes, or other natural events. But can animals really predict the weather?

Animals may not predict the weather in the way humans do with satellites and forecasts, but they are very sensitive to environmental changes. Some animals can detect shifts in air pressure, humidity, and even sound vibrations that humans cannot feel. These changes often occur just before a storm or natural disaster.

For example, birds may fly lower or stop singing before a storm because falling air pressure makes it harder to fly. Cows often lie down before rain, which some scientists believe could be their way of preserving body heat or feeling pressure changes. Frogs and insects become louder before rainfall, possibly because they are more active in humid air. Dogs and cats may act anxious or restless before thunderstorms because they can hear low-frequency sounds from distant thunder.

Some sea animals, like sharks and dolphins, are thought to sense changes in ocean pressure or magnetic fields before hurricanes or earthquakes. In 2004, it was reported that many wild animals moved to higher ground hours before the Indian Ocean tsunami struck—long before people knew it was coming.

While not every animal reaction is reliable, these behaviors give clues about how closely animals are tuned in to their surroundings. Scientists continue to study animal behavior to learn more about how nature responds to Earth’s forces.

Fun Fact: Some ants seal up their nests before it rains, acting like tiny weather forecasters!

What do animals respond to before weather changes?

Human predictionsTelevision signalsEnvironmental changes like air pressure and humidityChanges in food supply

Why might birds fly lower before a storm?

They are hunting insectsIt’s easier to fly in high pressureFalling air pressure makes it harder to flyThey like being closer to the ground

What do cows often do before it rains?

Moo loudlyLie downWalk in circlesHide in barns

Why do dogs and cats sometimes act anxious before a storm?

They dislike waterThey miss their ownersThey can hear low-frequency sounds from thunderThey are hungry

What might sea animals sense before a natural disaster?

Radio wavesMagnetic fields and water pressureWind directionTemperature of sand

What unusual thing happened before the 2004 tsunami?

Animals ran toward the waterWild animals moved to higher groundPets barked for hoursBirds made nests in trees

What is the main idea of the passage?

Animals don’t react to the weatherSome animals can detect changes in the environment before weather eventsOnly pets predict the weatherAnimal behavior is random

How might scientists use animal behavior in the future?

To train animals for TVTo make better pet toysTo study nature’s early warning signsTo change animal diets