Elberta, Alabama is a small rural town in southern Alabama. Located just miles from the Alabama Gulf coast; Elberta’s geographic location and climatologically factors give its students a unique opportunity to bring actual scientific data into their studies. Coastal Alabama borders a part of the northern Gulf of Mexico that has a high incident of hurricane destruction; high winds, wave action, and flooding cause damage to Alabama’s shoreline, while wind and water damage can extend far inland. Alabama has identified 17 counties (within 100 miles of the coast) as primary Hurricane Risk areas. Since 1900 Alabama has been significantly affected by 12 hurricanes. Elberta Middle School science students begin their studies early in the year, using NOAA atmospheric and oceanic products to analyze the conditions in their area that could lead to tropical system formation. NOAA’s National Hurricane Center provides a site, which is not only user friendly but allows the students an opportunity to view and analyze real -time products. These products include:

· Wind/Wave Forecasts - Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico · Surface Forecasts - Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico · Peak Wave Period / Primary Swell Direction - Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico · Tropical Cyclone Danger Areas -Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico · High Wind/Wave Graphic -Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico · Tropical Weather and Marine Weather Discussions · Satellite Rainfall Estimates · 5-day Satellite Hovmöller diagrams · Upper-Air Time-Section Analysis · Tropical Surface Analysis · Sea Surface Temperature Analyse

Data sites are not restricted to NOAA. NASA provides a number of sites students can use and participate in projects.

Aqua – Earth Observing System · CERES (Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System) · AIRS Atmospheric Infrared Sounder) · Modis (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) Athena Track drifter buoys in the world's oceans, forecast today's space weather, and investigate tropical storms viewed from space.

Elberta Middle School is classified as a Title II school. This classification put a majority of our student population at or below the poverty level. Yet the majority of the students perform in the upper 50th percentile on the science portions of national standardized tests. Data is currently being collected and analyzed to investigate the correlations between the use of real-time data and the improved applications of science concepts across the curriculum.