Geography: children should be learning about the effects of weather on people and their surroundings and ways in which the environment is changing.

History: children should learn about the past, including stories and eyewitness accounts.

Science: they should be relating their scientific understanding to the environment.

* Key stage 2

Geography: children should be learning about seasonal weather patterns and weather conditions in other parts of the world, about the changing environment and the effects that people have on it.

History: they should know about changes in the lives of people in different societies and cultures.

Science: they should be able to use their knowledge to interpret a range of phenomena, and recognise that science provides explanations for many of them.

The study of extreme weather conditions presents opportunities to explore these areas in a spectacular context. It offers the chance to look at the way we measure phenomena - using devices such as the Beaufort and Richter scales; and it can be a stimulus to the interpretation of non-fiction texts and to imaginative writing.