Professor Tinkermeister
and the
Wacky, Whiz-Bang,
Weather-Watching Wonder
Presented by the Florida Department of Community Affairs
Division of Emergency Management
Professor Tinkermeister
and the
Wacky, Whiz-Bang,
Weather-Watching Wonder
Written and Produced by
An Integrity Arts and Technology Company
www.integrityarts.com
Illustrated by
Tom LaBaff
This book is a joint project of
The Florida Department of Community Affairs,
Division of Emergency Management and
The Florida Department of Education.
FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF
Community
Affairs
© 2004, State of Florida. All rights reserved.
Professor Nimbus Tinkermeister
was a very smart man. He loved
science. He invented weird machines.
He had a giant laboratory in his garage.
He created his strange and fun inventions there.
One day he heard the weather radio blast,
blast.
“Tornado Watch!”
“Hooray!”
“Hooray”!
shouted the
professor as he
raced up the stairs.
“Now I can try
out my latest
lastes
invention.’
invention.”
He could
in
hardly
and start
wait
to climb in
and start
it up.
The roof opened wide.
He
He floated
foated up
up into
into the
the sky.
sky.
“It
“It works!”
works!” cried
cried the
the professor.
professor. The
The
Wacky, Whiz-Bang, Weather-Watching Wonder
took off.
The professor turned on all
of his warning widgets to full power.
Now his machine would keep him safe.
He zipped right out
into the big,
dark cloud.
Warm and cold air
swirled up and down around him.
The air moved faster and faster.
The storm cloud filled with energy.
He saw
a bright flash.
Lightning!
Then he heard
a big boom.
Thunder!
10
Professor Tinkermeister looked around,
but still no tornado.
The rain fell harder and harder.
“Yikes!
All this water falling at once
could cause big problems in the town.
I better warn people!”
11
The professor put his machine into high gear
and blasted down to the town.
The people were everywhere.
12
“Alert! Alert!”
he shouted into his megaphone.
“There’s too much rain coming.
Prepare for a flood.”
The people jumped into action.
13
People that lived
by the river
put sand bags in front
of their doors.
This would help
keep the water out.
14
They scooted to
higher ground where
they would be safe and dry.
They all paid close attention
to the weather radio
to hear the latest news.
Everyone was safe.
15
“Where are you going,
Professor Tinkermeister?”
aalittle
littlevoice
voiceasked.
asked.“I
“I;m
“I’m searching for a tornado
with my new machine,”
machine.”
replied the professor.
16
He blasted high
into the dark sky.
He wondered, what
what
will I see next?
17
ND
RA
FT
It was a giant storm cloud!
The cloud was bigger than
the town. It was a super
cell. The super cell had
a bump on top. It looked
like a big hat. The
professor headed
right for the
cloud.
W
DO
18
19
U P D RA FT
Whoosh! He was inside the cloud. Suddenly,
the Wonder was covered with frost.
“Oh, my! The water is freezing up here!” he said.
20
The cloud made hailstones. They were small, but
they were growing heavier and heavier.
The professor knew what to do!
21
“The hail stones are
getting too heavy,”
yelled the professor.
“It’s going to hail.
Everyone needs
to get inside!”
22
People hurried.
They took their pets
and ran inside.
They waited safely together.
The hail bounced
on the ground.
It dented cars and rooftops.
It even put a hole
in Spot’s doghouse!
23
The rain and hail stopped.
So did the lightning and thunder.
It was very quiet,
but the dark cloud
hung up above.
24
The sky had changed. Now it was an icky greenish-black. The wind began
to switch directions. The weather radio
blared, “Tornado Warning! A tornado
has been spotted near the town.
Everyone should find shelter.”
25
Then the professor saw it.
The
The super
supercell
cell had
had grown
grown
a long tail of dark wind.
It was spinning around and around.
26
“It’s a tornado!” he exclaimed.
“I must study this closely.”
Off he went.
27
Back
Back in
in the
the town,
town people
people were
were
taking cover. Some kids were
at school. The teacher
moved them into the
hallway to be safe.
It was just like
when they
had the
drill.
28
At home,
families sat
in their bathtubs
without water.
Everyone kept
away from windows.
Spot thought
about his
dog house.
29
30
The tornado zoomed near the town.
It was as loud as a train.
The wind blew very, very fast.
31
But soon the
tornado disappeared.
Luckily, everyone
was safe
because they
knew what to do.
“I hope the
professor is okay,”
okay.”
Mary Laura said.
32
“Quite a mess you have here,”
a voice said.
“Professor Tinkermeister, you’re
back!” yelled Mary Laura.
33
34
“Did I ever tell you this machine is
also a Wet-Weather,Water-Whisking
Whomper?” asked the professor.
“Climb in! Together, we will have
this mess cleaned up in no time.”
And that is what they did.
35
Come along with
Professor Tinkermeister
as he travels in his Wacky,
Whiz-Bang, Weather-Watching
Wonder in search of a tornado.
Learnfrom
fromhis
hisadventures
adventures
Learn
abouthow
howyou
youcan
canprotect
protect
about
yourselffrom
fromthe
thehazards
hazards
yourself
thunderstorms.
ofofthunderstorms.
It all starts with Story!
For more information about this book, contact:
The Florida Division of Emergency Management
www.FloridaDisaster.org
2555 Shumard Oak Boulevard
Tallahassee, Florida
32399-2100
850.413.9900
Prepare and Stay Aware!