Create a line plot showing temperature (tmpf) over time
Make a histogram of wind speeds (sknt)
Create a box plot comparing temperatures between weekdays and weekends
Bonus: Add proper titles, axis labels, and legends to your plots
Exercise 2: Temperature Analysis
Find the hottest and coldest days in the dataset
Calculate the average temperature for each day of the week
Create a bar chart showing average temperature by day of week
Question: Are weekends significantly warmer or cooler than weekdays?
Exercise 3: Simple Filtering Practice
Determine if any observations occur during nighttime.
Find all observations where it was both clear (skyc1 == 'CLR') AND windy (sknt > 15)
Count how many observations had temperatures above 70°F. What percentage of observations is this? What percentage of days contain a temperature above 70°F?
Challenge: Find the windiest clear day in the dataset
Intermediate Level (Data Analysis Skills)
Exercise 4: Seasonal Patterns
Extract the month from the valid_ET column and analyze seasonal patterns
Create a monthly breakdown of precipitation and cloud cover
Plot how average temperature changes month by month
Research Question: Is there a month that’s particularly cloudy or clear?
Exercise 5: Weather Condition Deep Dive
Analyze all sky condition codes (skyc1, skyc2, skyc3, skyc4)
Create a “cloudiness index” that combines all four sky condition layers
Compare your cloudiness index between weekdays and weekends
Exercise 6: Wind Analysis
Create a scatter plot of wind speed vs temperature
Analyze wind direction patterns (drct) - are certain directions more common?
Find correlations between wind speed and precipitation
Exercise 7: Time-Based Analysis
Analyze hourly patterns - extract hour from valid_ET
Are certain times of day more likely to be clear?
Do weather patterns differ between morning and afternoon observations?
Statistical Question: Is there a statistically significant difference?
Advanced Level (Research Projects)
Exercise 8: Pressure and Weather Prediction
Analyze the relationship between atmospheric pressure (alti, mslp) and weather conditions
Can you predict rain based on pressure changes?
Create a “pressure trend” by calculating differences between consecutive observations
Research Goal: Build a simple weather prediction model
Exercise 9: Comprehensive Weekend Analysis
Define your own “good weather” criteria (temperature range, clear skies, low wind, etc.)
Calculate percentage of “good weather days” by day of week
Perform a statistical test (chi-square) to determine if weekend differences are significant
Extension: How would changing your “good weather” definition affect results?
Exercise 10: Data Quality Investigation
Identify missing data patterns - are certain weather parameters missing more often?
Find potential data quality issues (impossible values, outliers)
Create a data quality report with recommendations
Professional Skill: Learn to critically evaluate data sources
Exercise 11: Comparative Analysis
Research weather data from a nearby location and compare patterns
Do other airports in Virginia show the same weekend effect?
Analyze whether this pattern holds for different seasons
Scientific Method: Attempt to replicate the findings