SevereWeather:Tornadoes,Hurricanes,ThunderstormsandBlizzards

WEBSITE:http://www.nationalgeographic.com/forcesofnature/
Onceyougettothissite,clickonTornadoes
TORNADOES
Step1:Whenthenumber1isdark.Readtheinformationabouttornadoesinthegrayboxandanswerthe
followingquestions.Youmayhavetoscrolldowntoseealloftheinformation.
1. Whatisatornado?
Aviolentwhirlingcolumnofairincontactwiththeground
2. Whichstatehasthemosttwistersperyear?Howmany?Texas;120
Step2:Clickonthe#2.Readtheinformationinthegraybox,andanswerthefollowingquestions.
1. Whataresupercells?Largethunderstormsthathavewindsalreadyinrotation
2. WheredomosttornadoesinAmericaoccur?ThetornadoalleyKansasMissouritexasand
Oklahoma

3. Whydomosttornadoesoccurinthelateafternoon?Thesunhasheatedthegroundandthe
atmosphereenoughtoproducethunderstorms
Clickonthenextbuttontozoomintoseeatornado.
4. Whendotornadoesform?Accompaniedorprecededbyseverethunderstormsandhighwinds
5. Whatisanupdraft?Warmairrisesthroughthecolderair,causingupdraft.Thiswillbeingtorotate
ifthewindsvarysharplyinspeedordirections

6. Whywoulditstarttorotate?mesocyclonedrawsinmorewarmairfromthemovingthunderstorm,its
rotationspeedsup

7. Beforethestormturnsintoatornado,whattypeofclouddoesitbecome?funnelcloud

Step3:Clickonthe#3.Readtheinformationinthegraybox,andanswerthefollowingquestions.

1. Whattypeofweatheraccompaniestornadoes?SevereThunderstorms
Clickonseetornadodamageatthebottomofthetext.
2. HowdoestheFujitascalemeasuretornadointensity?F0F5
MovearoundtheFujitascaletoseetheeffectstornadoesofdifferentintensitieshave.
Clickonthe#4toseeavideoofatornadopassing.
Clickonthe#5toanswerthefollowingquestion.Youwillhavetoscrolldowntoanswerthequestion.
1. Whatisthedifferencebetweenatornadowatchandatornadowarning?watchiswhentheconditions
arerightforatornado.warningiswhentheresapossibletornadoontheground

Clickon#6tomakeatornado.
1.Whatconditionsareperfectformakingatornado?Airmassshouldbecold/dryandwarm/dry.
pressureshouldberisingandwindsshouldbesteady
HURRICANES
Now,youaremovingontohurricanes.Clickonthehurricanesymbolabovethenumbers,andbegin.
1. Howmanymphmustwindsbegoinginorderforatropicalstormtobeahurricane?
2. Wheredohurricanesform?
Wheredocyclonesform?
Wheredotyphoonsform?
Clickon#2,andreadtheinformation.Clickthenextbuttonwhenyouaredone.
1.DoestheeyeofthehurricanehaveHIGHorLOWpressure?
2. Wherearethemostviolentwindsinthehurricane?
Clickonthe#3.
1. Inthenorthernhemisphere,hurricanesalwaysturnhow?
2. Inthesouthernhemisphere,theyalwaysturnhow?

Playwiththeimageofthehurricanetoseea3Dimage.
Clickonthe#4.
1. Alloftherainfromhurricanescancausewhattooccur?flooding
2.Whatisastormsurge?Makesthehurricanestronger
Clickonthe#5.
Readtheinformation,andwatchthevideo.
Clickonthe#6.
1. Whatisthedifferencebetweenahurricanewatchandahurricanewarning?Watchiswhenthe
conditionsarepossibleandwarningiswhenitsafullgrownhurriicane
Clickonthe#7.
Create5hurricanes.
1. Whichonecreatesthemostdamage?Whatfactors?
2.Whichonecreatestheleastdamage?Whatfactors?

THUNDERSTORMS
Gotohttp://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/tstorms/ingredient.htm
1. Listthe3ingredientsnecessaryforathunderstorm.Moistureinstabilityandliftingmechanism
2. ClickonLifecycleofaThunderstorm.Takenotesoneachofthethreestages.

ToweringCumulusStageairwithinthecloudsisdominatedbyupdraftwithsometurbulenteddies
aroundtheedges

MatureCumulusStagestrongupdraftsanddowndraftsanddowndraftscoexist.

DissipatingStagedowndraftcutsofftheupdraft

3. Whataresomeofthepotentialhazardsofthunderstorms?Ordinarycell,multicellcluster,multicell
line

BLIZZARDS
Gotohttp://www.ussartf.org/blizzards.htm
1. HowdoestheNationalWeatherServicedefineablizzard?Severewinerstorms
2. Listsomeofthedangersofblizzards.icestorms,heavysnowstorms,winterprecipitation

3. WhatdowecallablizzardthatmovesuptheeastcoastfromtheMidAtlantictoNewEngland?
Noreaster

4. ScrolldowntoKeepAheadoftheStorm
Whatdoesitmeanifeachofthefollowingisissued:
WinterStormWatchheavysnowandicearepossiblewithinthenextdayortwo
WinterStormWarningconditionhavebegun
BlizzardWarningstrongwindscombine

CreateACaneGame
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/outreach/games/canelab.htm
CreateACanePostGameQuestion
1. Whatistheidealwindspeedforahurricane?Thestrength
2. Whatistheidealtemperatureforahurricane?Thetemperatureaffectsthedanger.
3. Whatistheideallatitudeforahurricane?Toseewhereitisexactlygoingtogo

4. Whatistheidealmoistureforahurricane?Themoisturecanmixwiththetemperatureandmake
tornadoes
5. Whatisneededtocreateatropicaldepressionintheocean?moistandlowtemperture