SevereWeather:Tornadoes,Hurricanes,ThunderstormsandBlizzards

WEBSITE:http://www.nationalgeographic.com/forcesofnature/
Onceyougettothissite,clickonTornadoes
TORNADOES
Step1:Whenthenumber1isdark.Readtheinformationabouttornadoesinthegrayboxandanswerthe
followingquestions.Youmayhavetoscrolldowntoseealloftheinformation.
1. Whatisatornado?
Aviolentrotatingcolumnofair
2. Whichstatehasthemosttwistersperyear?Howmany?
Texas120
Step2:Clickonthe#2.Readtheinformationinthegraybox,andanswerthefollowingquestions.
1. Whataresupercells?
Thunderstormsthatproducetornados
2. WheredomosttornadoesinAmericaoccur?
Tornadoalley

3. Whydomosttornadoesoccurinthelateafternoon?
Itscoolerthere
Clickonthenextbuttontozoomintoseeatornado.
4. Whendotornadoesform?
Lateafternmoon
5. Whatisanupdraft?
Whenwindbluwsupward
6. Whywoulditstarttorotate?
Howandcoldwindsareconflictingagensteachother
7. Beforethestormturnsintoatornado,whattypeofclouddoesitbecome?
cumulonimbus
Step3:Clickonthe#3.Readtheinformationinthegraybox,andanswerthefollowingquestions.
1. Whattypeofweatheraccompaniestornadoes?
noaa
Clickonseetornadodamageatthebottomofthetext.

2. HowdoestheFujitascalemeasuretornadointensity?
Bywindspeeds
MovearoundtheFujitascaletoseetheeffectstornadoesofdifferentintensitieshave.
Clickonthe#4toseeavideoofatornadopassing.
Clickonthe#5toanswerthefollowingquestion.Youwillhavetoscrolldowntoanswerthequestion.
1. Whatisthedifferencebetweenatornadowatchandatornadowarning?
Awatchmeanstherearepresentconditions,awarningmeansthereisatornado
Clickon#6tomakeatornado.
1.Whatconditionsareperfectformakingatornado?Hotandcoldwinds
HURRICANES
Now,youaremovingontohurricanes.Clickonthehurricanesymbolabovethenumbers,andbegin.
1. Howmanymphmustwindsbegoinginorderforatropicalstormtobeahurricane?
Sustained75mileperhourwinds
2. Wheredohurricanesform?
TheAmericas
Wheredocyclonesform?
Australia
Wheredotyphoonsform?
Asia
Clickon#2,andreadtheinformation.Clickthenextbuttonwhenyouaredone.
1.DoestheeyeofthehurricanehaveHIGHorLOWpressure?high
2. Wherearethemostviolentwindsinthehurricane?Ontheoutsideoftheeye
Clickonthe#3.
1. Inthenorthernhemisphere,hurricanesalwaysturnhow?
clockwise
2. Inthesouthernhemisphere,theyalwaysturnhow?
Counterclockwise
Playwiththeimageofthehurricanetoseea3Dimage.
Clickonthe#4.
1. Alloftherainfromhurricanescancausewhattooccur?

flooding
2.Whatisastormsurge?Stormthathappenssofastandsoharditcausesflooding
Clickonthe#5.
Readtheinformation,andwatchthevideo.
Clickonthe#6.
1. Whatisthedifferencebetweenahurricanewatchandahurricanewarning?Awatchmeansone
mighthit,andahurricanewatchmeansoneisnearorgoingtohityourarea
Clickonthe#7.
Create5hurricanes.
1. Whichonecreatesthemostdamage?Whatfactors?
Warmwater,highmoister,hightemperature
2.Whichonecreatestheleastdamage?Whatfactors?
Coldwater,lowmoister,lowtemperature
THUNDERSTORMS
Gotohttp://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/tstorms/ingredient.htm
1. Listthe3ingredientsnecessaryforathunderstorm.
2.
3.
4.

Moisture,
Instability, and
a lifting mechanism

5. ClickonLifecycleofaThunderstorm.Takenotesoneachofthethreestages.
ToweringCumulusStage
Thebeginningprocess,cloudsstackup
MatureCumulusStage
Stongestpartofthestorm
DissipatingStage
Thestormisweakestandwilldissapate
6. Whataresomeofthepotentialhazardsofthunderstorms?

BLIZZARDS
Gotohttp://www.ussartf.org/blizzards.htm
1. HowdoestheNationalWeatherServicedefineablizzard?
Acombinationofsnowandwindcauseingawhiteout
2. Listsomeofthedangersofblizzards.
Cold,whiteout
3. WhatdowecallablizzardthatmovesuptheeastcoastfromtheMidAtlantictoNewEngland?

4. ScrolldowntoKeepAheadoftheStorm
Whatdoesitmeanifeachofthefollowingisissued:
WinterStormWatchthereisachanceofawinterstorm
WinterStormWarningthereisgoingtobeawinterstorm
BlizzardWarningthewinterstormissevere

CreateACaneGame
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/outreach/games/canelab.htm
CreateACanePostGameQuestion
1. Whatistheidealwindspeedforahurricane?
Mediumorlow
2. Whatistheidealtemperatureforahurricane?
26.5c
3. Whatistheideallatitudeforahurricane?
30degreesnorth
4. Whatistheidealmoistureforahurricane?
Verymoist
5. Whatisneededtocreateatropicaldepressionintheocean?
Itneedstobehotandverymoist