ATMS 120: Online

Snodgrass

Name and NetID: _________________________

Part #1: Evacuation
You are the director of Emergency Management for the Florida Keys. It is summer 2015 and
Hurricane Joaquin (wah-KEEN), is approaching the island chain from the southwest at 12
miles/hour. The eye of the storm is predicted to sweep along the northern edge of the island
chain, striking Key West first and then destroying each island in succession until ending up in
Key Largo. There is one two-lane road that connects each of the keys to the mainland. During a
hurricane emergency, the southbound lane must remain open for emergency vehicles, so only one
lane is open for evacuation. In the summer, 100,000 people live along the Keys. Past data taken
on the bridge that connects all of the islands to the mainland suggests that cars, during
emergencies, typically hold three people, move no faster than 5 miles/hour and maintain a
spacing of about one car length. Your goal as director is to order the evacuation early enough
so that all of the residents will make it to the mainland by the time the Hurricane strikes
Key West.
Question: How far (miles) must the hurricane be from Key West when you order the
evacuation? (Assume the average car is 15 feet in length.) YOU MUST SHOW YOUR
WORK! (Hint: If all these people pile into their cars to evacuate, calculate how long it will
take for the last car in a big line of cars takes to get from Key West to Key Largo.)

12 mph

ATMS 120: Online

Snodgrass

Part #2: Questions on Hurricane Joaquin.

A reconnaissance flight performed by the hurricane hunter found that the winds in Hurricane
Joaquin were 30 mph at a distance of 40 miles from the center of the hurricane. The satellite
image below showed that the diameter of Hurricane Joaquins eye was 20 miles. Using this
information, along with the example provided in the textbook on page 460 in Fig. 24.22, find
how fast the winds were in Joaquins eyewall.

If it was July 10 when Hurricane Joaquin hit the Florida Keys, would you rank this hurricane
season as below average, average or above average with respect to the number of named
tropical cyclones?
Now that you have found Joaquins fastest winds, what is Joaquins rank on the Saffir-Simpson
Scale? (Circle one). Use Table 24.3 on page 440.
Category 1
Category 2
Category 3
Category 4
Category 5
In what direction are the winds around Joaquin circulating? Clockwise or Counterclockwise.