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SevereWeather:Tornadoes,Hurricanes,ThunderstormsandBlizzards

WEBSITE:http://www.nationalgeographic.com/forcesofnature/
Onceyougettothissite,clickonTornadoes
TORNADOES
Step1:Whenthenumber1isdark.Readtheinformationabouttornadoesinthegrayboxandanswerthe
followingquestions.Youmayhavetoscrolldowntoseealloftheinformation.
1. Whatisatornado?
Atornadoisaviolentrotatingcolumnofairthatextendsfromathunderstormtotheground.
2. Whichstatehasthemosttwistersperyear?Howmany?
Texashasthemosttwistersayear,120.
Step2:Clickonthe#2.Readtheinformationinthegraybox,andanswerthefollowingquestions.
1. Whataresupercells?
Supercellsarelargethunderstormsthathavewindsalreadyinrotation.
2. WheredomosttornadoesinAmericaoccur?
Tornadoalley

3. Whydomosttornadoesoccurinthelateafternoon?
Mosttornadoesoccurinthelateafternoon,becausebythistimethesunhasheatedthegroundand
theatmosphereenoughtoproducethunderstorms.
Clickonthenextbuttontozoomintoseeatornado.
4. Whendotornadoesform?
Tornadoesformwhenwarm,humidaircollideswithcold,dryair.
5. Whatisanupdraft?
Anupdraftiswhencolsairispushedoverthewarmair,usuallyproducingthunderstorms,Thewarm
airrisesthroughthecolderair.

6. Whywoulditstarttorotate?
Itwillstarttoratate,becauseitdrawsinmorewarmairfromthemovingthunderstorm.
7. Beforethestormturnsintoatornado,whattypeofclouddoesitbecome?
Afunnelcloud
Step3:Clickonthe#3.Readtheinformationinthegraybox,andanswerthefollowingquestions.
1. Whattypeofweatheraccompaniestornadoes?
Severethunderstormsandhighwinds.

Clickonseetornadodamageatthebottomofthetext.
2. HowdoestheFujitascalemeasuretornadointensity?
Analyzingthedamagethetornadohasdoneandthenmatchingthattothewindspeedsestimatedto
producecomparabledamage.
MovearoundtheFujitascaletoseetheeffectstornadoesofdifferentintensitieshave.
Clickonthe#4toseeavideoofatornadopassing.
Clickonthe#5toanswerthefollowingquestion.Youwillhavetoscrolldowntoanswerthequestion.
1. Whatisthedifferencebetweenatornadowatchandatornadowarning?
Whenweatherconditionsareconducivefortornadoformationatornadowatchisissued.Whena
tornadohasbeensightedorindicatedonradaratornadowarningisissued.

Clickon#6tomakeatornado.
1.Whatconditionsareperfectformakingatornado?
Cold/Dryairmass,andwarm/moistairmass,fallingpressureandvariablewinds.
HURRICANES
Now,youaremovingontohurricanes.Clickonthehurricanesymbolabovethenumbers,andbegin.
1. Howmanymphmustwindsbegoinginorderforatropicalstormtobeahurricane?
Atleast74mph
2. Wheredohurricanesform?
OvertheAtlanticandeasternPacificoceans.
Wheredocyclonesform?
ThebayofBengalandthenorthernIndianOcean
Wheredotyphoonsform?
WesternPacific
Clickon#2,andreadtheinformation.Clickthenextbuttonwhenyouaredone.
1.DoestheeyeofthehurricanehaveHIGHorLOWpressure?
Low
2. Wherearethemostviolentwindsinthehurricane?
Eyewall
Clickonthe#3.
1. Inthenorthernhemisphere,hurricanesalwaysturnhow?

Counterclockwise
2. Inthesouthernhemisphere,theyalwaysturnhow?
Clockwise
Playwiththeimageofthehurricanetoseea3Dimage.
Clickonthe#4.
1. Alloftherainfromhurricanescancausewhattooccur?
Floods,flashfloods,andlandslides.
2.Whatisastormsurge?
Stormsurgesarethemostdangerouspaartofthehurricane.Asurgeisariseinthesealevelitself.
Clickonthe#5.
Readtheinformation,andwatchthevideo.
Clickonthe#6.
1. Whatisthedifferencebetweenahurricanewatchandahurricanewarning?
Ifahurricaneposesapossiblethreatahurricanewatchisissued.Onceitsdeterminedthata
hurricaneislikelytohitwithin24hours,ahurricanewarningisissued
Clickonthe#7.
Create5hurricanes.
1. Whichonecreatesthemostdamage?Whatfactors?
Warmwater,lowpressure,andhighhumidity,hadmoretimeinwater.
2.Whichonecreatestheleastdamage?Whatfactors?
Warmwater,lowpressure,andhighhumidity,lesstimeinwater.

THUNDERSTORMS
Gotohttp://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/tstorms/ingredient.htm
1. Listthe3ingredientsnecessaryforathunderstorm.
Moisture,
Instability,and
aliftingmechanism.
2. ClickonLifecycleofaThunderstorm.Takenotesoneachofthethreestages.
ToweringCumulusStage
Acumuluscloudbeginstogrowvertically,perhapstoaheightof20,000feet(6km).Airwithinthecloudis
dominatedbyupdraftwithsometurbulenteddiesaroundtheedges.

MatureCumulusStage

Thestormhasconsiderabledepth,oftenreaching40,000to60,000feet(12to18km).Strongupdraftsand
downdraftscoexist.Thisisthemostdangerousstagewhentornadoes,largehail,damagingwinds,andflash
floodingmayoccur.
DissipatingStage
Thedowndraftcutsofftheupdraft.Thestormnolongerhasasupplyofwarmmoistairtomaintainitselfand
thereforeitdissipates.Lightrainandweakoutflowwindsmayremainforawhileduringthisstage,before
leavingbehindjustaremnantanviltop.

3. Whataresomeofthepotentialhazardsofthunderstorms?
Hail,damagingwind,tornadoes,andflashfloods.

BLIZZARDS
Gotohttp://www.ussartf.org/blizzards.htm
1. HowdoestheNationalWeatherServicedefineablizzard?
Blizzardsareseverewinterstormsthatpackacombinationofblowingsnowandwindresultinginverylow
visibilities.
2. Listsomeofthedangersofblizzards.
Travelinginaautomobile,whiteout,strongwinds,andcoldtemperatures.
3. WhatdowecallablizzardthatmovesuptheeastcoastfromtheMidAtlantictoNewEngland?
Noreaster
4. ScrolldowntoKeepAheadoftheStorm
Whatdoesitmeanifeachofthefollowingisissued:
WinterStormWatchSevereweatherconditions,suchasheavysnowand/orice,arepossiblewithin
dayortwo.
WinterStormWarningSeverewinterconditionshavebeguninyourarea.
BlizzardWarningSnowandstrongwindswillcombinetoproduceablindingsnow,deepdrifts,life
threateningwindchill.

CreateACaneGame
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/outreach/games/canelab.htm

CreateACanePostGameQuestion
1. Whatistheidealwindspeedforahurricane?
Strong
2. Whatistheidealtemperatureforahurricane?
Warm
3. Whatistheideallatitudeforahurricane?
Nottonear,butnottoofarfromtheequator
4. Whatistheidealmoistureforahurricane?
Lowmidlevelmoisture
5. Whatisneededtocreateatropicaldepressionintheocean?
Tropicaldisturbancewiththunderstorms.

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