SevereWeather:Tornadoes,Hurricanes,ThunderstormsandBlizzards

WEBSITE:http://www.nationalgeographic.com/forcesofnature/
Onceyougettothissite,clickonTornadoes
TORNADOES
Step1:Whenthenumber1isdark.Readtheinformationabouttornadoesinthegrayboxandanswerthe
followingquestions.Youmayhavetoscrolldowntoseealloftheinformation.
1. Whatisatornado?
Violentlyrotatingcolumnofairthatextendsfromathunderstormtotheground.
2. Whichstatehasthemosttwistersperyear?Howmany?
Texas,120
Step2:Clickonthe#2.Readtheinformationinthegraybox,andanswerthefollowingquestions.
1. Whataresupercells?Largethunderstormsthathavewindsalreadyinrotation.
2. WheredomosttornadoesinAmericaoccur?TornadoAlley
3. Whydomosttornadoesoccurinthelateafternoon?Sunhasjeatedthegroundandairenoughto
createthunderstorms.
Clickonthenextbuttontozoomintoseeatornado.
4. Whendotornadoesform?
Whenwarmhumidaircollideswithcooldryair
5. Whatisanupdraft?
Whenwarmairrisesthroughthecolderair.
6. Whywoulditstarttorotate?
Ifwindsvarysharplyinspeedanddirection
7. Beforethestormturnsintoatornado,whattypeofclouddoesitbecome?
Afunnelcloud
Step3:Clickonthe#3.Readtheinformationinthegraybox,andanswerthefollowingquestions.
1. Whattypeofweatheraccompaniestornadoes?Severethunderstormsandhighwinds.
Clickonseetornadodamageatthebottomofthetext.
2. HowdoestheFujitascalemeasuretornadointensity?Byanalyzingthedamage

MovearoundtheFujitascaletoseetheeffectstornadoesofdifferentintensitieshave.
Clickonthe#4toseeavideoofatornadopassing.
Clickonthe#5toanswerthefollowingquestion.Youwillhavetoscrolldowntoanswerthequestion.
1. Whatisthedifferencebetweenatornadowatchandatornadowarning?
Warning:whenatornadohasbeensightedorindicatedonaradar
Watch:whentheweatherconditionsarerightforatornado.
Clickon#6tomakeatornado.
1.Whatconditionsareperfectformakingatornado?Cold/dryaircollideswithwarm/moistair,falling
pressure,andvariablewinds.
HURRICANES
Now,youaremovingontohurricanes.Clickonthehurricanesymbolabovethenumbers,andbegin.
1. Howmanymphmustwindsbegoinginorderforatropicalstormtobeahurricane?74milesperhour
2. Wheredohurricanesform?OvertheAtlantic/PacificOcean
Wheredocyclonesform?OvertheBayofBengal/NorthernIndianOcean
Wheredotyphoonsform?IntheWesternPacific
Clickon#2,andreadtheinformation.Clickthenextbuttonwhenyouaredone.
1.DoestheeyeofthehurricanehaveHIGHorLOWpressure?LOW
2. Wherearethemostviolentwindsinthehurricane?Theeyewall
Clickonthe#3.
1. Inthenorthernhemisphere,hurricanesalwaysturnhow?Counterclockwise
2. Inthesouthernhemisphere,theyalwaysturnhow?Clockwise
Playwiththeimageofthehurricanetoseea3Dimage.
Clickonthe#4.
1. Alloftherainfromhurricanescancausewhattooccur?Flashfloodsandlanslides
2.Whatisastormsurge?Mostdangerouspartofthestorm,riseinsealevel

Clickonthe#5.
Readtheinformation,andwatchthevideo.
Clickonthe#6.
1. Whatisthedifferencebetweenahurricanewatchandahurricanewarning?
Watch:whenitcouldbeapossiblethreat.
Warning:whenitismostlikelysupposedtohitinlessthan24hours.
Clickonthe#7.
Create5hurricanes.
1. Whichonecreatesthemostdamage?Whatfactors?Category5
2.Whichonecreatestheleastdamage?Whatfactors?Category1

THUNDERSTORMS
Gotohttp://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/tstorms/ingredient.htm
1. Listthe3ingredientsnecessaryforathunderstorm.
Moisture,Instability,andaliftingmechanism.
2. ClickonLifecycleofaThunderstorm.Takenotesoneachofthethreestages.

ToweringCumulusStagebeginstogrowvertically,airwithinisdominatedbyanupdraft.

MatureCumulusStagestormhasconsiderabledepth,strongupdrafts/downdraftsexist.Flashflooding,
highwindsandhailmayoccur

DissipatingStagedowndraftcutsofftheupdraft.Stormdies

3. Whataresomeofthepotentialhazardsofthunderstorms?Flooding,hail,winddamage,tornados

BLIZZARDS
Gotohttp://www.ussartf.org/blizzards.htm
1. HowdoestheNationalWeatherServicedefineablizzard?Veryseverewinterstorms

2. Listsomeofthedangersofblizzards.Verylowvisibility,strongwinds,winterprecipitation,verycold
temp,frostbiteorhyperthermia.
3. WhatdowecallablizzardthatmovesuptheeastcoastfromtheMidAtlantictoNewEngland?
ANoreaster

4. ScrolldowntoKeepAheadoftheStorm
Whatdoesitmeanifeachofthefollowingisissued:
WinterStormWatchSeverewinterconditions,suchasheavysnow/iceinthenextdayortwo.Prepare.
WinterStormWarningSeverewinterconditionshavebegunorareabouttobegin,stayinside.
BlizzardWarningSnowandstrongwindswillcombinetoproduceblindingsnow,deepdriftsandlife
threatengingwindchills,seekrefugeimmediately.

CreateACaneGame
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/outreach/games/canelab.htm
CreateACanePostGameQuestion
1. Whatistheidealwindspeedforahurricane?Needtobelightormediumandblowfromthesame
direction
2. Whatistheidealtemperatureforahurricane?Warmseatemperatures.
3. Whatistheideallatitudeforahurricane?Nottoofar/nottooclosetotheequator
4. Whatistheidealmoistureforahurricane?Lotsofmoisture
5. Whatisneededtocreateatropicaldepressionintheocean?