SevereWeather:Tornadoes,Hurricanes,ThunderstormsandBlizzards

WEBSITE:http://www.nationalgeographic.com/forcesofnature/
Onceyougettothissite,clickonTornadoes
TORNADOES
Step1:Whenthenumber1isdark.Readtheinformationabouttornadoesinthegrayboxandanswerthe
followingquestions.Youmayhavetoscrolldowntoseealloftheinformation.
1. Whatisatornado?Atornadoisaviolentlyrotatingcolumnofairthatextendsfromathunderstorm
totheground.
2. Whichstatehasthemosttwistersperyear?Howmany?EveryU.S.statehasexperiencedtwisters,
butTexasholdtherecordofanannualaverageof120.
Step2:Clickonthe#2.Readtheinformationinthegraybox,andanswerthefollowingquestions.
1. Whataresupercells?Supercellsarelargethunderstormsthathavewindsalreadyinmotion.
2. WheredomosttornadoesinAmericaoccur?MosttornadoesinUnitedStatesoccurinTornado
Alley,aswaththatstretchesfromTexastoNebraska.

3. Whydomosttornadoesoccurinthelateafternoon?Becausebytheafternoonthesunhasheatedthe
groundandtheatmosphereenoughtoproducethunderstorms.
Clickonthenextbuttontozoomintoseeatornado.
4. Whendotornadoesform?Tornadoesformwhenwarm,humidaircollideswithcold,dryair.
5. Whatisanupdraft?Whenwarmairrisesthroughthecolderair,itcausesanupdraft.

6. Whywoulditstarttorotate?Theupdraftwillbegintorotateifwindsvarysharplyinspeedor
direction.

7. Beforethestormturnsintoatornado,whattypeofclouddoesitbecome?Afunnelcloud

Step3:Clickonthe#3.Readtheinformationinthegraybox,andanswerthefollowingquestions.

1. Whattypeofweatheraccompaniestornadoes?Tornadoesareusuallyaccompaniedorprecededby
thunderstormsandhighwinds,aswellashail.
Clickonseetornadodamageatthebottomofthetext.
2. HowdoestheFujitascalemeasuretornadointensity?Itmeasurestornadodensitybyanalyzingthe
damagethetornadohasdoneandthenmatchingthattothewindspeedsestimatedtoproduce
comparabledamage.
MovearoundtheFujitascaletoseetheeffectstornadoesofdifferentintensitieshave.
Clickonthe#4toseeavideoofatornadopassing.
Clickonthe#5toanswerthefollowingquestion.Youwillhavetoscrolldowntoanswerthequestion.
1. Whatisthedifferencebetweenatornadowatchandatornadowarning?Whenweatherconditions
areconducivefortornadoformation,thereisatornadowatchissued.Whenatornadohasalready
beensightedorindicatedonradar,atornadowarningisissued.

Clickon#6tomakeatornado.
1.Whatconditionsareperfectformakingatornado?Acoldanddryairmass,awarmandmoistair
mass,fallingpressure,andvariablewinds.
HURRICANES
Now,youaremovingontohurricanes.Clickonthehurricanesymbolabovethenumbers,andbegin.
1. Howmanymphmustwindsbegoinginorderforatropicalstormtobeahurricane?Atleast74miles
(119kilometers)anhour.
2. Wheredohurricanesform?OvertheAtlanticoreasternPacificOceans
Wheredocyclonesform?OvertheBayofBengalandthenorthernIndianOcean
Wheredotyphoonsform?IntheWesternPacific
Clickon#2,andreadtheinformation.Clickthenextbuttonwhenyouaredone.
1.DoestheeyeofthehurricanehaveHIGHorLOWpressure?Low
2. Wherearethemostviolentwindsinthehurricane?Theringshapedeyewallthatsurroundstheeye.

Clickonthe#3.
1. Inthenorthernhemisphere,hurricanesalwaysturnhow?Counterclockwise
2. Inthesouthernhemisphere,theyalwaysturnhow?Clockwise
Playwiththeimageofthehurricanetoseea3Dimage.
Clickonthe#4.
1. Alloftherainfromhurricanescancausewhattooccur?Theheavyrainscancausefloods,flash
floods,andlandslidesthataffectanareamuchlargerthanthattouchedbythestormitself.
2.Whatisastormsurge?Ariseinthesealevel.
Clickonthe#5.
Readtheinformation,andwatchthevideo.
Clickonthe#6.
1. Whatisthedifferencebetweenahurricanewatchandahurricanewarning?Ifahurricaneposesa
possiblethreat,theNationalHurricaneCenterissuesahurricanewatch.Onceitsdeterminedthata
hurricaneislikelytohitwithin24hours,ahurricanewarningisissued.
Clickonthe#7.
Create5hurricanes.
1. Whichonecreatesthemostdamage?Whatfactors?Warmair,lowpressure,andhighwinds.
2.Whichonecreatestheleastdamage?Whatfactors?Coldair,highpressure,andlowwinds.

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

ToweringCumulusStageGetstoabout20,000feetinaltitude;airwithinthecloudisdominatedby
updraftwithsometurbulence.

MatureCumulusStageGetsto60,000feet.Strongupdraftsanddowndraftscoexist.Extremeweather
mayoccur.

DissipatingStageWheredowndraftcutsoffupdraftandthecloudstartstodissipate.Lightrainand
weakoutflowwinds.

3. Whataresomeofthepotentialhazardsofthunderstorms?Theycancausemoreextremeweather.

BLIZZARDS
Gotohttp://www.ussartf.org/blizzards.htm
1. HowdoestheNationalWeatherServicedefineablizzard?Blizzardsareseverewinterstormsthatpack
acombinationofblowingsnowandwindresultinginverylowvisibilities.
2. Listsomeofthedangersofblizzards.Strongwinds,coldtemperatures,whiteoutconditions,andwind
chillfactor.

3. WhatdowecallablizzardthatmovesuptheeastcoastfromtheMidAtlantictoNewEngland?
Noreaster

4. ScrolldowntoKeepAheadoftheStorm
Whatdoesitmeanifeachofthefollowingisissued:
WinterStormWatchSeverewinterconditions,suchasheavysnowand/orice,arepossiblewithinthe
nextdayortwo.
WinterStormWarningSeverewinterconditionshavebegunorareabouttobegininyourarea.
BlizzardWarningSnowandstrongwindswillcombinetoproduceablindingsnow,deepdrifts,and
lifethreateningwindchill.

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

CreateACanePostGameQuestion
1. Whatistheidealwindspeedforahurricane?Lighttomedium
2. Whatistheidealtemperatureforahurricane?Warmseatemperatures
3. Whatistheideallatitudeforahurricane?Neartheequator
4. Whatistheidealmoistureforahurricane?Verymoist
5. Whatisneededtocreateatropicaldepressionintheocean?