SevereWeather:Tornadoes,Hurricanes,ThunderstormsandBlizzards

WEBSITE:http://www.nationalgeographic.com/forcesofnature/
Onceyougettothissite,clickonTornadoes
TORNADOES
Step1:Whenthenumber1isdark.Readtheinformationabouttornadoesinthegrayboxandanswerthe
followingquestions.Youmayhavetoscrolldowntoseealloftheinformation.
1. Whatisatornado?Atornadoisaviolentrotatingcolumnofairthatextendsfromathunderstormto
theground.
2. Whichstatehasthemosttwistersperyear?Howmany?Texas,withanaverageof120peryear.
Step2:Clickonthe#2.Readtheinformationinthegraybox,andanswerthefollowingquestions.
1. Whataresupercells?Largethunderstormsthatalreadyhavewindinmotion
2. WheredomosttornadoesinAmericaoccur?TornadoAlley

3. Whydomosttornadoesoccurinthelateafternoon?Thesunhasheatedthegroundallmorningand
theatmospheresomuchthatthunderstormsareabletoform.
Clickonthenextbuttontozoomintoseeatornado.
4. Whendotornadoesform?Whenwarm,humidaircollideswithcool,dryair
5. Whatisanupdraft?Warmairthatrisesthroughcoldair

6. Whywoulditstarttorotate?Becauseofthesharplyvaryingwinds

7. Beforethestormturnsintoatornado,whattypeofclouddoesitbecome?Afunnelcloud

Step3:Clickonthe#3.Readtheinformationinthegraybox,andanswerthefollowingquestions.
1. Whattypeofweatheraccompaniestornadoes?Thunderstorms,hail,andhighwinds

Clickonseetornadodamageatthebottomofthetext.
2. HowdoestheFujitascalemeasuretornadointensity?Itmeasuresthedamagedonebythetornado
andthenmatchesittoanestimatedwindspeedthatcouldcreatecomparabledamage.
MovearoundtheFujitascaletoseetheeffectstornadoesofdifferentintensitieshave.
Clickonthe#4toseeavideoofatornadopassing.
Clickonthe#5toanswerthefollowingquestion.Youwillhavetoscrolldowntoanswerthequestion.
1. Whatisthedifferencebetweenatornadowatchandatornadowarning?Awatchiswhenthe
weatherismostlikelygoingtoproduceatornado,whileawarningiswhenapossibletornadois
sightedorseenonaradar.

Clickon#6tomakeatornado.
1.Whatconditionsareperfectformakingatornado?Warm,wetaircollidingwithcoldanddryair;also
fallingpressureandvariablewinds.
HURRICANES
Now,youaremovingontohurricanes.Clickonthehurricanesymbolabovethenumbers,andbegin.
1. Howmanymphmustwindsbegoinginorderforatropicalstormtobeahurricane?74mph
2. Wheredohurricanesform?OvertheAtlanticOceanorEasternpartofthePacificOcean
Wheredocyclonesform?TheBayofBengalandtheNorthernIndianOcean
Wheredotyphoonsform?TheWesternpartofthePacificOcean
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?(Flash)floodsandlandslides
2.Whatisastormsurge?Ariseinsealevel
Clickonthe#5.
Readtheinformation,andwatchthevideo.
Clickonthe#6.
1. Whatisthedifferencebetweenahurricanewatchandahurricanewarning?Ahurricanewatchis
whenthereisathreatofahurricanewhileawarningiswhenahurricaneislikelytohitin24hours.
Clickonthe#7.
Create5hurricanes.
1. Whichonecreatesthemostdamage?Whatfactors?Option2and3.Warmtemperature,high
humidity,andlowpressure.
2.Whichonecreatestheleastdamage?Whatfactors?Option4.Coldtemperature,lowhumidity,
andhighpressure.

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

ToweringCumulusStageBeginstogrowverticallytoamaxheightof20,000feet(6km).Airwithin
thecloudisdominatedbyupdraftwithsometurbulenteddiesaroundtheedges.

MatureCumulusStageConsiderabledepth,oftenreaching40,000to60,000feet(12to18km).Strong
updraftsanddowndraftscoexist.Mostdangerousstagewhentornadoes,largehail,damagingwinds,and
flashfloodingmayoccur.

DissipatingStageDowndraftcutsofftheupdraft.Stormcannolongerhasasupplyofwarmmoistair
tomaintainitselfandthereforeitdissipates.Lightrainandweakoutflowwindsmayremain.

3. Whataresomeofthepotentialhazardsofthunderstorms?Flashflooding,hail,anddamagingwinds

BLIZZARDS
Gotohttp://www.ussartf.org/blizzards.htm
1. HowdoestheNationalWeatherServicedefineablizzard?Largeamountsoffalling/blowingsnowfor
anextendedamountoftime,usuallythreeormorehours.Thewindsarenormallygreaterthan35mph
andvisibilityislessthanaquartermileaway.
2. Listsomeofthedangersofblizzards.Hazardousdrivingconditions,windchills,frostbite,and
hypothermia

3. WhatdowecallablizzardthatmovesuptheeastcoastfromtheMidAtlantictoNewEngland?A
Noreaster

4. ScrolldowntoKeepAheadoftheStorm
Whatdoesitmeanifeachofthefollowingisissued:
WinterStormWatchSeverewinterstormconditionsarepossibleoverthenexttwodays
WinterStormWarningSeverewinterstormshavebegunorabouttobegininanarea
BlizzardWarningSnowandstrongwindscombinetoproduceblindsnow,deepdrifts,andlife
threateningwindchill.

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

1. Whatistheidealwindspeedforahurricane?Low
2. Whatistheidealtemperatureforahurricane?26.5degreesCelsius
3. Whatistheideallatitudeforahurricane?530degreesNorth
4. Whatistheidealmoistureforahurricane?Verymoist
5. Whatisneededtocreateatropicaldepressionintheocean?Athunderstorminalowpressurearea