When my older children were in pre-school & elemnetary school they loved studying about weather, clouds, & doing little projects that involved the brook behind our house. Even when my son was young he loved learning about hurricanes and we ended up with tons of info on them. So I thought you might like some now...seeing as you and your kids are probably watching the news about the latest hurricane. Hurricanes are the biggest and most powerful of all storms. They are circular and vary in size many of them are roughly 650 km (400 miles) in diameter, and wind speeds can reach 200 km/h (125 mph) or more. Hurricanes form over warm, tropical seas when the water temperature is above 80 degrees Fahrenheit. They do not form on the equator or beneath jet streams. Once formed, they follow a path away from the equator, usually growing in intensity while they remain over warm water. They dissipate over cool water or over land. Such storms are called hurricanes if they form in the Atlantic, cyclones around India and Australia and typhoons in the western Pacific. EXPERIMENT: MODEL HURRICANE (figure available in print form) The clouds around a hurricane form spiral bands. In them water vapor condenses in the warm, rising air. This releases latent heat, helping the air to continue rising. At high altitude the air enters the region of high pressure, adding to the pressure difference between the top and the bottom of the storm. Some of the energy in the cloud is then transferred to the clear air next to each spiral band and increases the wind speed. You can make a ”hurricane” vortex in water showing that spiraling water also forms bands. MATERIALS NEEDED: 1. eye dropper 2. food coloring 3. plastic hand mixer 4. bowl—preferably a clear plastic one 5. water DIRECTIONS: 1. Fill the bowl with lukewarm water. The bigger the bowl, the better. Stir the water gently until it is all moving slowly in a circle around the bowl. 2. Release a few drops of food coloring into the center of the bowl. Watch the color move out and form bands—just as clouds in a hurricane do. (figure available in print form) EXPERIMENT: STORM SURGE (figure available in print form) A hurricane is seen in clouds and winds. Its winds affect the ocean surface. Much of the damage caused by a hurricane is due to the oceans lapping on the shore with great intensity. Rainfall is heavy and winds produce waves up to 15 m (50 ft.) high. This effect is widespread and waves are often much larger than normal as much as 1,500 km (900 miles) from the eye of the storm. Fiercely pounding waves ahead of the storm can be 3 m (10 ft.) high. When the hurricane approaches a coastline, strong onshore winds cause water to pile up in a “storm surge”. If the surge coincides with a high tide, sea water may sweep inland. This experiment shows you how to make a storm surge at home. ADULT SUPERVISION IS REQUIRED FOR THIS EXPERIMENT. MATERIALS NEEDED: 1. electric fan 2. paper 3. grease pencil 4. scissors 5. tape 6. water 7. dishpan DIRECTIONS: 1. Make a funnel out of paper and tape its wide end to fit over the fan. This will concentrate the wind. 2. Fill the dishpan with water to within about 5 c (2 in.) of the brim. Mark the water level at one end of the pan with the grease pencil. Position the fan so that it will blow towards the mark. 3. Have an adult switch on the fan so that the wind blows across the surface of the water. How much does the water rise above the mark at the far end? (This is a “storm surge”.) 4. Now repeat step 3, but tilt the dishpan a little to raise the water level near the mark, creating a high tide. See how much difference the tide make to the “storm surge”. OCEAN CURRENTS (figure available in print form) Warm and cold ocean currents can change the climate of coastal regions, but only when prevailing local winds blow from the sea to the land. Warm currents bring higher temperatures and more precipitation, while cold currents can lower temperatures and shorten growing seasons. Most ocean currents are driven by prevailing winds, but the earth’s rotation deflects them into roughly circular paths, clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. These circular currents, called gyres, are strongest in the largest oceans—the North and South Atlantic and the Pacific. The North Atlantic gyre moves from the warm north coast of South America toward Florida, then east across the ocean, and south off Portugal. The following picture details the main ocean currents. Western currents such as the Gulf Stream and the Kuroshio flows faster than those on the eastern sides of oceans. Off the coast of Florida the Gulf Stream is 50-75 km (31-47 miles) wide and flows at 4-11 km/h (2.5-7 mph). The Kuroshio is about 80 km (50 miles) wide and flows at a speed of about 11 km/h (7 mph). The Benguela current, flowing northward along the west coast of Africa, flows at about 1.0 km/h (0.6 mph). The most constant current is the Antarctic Circumpolar current, which flows through the southern oceans. EXPERIMENT: DEEP-WATER CURRENTS (figure available in print form) The general circulation of water in the Atlantic and Pacific is driven by deep, slow-moving currents of cold water that flow from the poles toward the equator. When sea water freezes, its salt separates from it. Sea ice is fresh, but the water close to it is saltier than other water because it contains the salt that was removed during freezing. This makes the water denser. Water close to the ice is also cold, and this dense water sinks all the way to the ocean floor, flows away from the ice and is replaced by warmer surface water which then cools and sinks. These deep water currents move only 1.5-2.2 m (2-3 yards) a day. This experiment shows you how to make a deep-water current in a dish. MATERIALS NEEDED: 1. ice 2. food coloring 3. eye dropper 4. water 5. glass dish 6. aluminum foil DIRECTIONS: 1. Fill the glass dish with warm water, and leave it until the water has become quite still. This represents a warm ocean such as the mid-Pacific. 2. Wrap some ice cubes carefully in foil, making sure no melted water will be able to leak out. Put the foil package in one end of the glass dish and leave it until the water is still once again. The ice will start to cool the warm water. 3. Place a few drops of food coloring over the foil so the color trickles into the water. What happens to the color as it sinks to the bottom of the dish? This is how deep-water currents carry water toward the equator from the poles.
"Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale" All Hurricanes are dangerous, but some are more so than others. The way storm surge, wind and other factors combine determines the hurricanes destructive power. To make comparisons easier and to make the predicted hazards of approaching hurricanes clearer to emergency managers, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's hurricane forecasters use a disaster-potential scale which assigns storms to five categories. This can be used to give an estimate of the potential property damage and flooding expected along the coast with a hurricane. The scale was formulated in 1969 by Herbert Saffir, a consulting engineer, and Dr. Bob Simpson, director of the National Hurricane Center. The World Meteorological Organization was preparing a report on structural damage to dwellings due to windstorms, and Dr. Simpson added information about storm surge heights that accompany hurricanes in each category. CategoryWindsEffects One74-95 mph--No real damage to building structures. Damage primarly to unanchored mobile homes, shrubbery, and trees. Also, some coastal road flooding and minor pier damage Two96-110 mph--Some roofing material, door, and window damage to buildings. Considerable damage to vegetation, mobile homes, and piers. Coastal and low-lying escape routes flood 2-4 hours before arrival of center. Small craft in unprotected anchorages break moorings. Three111-130 mph--Some structural damage to small residences and utility buildings with a minor amount of curtainwall failures. Mobile homes are destroyed. Flooding near the coast destroys smaller structures with larger structures damaged by floating debris. Terrain continuously lower than 5 feet ASL may be flooded inland 8 miles or more. Four131-155 mph--More extensive curtainwall failures with some complete roof strucutre failure on small residences. Major erosion of beach. Major damage to lower floors of structures near the shore. Terrain continuously lower than 10 feet ASL may be flooded requiring massive evacuation of residential areas inland as far as 6 miles. Fivegreater than 155 mph-Complete roof failure on many residences and industrial buildings. Some complete building failures with small utility buildings blown over or away. Major damage to lower floors of all structures located less than 15 feet ASL and within 500 yards of the shoreline. Massive evacuation of residential areas on low ground within 5 to 10 miles of the shoreline may be required.
How to Use a Hurricane Tracking Map: Meteorologists track the movement of a hurricane using latitude and longitude — and so can you! Latitude measures the distance north or south of the equator. Longitude measures the distance east or west from Greenwich, England, which is at 0 degrees longitude. These can be used to pinpoint any position on the globe. Each horizontal line on the tracking map represents a different line of latitude. These lines are labeled along the right edge of the tracking chart. Each vertical line represents a line of longitude. These lines are labeled along the bottom edge of the tracking map. Sometimes latitude and longitude numbers are given without the "N" or "W" annotations; in this case, positive latitudes are the same as North latitudes (north of the equator), and negative longitudes are West longitudes. How to Plot a Hurricane's Position: If you see a hurricane's position is labeled 33.0N 64.5W, find the latitude line for 33 degrees, and the longitude line for 64.5 degrees, and place a mark on the map. That puts the storm directly over the island of Bermuda. Download an Atlantic Ocean tracking map. The following sites contain the most current hurricane and storm data. Use the longitude and latitude data to plot the storm's position. The list below includes links outside of Scholastic.com We checked each of these links to make sure it was appropriate. But we don't monitor or control these sites and they can change. They also may have links to other sites that we haven't reviewed. Be sure to get permission from your parents or teacher before leaving this site, and remember to read the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use of any site you visit. Unisys Weather Center: Hurricane/Tropical Storm data This site contains current and historical data on hurricanes and tropical storms. You can view weather data and tracking maps of storms by region. Hurricane & Storm Tracking for the Atlantic & Pacific Oceans This site contains current and historical data, animated tracking maps, and satellite images. National Hurricane Center: Tropical Prediction Center Contains data and satellite images of current tropical storm activity.
Learn more about hurricanes at these sites: [*]Frequently Asked Questions: Hurricanes, Typhoons and Tropical Cyclones/Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, Christopher Landsea [*]Tropical storm and hurricane information/Federal Emergency Management Agency [*]Preparing for hurricanes/FEMA [*]Hurricane names/FEMA [*]National Hurricane Center [*]Satellite images, hurricane sectors/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [*]Hurricane Warning! by Jim Leonard, hurricane chaser [*]Hurricane Hunters/53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron [*]A Hurricane Hunter's Photo Album [*]Hurricane Research Division/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [*]Historic hurricane data/National Hurricane Center
Very nice post about hurricanes. I live on a sailboat in Florida and when we are threatened by them we run up the river to a safer inland location. So many people are there that we have big hurricane parties on our boats. We are lucky to be able to move so easily. We ran inland last week, but were missed by this one... sorry for those who got hit so badly.
I have just recently started reading a little about FEMA...not really sure what all they do or what they are all for. I have read some stuff where people liked them & some people don't like them. So was that a compliment or some type of complaint?
No, not a complaint, the people in charge of it now (Bush appointees) don't know a hurricane from a toilet flush. You could straighten out the entire thing, and bring us good things. You know more about the subject and are willing to do the real research, that those who are currently in charge won't do. I admire you. It was definately a compliment.
SHe's having a good time (was home all last week with a cold, that's expected, sadly) she's been tested by the school, and my mom actually gave us some bux to have her tested privately. Probably be double promoted next year, but I don't want her to be 10 and in HS. She is really loving having kids to play with. We have no kids in our neighborhood her age. She LOVES the bus. As we speak, she is doing the tracer sheets that Kathi suggested, lying on the floor at my feet. So, I'm still doing the actual educating. And I plan to continue. (Wow, those are great sheets. She's really enjoying them.) Curriculum night is tonight, so Bear and I will be there with bells on (probably literally, LOL!) She only has half day K, so she is home by 11:00 AM, which is great. We can still spend almost all the day together.
