SevereWeather:Tornadoes,Hurricanes,ThunderstormsandBlizzards

WEBSITE:http://www.nationalgeographic.com/forcesofnature/
Onceyougettothissite,clickonTornadoes
TORNADOES
Step1:Whenthenumber1isdark.Readtheinformationabouttornadoesinthegrayboxandanswerthe
followingquestions.Youmayhavetoscrolldowntoseealloftheinformation.
1. Whatisatornado?
Aviolentlyrotatingcolumnofairthatextendsfromathunderstormtotheground.
2. Whichstatehasthemosttwistersperyear?Howmany?
Texas,witharecordof120peryear.
Step2:Clickonthe#2.Readtheinformationinthegraybox,andanswerthefollowingquestions.
1. Whataresupercells?
Largethunderstormsthathavewindsalreadyinroatation.
2. WheredomosttornadoesinAmericaoccur?
TornadoAlley

3. Whydomosttornadoesoccurinthelateafternoon?
Becausethesunhasalreadyheatedthegroundandatmosphereenoughtocausethunderstorms
Clickonthenextbuttontozoomintoseeatornado.
4. Whendotornadoesform?
Whenwarm,humidaircollideswithcold,dryair.
5. Whatisanupdraft?
Whenwarmairrisesthroughcoldair.
6. Whywoulditstarttorotate?
Ifwindsvarysharplyinspeedordirection.
7. Beforethestormturnsintoatornado,whattypeofclouddoesitbecome?
Funnelcloud
Step3:Clickonthe#3.Readtheinformationinthegraybox,andanswerthefollowingquestions.
1. Whattypeofweatheraccompaniestornadoes?
Severethunderstormsandhighwinds.
Clickonseetornadodamageatthebottomofthetext.

2. HowdoestheFujitascalemeasuretornadointensity?
Byanalyzingthedamagethetornadohasdoneandthenmatchingthattothewindspeedsestimated
toproducecomparabledamage.
MovearoundtheFujitascaletoseetheeffectstornadoesofdifferentintensitieshave.
Clickonthe#4toseeavideoofatornadopassing.
Clickonthe#5toanswerthefollowingquestion.Youwillhavetoscrolldowntoanswerthequestion.
1. Whatisthedifferencebetweenatornadowatchandatornadowarning?
Atornadowatchisissuedwhenconditionsareconductivefortornadoformation.
Atornadowarningisissuedwhenatornadohasbeensightedorindicatedonaradar.
Clickon#6tomakeatornado.
1. Whatconditionsareperfectformakingatornado?
Whenoneairmassiscold&dry,andtheotheriswarm&moist,withfallingpressureandvariable
winds
HURRICANES
Now,youaremovingontohurricanes.Clickonthehurricanesymbolabovethenumbers,andbegin.
1. Howmanymphmustwindsbegoinginorderforatropicalstormtobeahurricane?
Atleast74mph
2. Wheredohurricanesform?
OvertheAtlanticorPacificOceans
Wheredocyclonesform?
OvertheBayofBengalorNorthernIndianOcean
Wheredotyphoonsform?
OverthewesternPacific
Clickon#2,andreadtheinformation.Clickthenextbuttonwhenyouaredone.
1.DoestheeyeofthehurricanehaveHIGHorLOWpressure?
2. Wherearethemostviolentwindsinthehurricane?
Clickonthe#3.
1. Inthenorthernhemisphere,hurricanesalwaysturnhow?
Counterclockwise
2. Inthesouthernhemisphere,theyalwaysturnhow?
Clockwise
Playwiththeimageofthehurricanetoseea3Dimage.

Clickonthe#4.
1. Alloftherainfromhurricanescancausewhattooccur?
Floods,flashfloods,andlandslides
2.Whatisastormsurge?
Ariseofsealevel
Clickonthe#5.
Readtheinformation,andwatchthevideo.
Clickonthe#6.
1. Whatisthedifferencebetweenahurricanewatchandahurricanewarning?
Ahurricanewatchisissuedifahurricaneposesapossiblethreat
Ahurricanewarningisissuedifahurricaneislikelytohitwithin24hours
Clickonthe#7.
Create5hurricanes.
1. Whichonecreatesthemostdamage?Whatfactors?
Thecategory5,formedinmidAtlanticwithlowpressure,highhumidity,andverywarmocean
temperature.
2.Whichonecreatestheleastdamage?Whatfactors?
Category1,formedbytheBahamas,withlowpressure,highhumidity,andverywarmocean
temperature
THUNDERSTORMS
Gotohttp://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/tstorms/ingredient.htm
1. Listthe3ingredientsnecessaryforathunderstorm.
Moisture,instability,andaliftingmechanism
2. ClickonLifecycleofaThunderstorm.Takenotesoneachofthethreestages.

ToweringCumulusStage
Cumuluscloudsbegintogrowvertically,airwithinthecloudisdominatedbyupdraftwithsome
turbulenteddiesaroundtheedges

MatureCumulusStage
Strongupdraftsanddowndraftscoexist.Thisisthemostdangerousstagewhenlargehail,damaging
winds,andflashfloodingmayoccur.

DissipatingStage
Thestormnolongerhasasupplyofwarmmoistairtomaintainitselfandthereforeitdissipates.

3. Whataresomeofthepotentialhazardsofthunderstorms?
Hail,damagingwinds,tornados,andflashfloods

BLIZZARDS
Gotohttp://www.ussartf.org/blizzards.htm
1. HowdoestheNationalWeatherServicedefineablizzard?
Largeamountsoffallingorblowingsnowwithwindsexcessof35mphandvisibilitiesoflessthanof
amile,foratleast3hours.
2. Listsomeofthedangersofblizzards.
Itshardtodrive,blowingwindsandsnowareabadcombination,youcangethypothermiaorfrostbite
3. WhatdowecallablizzardthatmovesuptheeastcoastfromtheMidAtlantictoNewEngland?
Noreaster
4. ScrolldowntoKeepAheadoftheStorm
Whatdoesitmeanifeachofthefollowingisissued:
WinterStormWatch
Heavysnoworicewillfallwithinthenexttwodays
WinterStormWarning
Severewinterconditionsarehappeningorabouttohappeninyourarea
BlizzardWarning
Winterconditionsareexpectedtocausesignificantinconveniencesandmaybehazardous

CreateACaneGame
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/outreach/games/canelab.htm
CreateACanePostGameQuestion
1. Whatistheidealwindspeedforahurricane?
Strong
2. Whatistheidealtemperatureforahurricane?
26.5C
3. Whatistheideallatitudeforahurricane?
20N

4. Whatistheidealmoistureforahurricane?
Verymoist
5. Whatisneededtocreateatropicaldepressionintheocean?
Warmtemperatures,cannotbetoocloseortoofarfromtheequator,lotsofmoisture,alsowinds
needtoblowinthesamedirection