AnthonyMedeiros

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?Texashasthemostwithabout120each
year.
Step2:Clickonthe#2.Readtheinformationinthegraybox,andanswerthefollowingquestions.
1. Whataresupercells?Supercellsarelargethunderstormsthathavewindsalreadyinrotation.
2. WheredomosttornadoesinAmericaoccur?MosttornadoesoccurinTornadoAlleythatstretches
fromTexastoNebraskaandincludesColorado,Iowa,Indiana,Illinois,Kansas,Missouri,and
Arkansas

3. Whydomosttornadoesoccurinthelateafternoon?Tornadosformmostlyintheafternoonbecause
thesunhasheatedthegroundandatmosphereenoughtoproducethunderstorms.
Clickonthenextbuttontozoomintoseeatornado.
4. Whendotornadoesform?Tornadoesformwhenwarmhumidaircollideswithcold,dryair.
5. Whatisanupdraft?Anupdraftiswhenwarmerairrisesthroughcolderairaboveit.

6. Whywoulditstarttorotate?Itwillrotateifwindsmoveverysharplyinspeedordirection.

7. Beforethestormturnsintoatornado,whattypeofclouddoesitbecome?Itbecomesafunnelcloud.

AnthonyMedeiros
Step3:Clickonthe#3.Readtheinformationinthegraybox,andanswerthefollowingquestions.
1. Whattypeofweatheraccompaniestornadoes?Tornadoesareusuallyaccompaniedwith
thunderstormsandhighwinds,andhailisalsocommon.
Clickonseetornadodamageatthebottomofthetext.
2. HowdoestheFujitascalemeasuretornadointensity?ItmeasuresitinunitsF0toF5onitsintensity
byanalyzingthedamagethetornadohasdoneandthenmatchingittowindspeedsestimatedtothe
producedcomparabledamage
MovearoundtheFujitascaletoseetheeffectstornadoesofdifferentintensitieshave.
Clickonthe#4toseeavideoofatornadopassing.
Clickonthe#5toanswerthefollowingquestion.Youwillhavetoscrolldowntoanswerthequestion.
1. Whatisthedifferencebetweenatornadowatchandatornadowarning?Atornadowatchiswhen
weatherconditionsarerightforatornadoandatornadowarningiswhenatornadohasbeensighted.

Clickon#6tomakeatornado.
1.Whatconditionsareperfectformakingatornado?Acolddryairmassandawarmmoistairmass
withvariablewindandfallingpressure.
HURRICANES
Now,youaremovingontohurricanes.Clickonthehurricanesymbolabovethenumbers,andbegin.
1. Howmanymphmustwindsbegoinginorderforatropicalstormtobeahurricane?74mph.
2. Wheredohurricanesform?AtlanticorEasternPacificoceans.
Wheredocyclonesform?IntheBayofBengalintheNorthernIndianOcean.
Wheredotyphoonsform?IntheWesternPacificocean.
Clickon#2,andreadtheinformation.Clickthenextbuttonwhenyouaredone.
1.DoestheeyeofthehurricanehaveHIGHorLOWpressure?Low.
2. Wherearethemostviolentwindsinthehurricane?Intheeyewall.

AnthonyMedeiros
Clickonthe#3.
1. Inthenorthernhemisphere,hurricanesalwaysturnhow?Counterclockwise.
2. Inthesouthernhemisphere,theyalwaysturnhow?Clockwise.
Playwiththeimageofthehurricanetoseea3Dimage.
Clickonthe#4.
1. Alloftherainfromhurricanescancausewhattooccur?Flood,flashfloods,stormsurges,and
landslides.
2.Whatisastormsurge?Itisariseinsealevel.
Clickonthe#5.
Readtheinformation,andwatchthevideo.
Clickonthe#6.
1. Whatisthedifferencebetweenahurricanewatchandahurricanewarning?Ahurricanewatchis
whenahurricaneispossibleandahurricanewarningiswhenahurricaneislikelytohitwithin24
hours.
Clickonthe#7.
Create5hurricanes.
1. Whichonecreatesthemostdamage?Whatfactors?Startingfromspot4,highhumidity,warmair,
andlowpressure.
2.Whichonecreatestheleastdamage?Whatfactors?StartingintheCaribbeanwithcoolwater,low
humidityandpressure.

THUNDERSTORMS
Gotohttp://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/tstorms/ingredient.htm
1. Listthe3ingredientsnecessaryforathunderstorm.Aliftingmechanism,instability,andmoisture.
2. ClickonLifecycleofaThunderstorm.Takenotesoneachofthethreestages.

ToweringCumulusStageCumulonimbuscloudformsandrainfalls.

AnthonyMedeiros

MatureCumulusStage40,00060,000feetwherestrongupdraftsanddowndraftsoccuranddamaging
winds,flashfloods,andlargehailmayoccur.

DissipatingStageThedowndraftcutsofftheupdraftandthestormrunsoutofwarmmoistairto
maintainitselfanddissipates.

3. Whataresomeofthepotentialhazardsofthunderstorms?Lighting,severeprecipitation,tornadoescan
form.

BLIZZARDS
Gotohttp://www.ussartf.org/blizzards.htm
1. HowdoestheNationalWeatherServicedefineablizzard?Itisaseverewinterstormthathasa
combinationofblowingsnowandstrongwindswithlowvisibility.
2. Listsomeofthedangersofblizzards.Windchillmakesitseem35degreescoldercausingfrostbiteand
hypothermia,andtherelowvisibilityfordriving.

3. WhatdowecallablizzardthatmovesuptheeastcoastfromtheMidAtlantictoNewEngland?A
NorEastern.

4. ScrolldowntoKeepAheadoftheStorm
Whatdoesitmeanifeachofthefollowingisissued:
WinterStormWatchHeavysnowandice.
WinterStormWarningSeverwinterconditionsareinyourarea.
BlizzardWarningBlindingsnowwillbeproducedbysnowandwind.

CreateACaneGame

AnthonyMedeiros
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/outreach/games/canelab.htm
CreateACanePostGameQuestion
1. Whatistheidealwindspeedforahurricane?74mph.
2. Whatistheidealtemperatureforahurricane?26.5degreesC
3. Whatistheideallatitudeforahurricane?20degreeslatitude
4. Whatistheidealmoistureforahurricane?Moist
5. Whatisneededtocreateatropicaldepressionintheocean?Allofthesethingsneedtobecorrect.