SevereWeather:Tornadoes,Hurricanes,ThunderstormsandBlizzards

WEBSITE:http://www.nationalgeographic.com/forcesofnature/
Onceyougettothissite,clickonTornadoes
TORNADOES
Step1:Whenthenumber1isdark.Readtheinformationabouttornadoesinthegrayboxandanswerthe
followingquestions.Youmayhavetoscrolldowntoseealloftheinformation.
1. Whatisatornado?
Atornadoisaviolentlyrotatingcolumnofairthatextendsfromathunderstormtothe
ground.
2. Whichstatehasthemosttwistersperyear?Howmany?
Texas;anannualaverageof120tornadoes.
Step2:Clickonthe#2.Readtheinformationinthegraybox,andanswerthefollowingquestions.
1. Whataresupercells?
Supercellsarelargethunderstormsthathavewindsalreadyinrotation.
2. WheredomosttornadoesinAmericaoccur?
MosttornadoesintheUSoccurintornadoalley,aswatchthatstretchesfromTexasto
NebraskaandalsoincludesColorado,Iowa,Indiana,Illinois,Kansas,Missouri,andArkansas.
3. Whydomosttornadoesoccurinthelateafternoon?
Becausebytheafternoonthesunhasheatedthegroundandatmosphereenoughtoproduce
thunderstorms.
Clickonthenextbuttontozoomintoseeatornado.
4. Whendotornadoesform?
Tornadoesformwhenwarmaircollideswithcold,dryair.
5. Whatisanupdraft?
Whenwarmairrisesthroughthecolderair.
6. Whywoulditstarttorotate?
Theupdraftwillbegintorotateifwindsvarysharplyinspeedordirection.
7. Beforethestormturnsintoatornado,whattypeofclouddoesitbecome?
Funnelcloud.
Step3:Clickonthe#3.Readtheinformationinthegraybox,andanswerthefollowingquestions.
1. Whattypeofweatheraccompaniestornadoes?
Severethunderstorms,highwinds,andhailisalsocommon.
Clickonseetornadodamageatthebottomofthetext.
2. HowdoestheFujitascalemeasuretornadointensity?

Byanalyzingthedamageatornadohasdoneandthenmatchingthattothewindspeeds
estimatedtoproducecomparabledamage.
MovearoundtheFujitascaletoseetheeffectstornadoesofdifferentintensitieshave.
Clickonthe#4toseeavideoofatornadopassing.
Clickonthe#5toanswerthefollowingquestion.Youwillhavetoscrolldowntoanswerthequestion.
1. Whatisthedifferencebetweenatornadowatchandatornadowarning?
Whenweatherconditionsareconductiveforatornado,atornadowatchisissued.Whena
tornadohasbeensighted,orindicatedontheradaratornadowarningisissued.
Clickon#6tomakeatornado.
1. Whatconditionsareperfectformakingatornado?
Airmass1hastobecoldanddryandairmass2hastobewarmandmoist.Thepressure
needstobefallingandthewindsspeedsmustbevarying.
HURRICANES
Now,youaremovingontohurricanes.Clickonthehurricanesymbolabovethenumbers,andbegin.
1. Howmanymphmustwindsbegoinginorderforatropicalstormtobeahurricane?
Atleast74mph.
2. Wheredohurricanesform?
WhenthedevelopovertheAtlanticoreasternPacific.
Wheredocyclonesform?
WhentheformovertheBayofBengalorthenorthernIndianocean.
Wheredotyphoonsform?
WhenthedevelopinthewesternPacific.
Clickon#2,andreadtheinformation.Clickthenextbuttonwhenyouaredone.
1. DoestheeyeofthehurricanehaveHIGHorLOWpressure?
Lowpressure.
2. Wherearethemostviolentwindsinthehurricane?
Theeyewall.
Clickonthe#3.
1. Inthenorthernhemisphere,hurricanesalwaysturnhow?
Counterclockwise.
2. Inthesouthernhemisphere,theyalwaysturnhow?
Clockwise.
Playwiththeimageofthehurricanetoseea3Dimage.

Clickonthe#4.
1. Alloftherainfromhurricanescancausewhattooccur?
Theheavyrainscancausefloods,flashfloods,andlandslides.
2. Whatisastormsurge?
Astormsurgeisariseinthesealevelitself.

Clickonthe#5.
Readtheinformation,andwatchthevideo.
Clickonthe#6.
1. Whatisthedifferencebetweenahurricanewatchandahurricanewarning?
Ifahurricaneposesapossiblethreat,ahurricanewatchisissued.Ifitisdetermineda
hurricaneislikelytohitinthenext24hours,ahurricanewarningisissued.
Clickonthe#7.
Create5hurricanes.
1. Whichonecreatesthemostdamage?Whatfactors?
Highhumidity,lowpressureandwarmoceanwater.
2. Whichonecreatestheleastdamage?Whatfactors?
Lowerhighhumidity,higherlowpressure,coolerwarmoceanwater,lessrain,andlesshigh
winds.
THUNDERSTORMS
Gotohttp://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/tstorms/ingredient.htm
1. Listthe3ingredientsnecessaryforathunderstorm.
Moisture,instability,andaliftingmechanism.
2. ClickonLifecycleofaThunderstorm.Takenotesoneachofthethreestages.

ToweringCumulusStage
Acumuluscloudbeginstogrowvertically,perhapsto20,000feet.
Airwithinthecloudisdominatedbyanupdraftwithsometurbulenteddiesaroundtheedges.
MatureCumulusStage
Thestormhasconsiderabledepth,oftenreaching40,000to60,000feet.Strongupdraftsand
downdraftscoexist.Thisisthemostdangerousstagewhenlargehail,damagingwinds,andflash
floodingmayoccur.
DissipatingStage
Thedowndraftcutsofftheupdraft.Thestormnolongerhasasupplyofwarmmoistairto
maintainitselfandthereforeitdissipates.Lightrainandweakoutflowwindsmayremainfora
whileduringthisstage,beforeleavingbehindjustaremnantanviltop.

3. Whataresomeofthepotentialhazardsofthunderstorms?
Largehail,damagingwinds,andflooding.

BLIZZARDS
Gotohttp://www.ussartf.org/blizzards.htm
1. HowdoestheNationalWeatherServicedefineablizzard?
Blizzardsareseverewinterstormsthatpackacombinationofblowingsnowandwindresultingin
verylowvisibilities.
2. Listsomeofthedangersofblizzards.
Travelinginanautomobilecanbeextremelydangerousorevenimpossibleduetowhiteout
conditionsanddriftingsnow.Thestrongwindsandcoldtemperaturesalsocreateanotherdanger.
Hypothermiaisapossibleriskduetoexposuretolowwindchills.
3. WhatdowecallablizzardthatmovesuptheeastcoastfromtheMidAtlantictoNewEngland?
Noreaster.
4. ScrolldowntoKeepAheadoftheStorm
Whatdoesitmeanifeachofthefollowingisissued:
WinterStormWatchSevereweatherconditions,suchassnowand/orice,arepossiblewithinthe
nextdayortwo.Preparenow!
WinterStormWarningSeverewinterconditionshavebegunorareabouttobegininyourarea.
Stayindoors!
BlizzardWarningSnowandstrongwindswillcombinetoproduceablindingsnow(nearzero
visibility),deepdrifts,andlifethreateningwindchill.Seekrefuge!

CreateACaneGame
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/outreach/games/canelab.htm
CreateACanePostGameQuestion
1. Whatistheidealwindspeedforahurricane?
Lightormediumwindspeeds,blowingfromthesamedirectionatalllevels.
2. Whatistheidealtemperatureforahurricane?
Warmseatemperaturesareneededforahurricanetoform.
3. Whatistheideallatitudeforahurricane?

Hurricanescannotforminareasthataretoocloseortoofarfromtheequator.
4. Whatistheidealmoistureforahurricane?
Lowandmidlevelmoisture.
5. Whatisneededtocreateatropicaldepressionintheocean?
Atropicaldisturbance.