1. Hurricanes and Tornadoes
Severe Weather
Hurricanes and Tornadoes

2. Tornadoes and Hurricanes
A single tornado outbreak or a hurricane can cause billions of dollars in damage, many deaths.
Hurricanes and tornadoes are cyclones; the great majority of cyclones are not these types of disturbances.
Tornadoes and hurricanes are smaller and more violent than mid-latitude cyclones:
Mid-latitude cyclones: 1600 km
Hurricanes: 600 km
Tornadoes: 0.4 km

3. Hurricanes Hurricanes form over tropical oceans
A hurricane is a doughut-shaped ring of strong counterclockwise winds exceeding 115 km/hr (75 mph)
The winds surround an area of extremely low pressure
Strong hurricanes have steep pressure gradients towards the center of the storm.

4. As air moves closer to the center of the storm, its velocity increases.
The eye of the storm is a relative calm area
Hurricanes can live upwards of three weeks

5. A hurricane is a heat engine that is fueled by latent heat stored in the water vapor.
The amount of energy produced by a hurricane in a day is equal to US daily electricity use.
The energy warms the air and provides lift for upward movement of air.
This reduces pressure near the surface and makes for more rapid air movement.

6. Hurricane Season
Hurricanes develop in late summer, when ocean temperatures exceed 27°C.
Formation of hurricanes is not clearly understood
Hurricanes begin as mild tropical storms.
Hurricanes lose strength as they move onto land
Hurricanes lose strenght as they move over colder waters

7. Safir-Simpson Hurricane Rating Scale

9. Hurricane Project

10. Materials Each student will be assigned a major hurricane at random.
Some basic materials will be handed out: blank hurricane map, data of storm track, markers, paper

11. Students will do research on the following tasks and present to the class:
storm track: this includes an overhead of the storm track (dates and times)
the storm's path plotted every 24 hours, with air pressure readings plotted above each point, and wind speeds below each point.
loss of life: where, how much, why
damages: where, how much, why
recovery from storm
A list of internet resources (URLs) must be provided

12. Hurricane Irene Storm Track 2011
Date
Latitude
(N)
Longitude
(W)
Pressure (mb)
Wind Speed (MPH)
Aug 21
15.0
59.0
1006 45
Aug 22
17.9
65.0
993 60
Aug 23
19.7
68.8
981 80
Aug 24
21.0
71.9
969
Aug 25
23.5
75.1
952 95
Aug 26
27.7
77.3
946 90
Aug 27
32.1
77.1 75
Aug 28
36.7
75.7
951 65
Aug 29
44.2
72.0
979
Aug 30
53.0
60.0
991 40

13. Lab Report, Presentation
Plot the hurricane track on their map. Indicate the lowest pressure and highest wind speed above and below the data point.

14. Make a double line graph of time on the x axis, pressure on the left y axis, and wind speed on the right y axis.
If you have trouble with the second y axis, see the teacher for help. Be sure to give the graph an appropriate title, and write the appropriate units for each axis.
Answer the questions on the lab report sheet.
Lab Report

15. Questions to Answer
Based on the data set and your graph, what is the relationship between air pressure and wind speed?
What is the origin of your hurricane?
How and why do hurricanes form?
Where did your hurricane make land fall? Which states/countries did it pass through?
What kind of damage did you hurricane cause, and where?
Describe the loss of life caused by the storm, and the conditions that led to deaths.

16. Tornadoes Most terrifying weather phenomena Short duration (minutes)
Rotating funnel of air that extends downward from a cumulonimbus cloud

17. 300 mi/hr winds
Pressure drops of 25 mb – 200 mb
Usually less than 1 mile in diameter
Occur when strong cold fronts encounter moist warm air.
tornadoes in the US every year – most of the world’s tornadoes happen here!

18. Flying Debris

19. Weather Test, Thursday 12/1
Types of Energy Transfer (p.484)
Radiation, Conduction, Convection
Temperature measurements, conversions (p.491)
Structure of the Atmosphere
Atmospheric composition (p. 480)
Temperature layers, using reference table (p. 481)
Weather maps: Isolines, Isotherms, Isobars (p. 492)
Dew Point and Relative Humidity (p ) 
Dew point and RH determination, reference table p.12
Rain Shadow Effect (p )

20. Rest of the Test p. 321-328 Air movement, winds
p Weather forcasting
p Weather Maps, Source Regions, Air Mass Tracks, Cold and Warm Fronts
p Hurricanes, Tornadoes
p Constructed Response Questions

21. Weather Station Problems
 Below there are four sets of partial weather station data from the same date and time.
Reconstruct air pressure readings for all four cities.
Niagara Falls______________
Utica____________________
Syracuse_________________
New York City_____________

22. Give three reasons why Utica is likely to experience precipitation under current conditions.

23. New York City experienced a wind blowing from the south at 10 knots with hazy conditions limiting visibility to 3/4th of a mile. On a weather station model, in proper location and format, place the information below:
wind direction - present weather
wind speed - visibility

24. The diagram below shows conditions that commonly cause fog to form over land in a coastal area.
A weather station at the lighthouse records a temperature of 36°F and an air pressure of mb. Using the proper weather map symbols, place the following information in the correct position on a weather station model.
present weather air pressure wind speed
dew point wind direction

25. The following weather conditions were recorded at LaGuardia Airport in Queens by the station model below. There are 8 measurements on this station model. Identify each one below, including the measurement. 1 5 2 6 3 7 4 8