1. Lesson 2 - Introducing Storms
Inquiry 2.1 – Modeling a Vortex
View images of clouds taken from space and identify patterns in the clouds.
Model the movement of air in a tornado or hurricane.
Create a working definition for the word “vortex.”
Read to learn more about thunderstorms, tornadoes, and hurricanes.

2. Lesson 2 - Introducing Storms
Where did you and your group think most tornadoes and hurricanes occur?
Examine Figures 2.1 and 2.2
A. Think about the reading selection “Views From Space” in Lesson 1. How were the images in Figures 2.1 and 2.2 taken? B. How are the two images alike? C. How are they different? D. What patterns do you notice in the shapes of the clouds? Why do you think these patterns form?

3. Lesson 2 - Introducing Storms
How does air within a hurricane or tornado move?

4. Inquiry 2.1 Modeling a Vortex
Where are most of the glitter and beads?
Where is the movement of the glitter and beads the fastest? Where is it the slowest?
How is the vortex model like a real tornado? How is it like a hurricane?

5. Inquiry 2.1 : Reflecting On What You’ve Done
D. What happened when you first held the model so that the water was in the top bottle? Why do you think this happened? Draw a picture of your results.
E. How did you get the water to flow quickly into the bottom bottle?
F. How did the motion of the glitter and beads change as they moved closer to the center of the spiral?

6. Inquiry 2.1 : Reflecting On What You’ve Done
G. Think about your model as a tornado. What might the glitter and beads represent? What does their movement tell you about the movement of air within a rotating storm?
H. Think about your model as a hurricane. What do you think causes the clouds of a hurricane to spiral?

7. Definition of Vortex
Look at figures 2.3, 2.4, and 2.5, and think about the vortex model that we worked with in class.
Come up with a working definition for the word “vortex”
Vortex

8. Tornado Watch or Warning?
These terms are used to alert the public that a threatening weather system is approaching.
Tornado watch – means that tornadoes are possible. Thunderstorms with high winds and heavy rain that may produce a tornado are in the area
Tornado warning – means that a tornado has actually been spotted or detected by radar
NOAA – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NWR – NOAA Weather Radio
NWS – National Weather Service (branch of the NOAA)

9. Vortex
Is the movement of a liquid or gas in a spiral around a central axis (line around which object rotates: an imaginary straight line around which an object such as Earth rotates).