Science Saturdays #2
Earth’s Sky
Hurricane Warning – Should You Evacuate?
Lynne M. Bailey
CSD 9 Title IIB STEM Grant
lbaile04@nyit.edu
Agenda
• Paperwork
• Introduction
 Protocols
 Online learning style
test
 Objectives
 Pre-test
• Meterology 101
• Activities
 Weather devices
 Exploring online
activities and
resources
 Post-test
 Reflection and
classroom application
• Share-out
Introductions
• Paperwork done?
• How do you learn?
http://www.educationplanner.com/
 Earthquake preparedness quiz online at
http://www.tvfr.com/ click on “April is
Earthquake Awareness Month” and click on
quiz
• Protocols – leave no tracks!
• Expectations?
Who Could Forget
Essential Questions
• Is there an hurricane in your future? Do
you need an umbrella today?
 Can we predict hurricanes or weather in
general
 How does weather shape geography?
 How does weather relate to basic earth
systems?
 How do hurricanes and other atmospheric
events effect populations?
 Others?
Meteorology 101
• Is it coming your
way?
 Track hurricane path
 Find patterns/causes
• Video (primary)
• The sky above –
•
Earth’s atmosphere
Weather basics
• Weather measuring
•
tools
Other media in the
classroom
 Podcast
 Videos
 Current events
• More about weather
Is It Coming Your Way?
• Using maps, track a hurricane
• Data easily found on the WWW
 Historical tracks:
http://maps.csc.noaa.gov/hurricanes/viewer.h
tml
• Create a hurricane
Where’s It Going?
ADV #
LAT
LON
TIME
WIND
PR
STATUS
27
25.10
-75.90
09/14/09Z
135
927
HURRICANE-4
28
25.70
-76.80
09/14/15Z
125
932
HURRICANE-4
29
26.50
-77.40
09/14/21Z
120
929
HURRICANE-4
30
27.70
-77.90
09/15/03Z
120
933
HURRICANE-4
31
28.80
-78.80
09/15/09Z
120
938
HURRICANE-4
32
29.90
-79.00
09/15/15Z
110
943
HURRICANE-3
33
31.30
-79.00
09/15/21Z
100
949
HURRICANE-3
34
32.90
-78.30
09/16/03Z
100
952
HURRICANE-3
35
34.50
-77.60
09/16/09Z
90
956
HURRICANE-2
36
36.80
-76.00
09/16/15Z
70
967
HURRICANE-1
37
39.30
-74.60
09/16/21Z
55
974
TS
38
41.70
-72.20
09/17/03Z
50
980
TS
39
43.50
-70.80
09/17/09Z
50
984
TS
Year 1999 Tropical Storms
Year 2005 Tropical Storms
Online Cyclone Trackers
•
•
•
•
•
•
Donna 1960
Agnes 1972
Bob 1991
Allison 2001
Floyd 1999
Betsy
Is There a Pattern?
• Where do they form? Tropical storm
basins …
Hurricane Hunters
• Visit the
Hurricane
Hunters
website
Why there?
• Warm water
 Surface water
temperature must be at
least 80o F
• Coriolis Effect
 Caused by Earth's
rotation from west to east
 Try this animation
Hurricane Characteristics
• No fronts
• Winds weaken with height
• Centers are warmer than their
surroundings
• Form under weak high-altitude winds
• Air sinks at the center of a hurricane
• Main energy source is the latent heat of
condensation
• Weaken rapidly over land
Hurricane Structures
• Eye – Calm center
• Eyewall – Surrounds eye,
•
•
strongest winds concentrated here
Feeder /rain bands - long zones of
clouds, showers and thunder
storm activity that get their
moisture over warm water and
drive energy into the storm
Storm surge - mound of water that
is pushed landward by the winds
of a hurricane
Hurricane Identifiers
• Location: begin over tropical waters
• Magnitude: wind speed
• Path: unpredictable, but usually managed
 Watch: 36 hours
 Warning: 24 hours
Hurricane Recipe
Hurricanes from Brain Pop
3.30
Hurricane Recipe
• Four conditions




Low pressure (reinforced by the hurricane)
Warm temperatures (often in summer)
Moist area (over the ocean)
Tropical wind patterns (close to the Equator
Hurricane Growth
• Begin when raindrops condense out of warm, moist air
• Heat is released, which then makes the air convect
• In a low pressure zone near the equator, this can create
•
•
an organized system of clouds and storms called a
tropical depression (low pressure)
As more moist air is swept up and more rain condenses
out, the depression gets stronger, creating a tropical
storm
If enough heat is added to the system, it becomes a
hurricane with strong winds, an eye, and storm surge
Watch One from NASA
• http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ne
ws/topstory/2004/0915isabel/addl.html
Hurricane Categories
Category
Pressure
(mb)
Winds
(knots)
Winds
(mph)
Surge
(ft)
TD
-----
< 34
< 39
Green
TS
-----
34-63
39-73
Yellow
1
> 980
64-82
74-95
4-5
Red
2
965-980
83-95
96-110
6-8
Light Red
3
945-965
96-113
111-130
9-12
Magenta
4
920-945
114-135
131-155
13-18
5
< 920
>135
>155
>18
Line Color
Light
Magenta
White
What’s In Our Sky?
Earth’s Atmosphere
• Five layers
distinguished by
 Thermal characteristics
(temperature changes)
 Chemical composition
 Movement
 Density
Click to Play on the Web
Weather
Current State of the Atmosphere
Driving the Water Cycle
Current Conditions
• Air movement
 Wind speed & direction
•
•
•
•
•
Cloud cover
Air pressure
Temperature
Relative humidity
Precipitation amount &
type
Air Masses
• Large body of air that takes on the
characteristics of the area over which it forms
 Classified according to their source areas
• Fronts are narrow regions that separates two air
•
•
masses of different densities
In the northern hemisphere, in a surface highpressure system, air sinks and rotates in a
clockwise direction
Cold air is heavier and sinks, pushing warm air
up and away
Fronts
• Cold front - Warm air
•
•
•
lifted up over cold air
Warm front - Warm air
displaces cold air and it
develops a gradual frontal
slope
Occluded - Warm air is
squeezed upward
between two cold air
masses
Stationary-neither cold or
warm air advances
Wind
• Sun’s energy activates
•
wind
Jet streams
 Narrow bands of fast,
high-altitude westerly
winds are called jet
streams
 Earth has two
• Coriolis forces due to
Earth’s rotation effect
patterns
Temperature
• How fast or slow molecules are moving
 Faster = warmer
 Slower = colder
Humidity: Water Vapor in Air
• Ratio of water vapor in a volume of air
relative to how much water vapor that
volume of air is capable of holding is
called relative humidity
• Troposphere layer of the
atmosphere contains most
of the water vapor in
Earth's atmosphere
Clouds
• Condensation around dust and pollen
particles
• Classified by altitude of formation and
shape
• When condensation takes place, latent
heat is released and warms the air
• Four basic types: cirrus, nimbus,
cumulous, and stratus
How Clouds Form
• When air is cooled to its dewpoint or the
temperature, if the air is cooled, it
reaches saturation.
• Air can reach saturation in a number of
ways, most commonly
through lifting
Air Pressure
• High-pressure systems usually associated
with fair weather
• Low-pressure systems associated with
clouds and precipitation
Precipitation
• Various forms and amounts
 Rain, snow, sleet, hail, fog
• Water cycle interaction




Evaporation & transpiration
Condensation
Precipitation
Runoff,
ground water
Water Vapor in the Air
Weather Tools
For the Classroom
Go to http://www.k12science.org/
Click on Curriculum> Real Time
Data Projects> Weather Scope>
Student Activities
Anemometer
Procedure (click image)
• Blow on the anemometer or turn an
electric fan on low to make sure that it
spins easily
• How many times the anemometer will spin
in one minute?
• Can you make a statement connecting the
number of spins of your anemometer and
the speed of the wind?
How it Works
• NOTE: When using this
• Four cups catch the
•
•
•
wind and cause the
anemometer to spin
Cups inward curve
receives most of the
force of the wind
That's what makes
the cups move
More spins per
minute, the greater
the wind velocity
•
anemometer, 10 turns
per minute means the
wind speed is about one
mile per hour.
Very useful to use a
commercial anemometer
to calculate a better
determination
 For example, "when our
anemometer read 20
spins a minute, the
commercial anemometer
read 2 miles per hour."
Beaufort Wind Scale
• Wind speed measured on a scale of 0-12
based on visual clues originally developed
in 1806 by Sir Francis Beaufort
• Developed rating system to make accurate
recording of wind speed
• Developed for sailors, but modified by the
National Weather Service for use on land
http://www.k12science.org/curriculum/weatherproj2/en/popup/beaufort.shtml
Beauf
ort
Force
Wind
Speed
KmPH
Wind
Speed
MPH
0
0-2
0-1
Calm; smoke rises vertically.
Calm
1
2-5
1-3
Shown by direction of wind smoke drift, but not by wind
vanes.
Light
2
6-12
4-7
Wind felt on face, leaves rustle; ordinary vanes moved by
wind.
Light
3
13-20
8-12
Leaves and small twigs in constant motion; wind extends
light flag.
Gentle
4
21-29
13-18
Raises dust and loose paper; small branches are moved.
Moderate
5
30-39
19-24
Small trees in leaf begin to sway; crested wavelets form on
inland waters.
Fresh
6
40-50
25-31
Large branches in motion; whistling heard in telephone
wires; umbrellas used with difficulty.
Strong
7
51-61
32-38
Whole trees in motion; inconvenience felt walking against
the wind.
Strong
8
62-74
39-46
Breaks twigs off trees; generally impedes progress.
Gale
9
75-87
47-54
Slight structural damage.
Gale
10
88-101
55-63
Seldom experienced inland; trees uprooted; considerable
structural damage occurs.
11
102-116
64-72
Very rarely experienced inland; accompanied by
widespread damage.
Whole gale
12
117 or
more
73 or
more
Very rarely experienced; accompanied by widespread
damage.
Hurricane
Indicators
Terms Used in
NWS
Forecasts
Whole gale
Dry Barometer
Measure Air Pressure
• How does this measure air
pressure?
 High pressure will make
the balloon seal dip
causing the straw go up
 Low pressure will make the
balloon puff up causing the
straw to go down
Barometer
• Air moves from
high pressure to
low pressure
Thermometer
• Measures temperature
• Temperature is a measure
of how fast or slow
molecules move
Rain Gauge
• Measures amount of rain
• You can also build a snow
gauge
Wind Vane
• Record the wind’s direction
Measure Relative Humidity:
Sling Psychrometer
• Measures relative humidity
http://www.miamisci.org/hurricane/psychr
ometer.html
• Relative humidity is the amount of
moisture in the air/divided by the
maximum amount the air can hold.
• The higher the relative humidity is, the
more likely it is to rain.
Some Student Work
Weather Stations
• http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/ww
atch/
• http://www.k12science.org/curriculum/we
atherproj2/en/activity1.shtml
• http://www.miamisci.org/hurricane/weath
erstation.html
• http://www.cdli.ca/CITE/weather.htm#Too
ls
Recording & Predicting
Sample Station Plot
Weather Observations Chart
• Hand-out
• On the web at
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/weather/Ob
servationChart.html
• Tips on reading weather maps
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/weather/Reading
MapsTips.html
Electronic Desktop Projects
• For early grades
 http://weathereye.kgan.com/cadet/forecast/activity.ht
ml
 http://www.edheads.org/activities/weather/
 http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/wwatch/investi
gate/weather_maker.htm
 http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/wwatch/hurric
anes/index.htm
• For secondary grades
 http://www.glencoe.com/sites/common_assets/scienc
e/virtual_labs/ES14/ES14.html (have to create your
own chart); see webquests, too
Exploring Resources
• Web page at wikipsaces.com
 Technoed.wikispaces.com (may be moved)
• What can you use in your classroom?
• How can you apply this science thread in
your subject area?
Reflection and Share -out
• Written reflection or class activity
or
• Add a comment to the blog
http://bronxdip.edublogs.org
More Video
• National Geograhic
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video
/player/environment/environment-naturaldisasters/hurricanes/hurricane-ivancharlie.html
Closing
• Questions
• Evaluations
• Check the blog for these and more
resources
Thanks for Coming!
Lynne M. Bailey
STEM Trainer
917.309.4361
lbaile04@nyit.edu