4 Types of Storms
I.) Tornadoes
II.) Hurricanes
III.) Blizzards
IV.) Thunderstorms
Q1. What are tornadoes?
-Tornado = A narrow, violent funnel-shaped
column of spiral winds that extends
downward from the cloud base toward the
Earth.
Q2: Do they have high or low pressure?
- Pressure= very low (less than 29.00 in)
- Maximum Winds= F-5 tornado
(261 mph to 318 mph)
- Average Diameter= 650 feet- 1800 feet
100 yard football field= 300 feet
What does a tornado look like?
Description: One of several tornadoes observed by the en:VORTEX-99 team on en:May 3, en:1999, in central en:Oklahoma. Note the
tube-like condensation funnel, attached to the rotating cloud base, surrounded by a translucent dust cloud.From this website.
en:Category:Tornadoes Source: Originally from en.wikipedia; description page is/was here.Date: 2006-07-30 (original upload date)
Author: Original uploader was Runningonbrains at en.wikipediaPermission
(Reusing this image)PD-USGOV-DOC-NOAA; PD-USGOV-NOAA.
What does
a tornado
look like??
Fujita Wind Speed Damage caused
Scale
F-0
0-73 mph
Roof tiles fly off
F-1
F-2
F-3
75-113 mph
Can lift mobile
homes
113-158 mph Uproots trees and
rips roofs off of
houses
158-208mph Can lift a train
 http://www.tornadoproject.com/fscale/fscale.
htm#fscale%20table
http://www.orato.com/lifestyles/2008/04/17/incredibletornado-video
Q3: How are tornadoes
measured? Fujita Scale
By the amount of damage
caused or by the wind speed.
- It must have a lifetime of 3 minutes to be
considered a tornado.
- Some can last over 15-20 minutes
- MOST tornado deaths are from flying
debris (pieces of buildings, trees, cars,
etc..)
- 770+ tornadoes are reported annually
(yearly) in the U.S.
Q4: Where do most tornadoes occur?
-Tornadoes occur all over the world but
MOST occur in the U.S. midwest
Q5: Why are tornadoes so
common in the U.S.?
What does tornado damage look like?
Document Title: Tornado Damage (semi) in Moore, Oklahoma, May 3, 1999 (DI00501)
Description: The most expensive tornado in U.S. history tore across 37 miles of central Oklahoma on May 3, 1999. The tornado was rated F5, with
winds approaching 300 miles or 480 kilometers per hour. It killed 36 people and caused some 1 billion dollars in damage. Tornadoes are rapidly rotating
winds blowing around a small area of extreme low pressure that develops within a severe thunderstorm. Often visible as a funnel-shaped cloud, tornadoes
can develop with little or no warning. Doppler radar and other advanced technology now give advance warning of many tornadoes. The average lead time of
tornado warnings has roughly doubled across the United States since the national Doppler radar network was completed in the 1990s. Prompt warnings with
substantial lead times helped to reduce the death and injury toll in Oklahoma's 1999 tornado outbreak.
Creditline: copyright University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
Q6: How does a tornado form?
1.) Very low air pressure
2.) A funnel of air extends
downward from a cumulonimbus
cloud
3.) Air rushes into funnel from the
ground and spirals up into the
funnel
Q7:What are some types of
tornadoes?
1.) Water Spout- tornado develops over
the sea
New Zealand July 13, 1949, thousands
of fish averaging 4 inches in length fell
on a 10 acre field
2.) Dust Devils- ground level tornado in
desert or semiarid region
http://whyfiles.org/013tornado/3.html
SIMULATOR
Flying FISH
 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/
article-1254812/Hundreds-fish-fall-skyremote-Australian-town-Lajamanu.html
Tornado Building Codes
Random Questions
 Longest lasting tornado=
http://wmo.asu.edu/tornado-longest-lastinggreatest-distance-traveled-single-tornado
II. HURRICANES
What does a hurricane look like?
.
LINK TO VIRGINIA
HURRICANE HISTORY:
http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.go
v/research/roth/vahur.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7
533909.stm
http://www.weather.com/weather/hurricane
central/tracker
http://www.n2yo.com/hurricane/
Q1: What are hurricanes?
 Hurricane = A tropical
cyclone (counterclockwise
movement of air)
characterized by sustained
winds of 120 kilometers per
hour (75 miles per hour) or
greater.
Q2: What is the center of a hurricane
called?
The center of a hurricane is
called the eye
Hurricane Criteria
 A severe tropical cyclone
 Large circular storm with low
pressure (“eye”) in the center
 Wind Speed- 74 - 200 mph
Q3: When do hurricanes form?
 Forms over tropical oceans during
late summer and early fall
 Diameter of eye= 14-25 miles wide
 Hurricanes can be 300-500 miles
wide
What does a hurricane look like on radar?
Q4: How are hurricanes
measured?
Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/5328524.stm
Category 1
Category 4
Category 2
Category 5
Category 3
Around 1,836 deaths
$81 billion in damage
What does hurricane damage look like?
Document Title: Hurricane damage from Hurricane Dennis (DI01060),
Photo by Carlye Calvin
Description: Hurricane damage in Kitty Hawk, NC from Hurricane Dennis.
Creditline: copyright University Corporation for Atmospheric Research,
Photo by Carlye Calvin
Q5: Where do hurricanes
and typhoons occur?
In warm ocean waters near
the equator.
Q6: What are the ingredients for a
hurricane?
 Warm ocean water
 hot African air
 during August and/or September
Simulator
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7533909.stm
November 12, 2007
HURRICANE SEASON: THE END IS NEAR Dr. Steve Lyons, Tropical Weather Expert
Well, despite all the seasonal outlooks for a "big" hurricane season, despite 14 named storms so far this
year, to make it a "big" hurricane season (the average is 10), it looks like it will be another pretty fortunate
year for the United States relative to hurricane hits. We have had only one dinky (and I mean real small)
category 1 hurricane on the upper Texas coast. It caused waves less than 15 feet high, a very modest
surge of less than 5 feet, and produced only modest localized wind damage.
The end is near; the official end of hurricane season is just a few weeks away (November 30). So what
typically is left of hurricane season; where do storms and hurricanes form this late in the season?
Well, the climatology of the tropics is a very strong indicator of what to expect and November climatology
(see graphic below) points to the west and southwest Caribbean Sea, along with random, renegade
storms forming in the southwest and subtropical north Atlantic (typically moving rapidly northeast away
from land -- minus Bermuda).
Why, you ask, do they tend to cluster along the east coast of Central America in November? The answer
is simple: The monsoon trough of low pressure that haunts the tropical Eastern Pacific in summer retreats
toward land and northwest South America before it dissipates in December and re-forms as a separate,
unique monsoon heat low in Brazil's Amazon in Southern Hemisphere summer beginning in late
December. But, before the monsoon trough dissipates, it can become a brief stationary low pressure
feature in the southwest Caribbean Sea and bring heavy rains to Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and
Panama before it dissipates.
In some rare cases -- maybe once in four years, this persistent low will briefly manage to organize enough
to become a named storm; hence, we see the cluster of origins there when we look back in time. Those
origins are where they first became a tropical cyclone; nearly all of these formed from the monsoon low
that sits offshore Nicaragua/Costa Rica in early November.
The origin dots include some northward drift away from the monsoon trough origin prior to getting a name.
These tropical cyclones rarely become hurricanes; most are weak or moderate tropical storms and most
simply drift onshore Central American and dissipate. Rarely, one gets captured by a mid-latitude trough of
low pressure and skirts by or over Florida or moves northeast across the Bahamas on the way to
becoming a non-tropical low.
How did Hurricane Katrina form?
How can you monitor storms?
Doppler Radar
Document Title: Doppler Radar on Wheels and Rapid Scan
(DI01131)
Description: Thunderstorms build to the north of the Doppler on
Wheels portable radar, built by NCAR and collaborators, as it scans
the skies of the Texas Panhandle on May 15, 2003. DOW
documented several tornadoes later that day.
Creditline: copyright University Corporation for Atmospheric
Research
How can you
monitor
storms?
Driftsonde

Document Title: Balloon launch in Africa (DI01592), photo by Terry Hock
Description: This photo shows the launch of a driftsonde from Zinder, Niger, during the AMMA
(African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses) field project in 2006. The balloons drifted west from
Africa over the Atlantic Ocean at heights of around 65,000-70,000 feet. Each one carried a
gondola filled with instrument packages. Scientists on the ground sent signals to the gondola
when they wanted it to drop an instrument package into a storm. The instrument package, which
radioed back information about temperature, relative humidity, and wind, helped researchers
determine which storms could strengthen into hurricanes. The driftsondes provided unique data
on the atmospheric conditions over the tropical Atlantic, a remote area where hurricanes develop.
This photo shows the launch of a driftsonde from Zinder, Niger, during the AMMA (African
Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses) field project in 2006. The balloons drifted west from Africa
over the Atlantic Ocean at heights of around 65,000-70,000 feet. Each one carried a gondola filled
with instrument packages. Scientists on the ground sent signals to the gondola when they wanted
it to drop an instrument package into a storm. The instrument package, which radioed back
information about temperature, relative humidity, and wind, helped researchers determine which
storms could strengthen into hurricanes. The driftsondes provided unique data on the atmospheric
conditions over the tropical Atlantic, a remote area where hurricanes develop.
Creditline: copyright University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, photo by Terry Hock
III. How does a Blizzard form?
1.) Warm front and cold front meet
2.) Heavy nimbostratus clouds
(snow clouds) develop
3.) Wind speed= above 35 mph
4.) Temperature= below
13 degrees F
Your Turn. Come up with your own
question and then answer it.
(Be creative)
HELPFUL LINKS
• www.ucar.edu
Link to Virginia Hurricane History:
•http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/research/roth/vahur.htm
•http://eo.ucar.edu/webweather
Document Title: Radar/reflectivity at landfall of hurricane Andrew (DI00422)
Description: An image from the Miami-based radar at the National Hurricane
Center shows the spiral bands of rainfall around Hurricane Andrew as it makes
landfall at 4:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, August 24, 1992. Only moments after
this image was taken, the radar was blown off its moorings atop the Hurricane
Center building (indicated by NHC on the slide). Andrew’s eye is centered over
Elliot Key, about 26 kilometers (16 miles) south of NHC. Also shown are other
reference points, including Homestead Air Force Base (HAFB); approximate
street locations; and storm intensity (along the right axis—every increase of
10 dBZ denotes a tenfold rise in reflected radar signals). The heaviest damage
from Andrew occurred near the actual eyewall, which is roughly equivalent to
echoes greater than 39 dBZ.
Creditline: copyright University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
RECAP
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What do tornadoes look like?
What does tornado damage look like?
Are tornadoes scary? (video)
What do hurricanes look like?
What does hurricane damage look like?
How did Hurricane Katrina form? (video)
How do we monitor storms?
What is a hurricane and tornado? (definitions)
What do you want to know about
hurricanes and tornadoes?
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What do tornadoes look like?
What does tornado damage look like?
Are tornadoes scary? (video)
What do hurricanes look like?
What does hurricane damage look like?
How did Hurricane Katrina form? (video)
How do we monitor storms?
What is a hurricane and tornado? (definitions)
Are tornadoes scary?
SHORT VIDEO
 http://youtube.com/results?search_query=to
rnado
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Works Cited (MLA Format) http://www.easybib.com
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Calvin, Carlye. Hurricane Damage From Hurricane Dennis (DI01060). Kitty Hawk. Digital Image Library. University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. 12
Nov. 2007 <http://www.fin.ucar.edu/netpub/server.np?find&catalog=catalog&template=detail.np&field=itemid&op=matches&value=1672&site=imagelibrary>.
Carlye, Calvin. Hurricane Damage From Hurricane Dennis (DI01060). Kitty Hawk. Digital Image Library. University for Atmospheric Research. 12 Nov. 2007
<http://www.fin.ucar.edu/netpub/server.np?find&catalog=catalog&template=detail.np&field=itemid&op=matches&value=1672&site=imagelibrary>.
Doppler Radar on Wheels (DI01136). 2003. Texas Panhandle. Digital Imagery Library. University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. 12 Nov. 2007
<http://www.fin.ucar.edu/netpub/server.np?find&catalog=catalog&template=detail.np&field=itemid&op=matche
s&value=1746&site=imagelibrary>.
Hock, Terry. Balloon Launch in Africa (DI01592). 2006. Zinder. Digital Imagery Library. University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. 12
Nov. 2007
<http://www.fin.ucar.edu/netpub/server.np?find&catalog=catalog&template=detail.np&field=itemid&op=matches&value=2171&site=im
agelibrary>.
INCREDIBLE TORNADO VIDEO!! May 4, 2007 - Ellis Co., OK. 2007. You Tube. 12 Nov. 2007 <http://youtube.com/watch?v=DNL7ASvl4k4>.
Radar/Reflectivity At Landfall of Hurricane Andrew (DI00422). 1992. National Hurricane Center, Miami. Digital Image Library. University Corporation for
Atmospheric Research. 12 Nov. 2007
<http://www.fin.ucar.edu/netpub/server.np?find&catalog=catalog&template=detail.np&field=itemid&op=matches&value=1854&site=im
agelibrary>.
Richter, Harald. Texas Tornado (DI00511). 1995. Digital Image Library. University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. 12 Nov. 2007
<http://www.fin.ucar.edu/netpub/server.np?find&catalog=catalog&template=detail.np&field=itemid&op=matches&value=1325&site=im
agelibrary>.
Richter, Harald. Texas Tornado (DI00512). 1995. Digital Imagery Library. University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. 12 Nov. 2007
<http://www.fin.ucar.edu/netpub/server.np?find&catalog=catalog&template=detail.np&field=itemid&op=matches&value=1326&site=im
agelibrar>.
Runningonbrains. Dszpics1. 1999. NOAA, Oklahoma. Wikipedia. NOAA. 12 Nov. 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Dszpics1.jpg>.
Tornado Near Watkins, Eastern Colorado (DI00486). Watkins. Digital Image Library. University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. 12 Nov.
2007
<http://www.fin.ucar.edu/netpub/server.np?find&catalog=catalog&template=detail.np&field=itemid&op=matches&value=1299&site=im
agelibrary>.
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Lesson Plan (APA Format) http://citationmachine.net/
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Stephens, Elaine (2005). A Handbook of Content Literacy Strategies</< td>i>. Norwood, Massachusetts: Christopher-Gordon Publishers.