In the
t
path
p
h of t
the s
stor
rm NAM
ME: DATE: In this exerciise you will b
be watching several storrm surge aniimations fro
om hurricanee models as they aapproach the
e Gulf coast.. You will se
ee how storm
m surge channges with co
oastline shap
pe and hurricane intensity. If you have aa hurricane o
of the same strength and
d speed headed towards the coastliine, the storm surge ccan be drastically differe
ent dependin
ng on the baathymetry off the ocean ((shape/deptth of the oceean ffloor) and the topograph
hy of the coaast (shape/elevation of tthe land). Lo
ook at the m
map of the no
orthern G
Gulf of Mexico on the ne
ext page. Be
efore watching the hurriicane model animationss, you will neeed to kknow where these landm
marks are loccated along the northerrn Gulf of Meexico. 1
1. When a hurricane maakes landfalll, this is the geographic location that the eye of the hurrican
ne m
moves onto land. The eyye wall of a hurricane is where the m
most intensee wind speeds can be fo
ound. Label the
ese locationss in RED where our moddel storms w
will make lan
ndfall. □ Gulfport, MS □ H
Horn Island, M
MS □ Dauphiin Island, ALL □ Petit Bios Island, M
MS/AL □ FFort Morgann Peninsula, A
AL 2
2. Along the
e coast, storm
m surge is offten the greaatest threat from a hurrricane. Storm
m surge is prroduced b
by water being pushed toward the sshore by the force of thee winds rotatting within tthe hurricane. model hurricaanes Label the locations iin BLUE thaat could be aaffected by t he storm surge of the m
□
□ New Orleaans, LA □ Mobile, A
AL □ Pascagoula, MS
□
□ Biloxi, MS □ Mississip
ppi River □ Mobilee‐Tensaw Deelta □
□ Lake Ponch
hartrain, LA □ Mississip
ppi River Deltta □ Chandeeleur Islandss, LA □
□ Cat Island, MS □ Gulf of M
Mexico □ Mobilee Bay, AL □
□ Gulf Shore
es, AL 1 | P a g e Student Worksheet • Northern Gu
ulf Coastal Hazards Collabooratory • Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Alab
bama In the
t
path
p
h of t
the s
stor
rm Label the map of f the northern Gulf off Mexico w
with the loccations listted on pagge 1. 2 | P a g e Student Worksheet • Northern Gu
ulf Coastal Hazards Collabooratory • Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Alab
bama In the
t
path
p
h of t
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stor
rm 3
3. Look at th
he map on page 2. Makke a hypothe
esis about thhe landfall lo
ocation (queestion 1) that will h
have the mo
ost severe an
nd widespreaad storm surrge during a category 4 sstorm. Explain your hyp
pothesis. 4
4. Look at the map on p
page 2. The
e Mississippi River Delta is a very low
w‐lying area of the Gulf C
Coast. M
Make a hypo
othesis abou
ut the maxim
mum storm surge elevati on in the Mississippi Rivver Delta wh
hile a h
hurricane paasses. How m
might the sto
orm surge elevation com
mpare at this location co
ompared to the landfall locattions? Explaain your answ
wer. 5
5. Look at th
he map on page 2. Makke a hypothe
esis about thhe storm surrge elevation
n of a hurricaane as it aapproaches tthe coastline
e. Do you th
hink storm surge will inccrease, decreease, or stayy the same? Explain yyour answer. 3 | P a g e Student Worksheet • Northern Gu
ulf Coastal Hazards Collabooratory • Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Alab
bama In the
t
path
p
h of t
the s
stor
rm N
Now it is tim
me to watch tthe animatio
ons of storm surge as eaach of the hu
urricane mod
dels approacch land. TThere are fivve landfall lo
ocations for our model storms: Gulffport, MS; Horn Island, M
MS; Petit Bois Island, MS/AL; Dauph
hin Island, AL; and Fort M
Morgan Peninsula, AL. Each landfall location has model an
nimations forr a weaker sstorm (Categgory 2‐3, app
proximate su
ustained winds of 11
10mph) and a stronger sttorm (category 4, approoximate wind
ds around 14
45mph). The depth of the storm surge is m
measured in
n height abovve mean seaa level (MSL)) and shown
n with a color code shown on tthe left of evvery video. A
As you watch the animaation, you wiill see the sto
orm progresss along the sttorm track line, and the color of the water changge as the sto
orm surge deepth changees. There is a zoomed‐in m
map and a zo
oomed out m
map for eac h model run
n. Use the animation thaat best answerss each questtion. 6
6. Answer th
he followingg questions w
while watching the hurriicane storm surge modeel animations. Fill in tthe tables fo
or each storm
m surge mod
del. If there w
was no storm
m surge in a g
given locatioon, fill in the box with [0 feet]. LLANDFALL LO
OCATION Gulfporrt, MS
M
Maximum sttorm surge d
depth in M
Mobile‐Tensaw Delta, ALL M
Maximum sttorm surge d
depth in tthe Mississip
ppi River Delta Categoryy 2‐3 Hurriicane Category 4 Hurriccane W
Which Gulf Coaast city had the
e highest ssurge elevation
ns? How high? M
Maximum sttorm surge d
depth at G
Gulfport, MSS M
Maximum sttorm surge d
depth in M
Mobile‐Tensaw Delta, ALL M
Maximum sttorm surge d
depth in tthe Mississip
ppi River Delta Categoryy 2‐3 Hurriicane Category 4 Hurriccane W
Which Gulf Coaast city had the
e highest ssurge elevation
ns? How high? M
Maximum sttorm surge d
depth at H
Horn Island, MS LLANDFALL LO
OCATION Horn Issland, M
MS
4 | P a g e Student Worksheet • Northern Gu
ulf Coastal Hazards Collabooratory • Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Alab
bama In the
t
path
p
h of t
the s
stor
rm 6
6. (continued
d) Answer the followingg questions w
while watch ing the hurrricane storm surge modeel aanimations. Fill in the taables for eacch storm surgge model. If there w
was no storm
m surge in a g
given locatioon, fill in the box with [0 feet]. LLANDFALL LO
OCATION Petit Bo
ois, MS/AL
M
Maximum sttorm surge d
depth in M
Mobile‐Tensaw Delta, ALL M
Maximum sttorm surge d
depth in tthe Mississip
ppi River Delta Categoryy 2‐3 Hurriicane Category 4 Hurriccane W
Which Gulf Coaast location had the h
highest surge e
elevations? How
w high? M
Maximum sttorm surge d
depth at P
Petit Bois, M
MS/AL LLANDFALL LO
OCATION Dauphiin Island
d, AL
M
Maximum sttorm surge d
depth in M
Mobile‐Tensaw Delta, ALL M
Maximum sttorm surge d
depth in tthe Mississip
ppi River Delta Categoryy 2‐3 Hurriicane Category 4 Hurriccane W
Which Gulf Coaast location had the h
highest surge e
elevations? How
w high? M
Maximum sttorm surge d
depth at D
Dauphin Island, AL Categoryy 2‐3 Hurriicane Category 4 Hurriccane M
Maximum sttorm surge d
depth in M
Mobile‐Tensaw Delta, ALL M
Maximum sttorm surge d
depth in tthe Mississip
ppi River Delta W
Which Gulf Coaast city had the
e highest ssurge elevation
ns? How high? M
Maximum sttorm surge d
depth at FFort Morgan, AL LLANDFALL LO
OCATION FFort Mo
organ, A
AL 5 | P a g e Student Worksheet • Northern Gu
ulf Coastal Hazards Collabooratory • Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Alab
bama In the
t
path
p
h of t
the s
stor
rm 7
7. Which lan
ndfall locatio
on appeared to have the
e most severre storm surgge during a category 4 m
model h
hurricane? H
How did thiss compare w
with your hyp
pothesis in qquestion 3?
8
8. Find Mob
bile Bay and tthe Mobile‐TTensaw Deltta, Alabama in the animations and rreview the taables in q
question 5. Whicch landfall location(s) had the stronggest storm suurge in Mob
bile‐Tensaw D
Delta area?
Did th
he path of th
his storm paass through M
Mobile Bay?? Why do you thinkk this landfall location(s) had the greeatest impacct on storm surge in Mo
obile Bay? When
n does the m
maximum surge occur? (before landffall, during landfall, afteer landfall) Wherre in the bayy does maxim
mum storm surge occur?? Why do you thinkk the highesst surge occu
urs primarilyy in this locattion? Explain your answ
wer. he prediction
ns of these m
models, whicch side of th e storm wou
uld be more intense, thee eastern 9. From th
side or the western sid
de? Why wo
ould this be?? Explain youur answer using what yo
ou know abo
out hurricanes. 6 | P a g e Student Worksheet • Northern Gu
ulf Coastal Hazards Collabooratory • Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Alab
bama In the
t
path
p
h of t
the s
stor
rm 10. Look at your hypotthesis in que
estion 4. We
ere you corrrect about th
he Mississipp
pi River Deltta and storm surgge? Why or w
why not? Did the animaations surpriise you? 1
11. Look at yyour hypoth
hesis in questtion 5. Were you correcct? Why or w
why not? W
What happened to tthe model sttorm surge aas the storms traveled th
hrough the G
Gulf of Mexico? 1
12. Watch o
one of the caategory 4 hurricane anim
mations. How
w do the barrier islands affect storm
m surge aas a hurrican
ne approaches shore? 1
13. How do models of sttorm surge aand hurrican
nes benefit sscientific ressearch? 7 | P a g e Student Worksheet • Northern Gu
ulf Coastal Hazards Collabooratory • Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Alab
bama