Name:_________________________________________ Date:___________________ Period: _________
Tracking Hurricanes *(See pages 86-87)
Intro: In 2005, Hurricane Katrina was the eleventh named storm and ended up being the sixth most powerful Atlantic
hurricane ever recorded and the third most destructive hurricane to make landfall in the United States. Katrina formed
in the western Atlantic Ocean as a tropical depression over the Bahamas on August 23, 2005. Warm water and moisturerich air provided energy for the storm system, causing it to strengthen and become a tropical storm, then a hurricane.
When Hurricane Katrina moved into the Gulf of Mexico it strengthened, quickly becoming a category 5 hurricane.
Luckily, it weakened to a category 3 hurricane prior to landfall. Despite this, Katrina still caused severe damage in the
Gulf coast states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Most notably, Katrina’s storm surge flooded 80% of New
Orleans as the levees were breached, caused at least 1836 deaths, and an estimated $81.2 billion dollars in damages.
Hurricane Sandy (unofficially known as "Superstorm Sandy") was the deadliest and most destructive hurricane of the
2012 Atlantic hurricane season, as well as the second-costliest hurricane in United States history. Classified as the
eighteenth named storm, tenth hurricane and second major hurricane of the year, Sandy was a Category 3 storm at its
peak intensity when it made landfall in Cuba. While it was a Category 2 storm off the coast of the Northeastern United
States, the storm became the largest Atlantic hurricane on record (as measured by diameter, with winds spanning 1,100
miles (1,800 km). Estimates as of June 2013 assess damage to have been over $68 billion, a total surpassed only by
Hurricane Katrina. At least 286 people were killed along the path of the storm in seven countries
Purpose: The purpose of this lab is to use data collected during Hurricane Sandy and Hurricane Katrina to track the
movement of its low-pressure center. Students will also answer questions using this data and his/her knowledge of
weather and the atmosphere.
Materials: Colored Pencils, hurricane tracking chart
Procedure: Complete the following steps:
1. Use the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale, identify the category for each hurricane at the various lat. & long.
coordinates given in the data tables
Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale
Category
Related classifications
Wind speeds
Tropical
storm
Five
Four
Three
Two
One
39–73 mph, 63–118 km/h
≥157 mph, ≥252 km/h
Tropical
depression
≤38 mph, ≤62 km/h
130–156 mph, 209–251 km/h
111–129 mph, 178–208 km/h
96–110 mph, 154–177 km/h
74–95 mph, 119–153 km/h
2. Using the data from the table on the following page and a BLUE colored pencil, plot the location of the low-pressure
center that formed Hurricane Sandy on the hurricane tracking chart. Use the available latitude and longitude
coordinates. Next to each point, record the date for that position. Once all of the positions have been plotted, connect
each data point with a line using the colored pencil.
3. On the hurricane tracking chart, use a second color to plot the location of the low-pressure center that formed
Hurricane Katrina on the hurricane tracking chart. Use the available latitude and longitude coordinates. Next to each
point, record the date for that position. Once all of the positions have been plotted, connect each data point with a line
using a colored pencil.
Hurricane Sandy, October 2012
Date
Time
Lat. (°N)
Long. (°W)
23-Oct
23-Oct
24-Oct
24-Oct
25-Oct
25-Oct
26-Oct
26-Oct
27-Oct
27-Oct
28-Oct
28-Oct
29-Oct
29-Oct
29-Oct
29-Oct
30-Oct
30-Oct
1:00AM
1:00PM
1:00AM
1:00 PM
1:00 AM
1:00 PM
1:00 AM
1:00 PM
1:00 AM
1:00 PM
1:00 AM
1:00 PM
1:00 AM
1:00 PM
4:00 PM
10:00 PM
4:00 AM
10:00 AM
13
14
16
18
20
24
26
27
28
30
32
33
35
38
39
40
41
40
79
78
77
76
76
75
77
77
77
76
74
72
71
73
75
76
77
79
Pressure
(mb)
998
993
988
973
957
963
968
971
969
961
960
951
950
940
940
952
960
983
Wind Speed
(mph)
45
50
65
80
110
105
85
75
75
75
75
75
75
90
90
75
65
45
Stage
Hurricane Katrina August, 2005
Date
Time
Lat. (°N)
Long (°W)
23-Aug
24-Aug
24-Aug
25-Aug
25-Aug
26-Aug
26-Aug
27-Aug
27-Aug
28-Aug
28- Aug
29-Aug
29-Aug
30-Aug
30-Aug
31-Aug
6:00PM
6:00AM
6:00PM
6:00AM
6:00PM
6:00AM
6:00PM
6:00AM
6:00PM
6:00AM
6:00PM
6:00AM
6:00PM
6:00AM
6:00PM
6:00AM
23
24
25
26
26
25
25
24
25
25
26
28
31
34
37
40
75
76
77
78
80
81
83
84
85
87
89
90
90
89
87
83
Pressure
(mb)
1008
1007
1003
997
988
987
968
950
948
930
902
913
948
978
990
996
Wind Speed
(mph)
35
35
45
60
70
75
100
110
115
145
175
145
90
45
35
30
Stage
Analysis Questions: Use the hurricane map that you plotted to answer the following questions in complete sentences.
1. According to the Saffir- Simpson scale, what category was Hurricane Sandy when it hit NJ? _____________
2. According to the data, Hurricane Sandy reached wind speeds of 90 mph or greater during two separate periods of
time, on October 25th from 1:00AM to 1:00PM and on October 29th from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. During these times, was
the air pressure comparatively high or low to the rest of the data?
3. What happened to wind speed and barometric pressure when hurricane Sandy passed over Cuba and headed towards
the Bahamas? What would cause a hurricane to intensify like this? Explain using the word “evaporation” in your answer.
4. What happened to wind speed and barometric pressure when Hurricane Sandy made landfall over New Jersey on the
evening of 10/29? What would cause a hurricane to weaken like this? Explain using the word “evaporation” in your
answer.
5. Using your answers to the previous questions, create a hypothesis that describes the relationship between
atmospheric pressure of a hurricane and its wind speed.
6. What global wind belt causes newly formed tropical storms or hurricanes to travel in a towards the WEST ?
7. Explain how and where Atlantic hurricanes begin and form. Be sure to mention, the energy source of the hurricane,
air flow around it and air pressure at the center of the storm.
**8. **BONUS-RESEARCH: What caused Hurricane Sandy to abruptly turn left, into the east coast states of New Jersey
and Delaware?