Air Pressure and Wind
Name:____________________
Data Analysis Lab
1. Go to Mr. Blass’ wiki site (Blass.wiki.conestogavalley.org) and find the
following link under our current unit on Weather Factors.
http://serc.carleton.edu/eslabs/hurricanes/6.html
Lab 6A- “Why keep an eye on the Barometer?” – Read the introduction and about
the questions to follow. Hit Next Page when finished.
2. Follow the instruction to open and analyze the given data about Hurricane
Katrina. ***Be sure to use the “Show me details” feature or “Show me the
answer” features to help you if you are stuck with analysis. ***
CHECKING IN

At what air pressure did Katrina's winds become fast enough to classify it as a
hurricane? In other words, at what pressure did the wind speed reach an
average of 65 knots or higher?
__________________

What was Katrina's minimum air pressure? What was its maximum wind speed?
_______________
______________
STOP AND THINK
1: Look over the columns of Katrina's air pressure and wind speed. Do you see a
pattern between the two values? If so, describe it.
2: Look for evidence in the data that one of the variables controls the other. In other
words, try to find an instance where a change happens first in one variable and its
effect is seen later in the other variable. Describe what you find and how you interpret
that relationship.
3: Focus in on the first several air pressure readings for the storm. What happened to
the wind speed as the air pressure decreased? Give a specific example (a range of
dates and times) when the air pressure decreased and tell what happened to the wind
speed over that time. Describe another specific example of what happened to wind
speed while pressure increased.
4: Based on your analysis, write a summary statement describing the relationship
between air pressure and wind speed in Hurricane Katrina.
6B- Direct Comparison of Air Pressure and Wind Speed
CHECKING IN :

What was the storm like (air pressure and wind speed) at the time represented
by the highest point at the far left of your graph?

What was the air pressure when the wind speed reached 65 knots? __________
STOP AND THINK:
5: Use values from the graph to estimate how much the wind speed increased as the
air pressure decreased by approximately 100 millibars. SHOW YOUR WORK
6: How can you describe the relationship (shown by the trendline) you see on the
graph? (Hint: As ______ does ______, then _____ does _______)
7: The equation for the line is in the form y = mx + b. Do you think the equation and
trendline help to clarify the relationship between air pressure and wind speed for this
hurricane? Tell why or why not.