SCIENCE Spin from WEEKLY READER
Technology
INTO THE EYE OF THE STORM
Hurricane Charley occurred in August 2004. Normally, during such a deadly storm,
many people run, drive, or fly away as fast and far as possible. One flight crew
working for the National Weather Service, however, flew into (yes, into) the
storm. Called Hurricane Hunters, they actually flew a plane into the center of
Charley
Hurricanes are powerful, whirling storms that form over warm oceans and cause
torrential rains and heavy winds. The eye of a hurricane is the calm center of the
storm. The eye has little wind and few clouds. Swirling around the eye are heavy
winds.
Hurricane Hunters fly directly into the eye of a hurricane – not above it. The reason is
that a hurricane can extend more than 15,000 meters (50,000 ft) high, and these
planes can fly only as high as 9000 meters (30,000 ft).
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As the plane "punched through" the eye wall of Charley, crew members experienced a
rocky ride. The eye wall is a solid ring of thunderstorms around the eye. The
strongest winds and heaviest rains are located here.
The plane contains equipment that records weather. In the eye of the storm, Hurricane
Hunters released small tubes attached to parachutes. Each tube was about the size
of a can of tennis balls. The tubes sent information about wind speed, power, and
moisture back to the crew.
Accurate Forecasting
As part of their job, Hurricane Hunters help forecasters rate storms. Hurricanes are rated
on a scale of 1 to 5.
A storm's rating is based on wind speed and potential for damage. Before hitting land,
Charley was a Category 4 storm.
Charley packed winds of up to 230 kilometers per hour (145 mi/hr) by the time it hit
land. The storm first walloped Jamaica and Cuba before slamming into Florida.
Hurricane Charley left about a million Florida households without electricity. The storm
destroyed or severely damaged at least 16,000 homes and left thousands of
residents without running water.
Hurricanes are rated on a scale of 1 to 5. The ratings are based on a storm's wind
speed and potential for destruction.
CATEGORY 1
74 to 95 miles per hour (mph)
Minor damage to trees and shrubs; minor flooding
CATEGORY 2
96 to 110 mph
Some trees and signs blown down; some as flooding; no major damage to
buildings; some evacuations
CATEGORY 3
111 to 130 mph
Some large trees and signs destroyed; some damage to small buildings; some
evacuations
CATEGORY 4
131 to 155 mph
Extreme damage to buildings; major beach erosion; evacuations up to 2 miles
from shore
CATEGORY
Greater than 155 mph
Severe damage to buildings; some small buildings knocked down; evacuations up
to 10 miles from shore
---see picture
A Hurricane Hunter drops a tube into the eye of a storm.
THINK ABOUT IT
1. Why is it important that forecasters accurately predict the path of a hurricane?
2. How do you think hurricanes can cause flooding on land?
Find out more! Log on to www.hspscience.com
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SCIENCE Spin from WEEKLY READER
People
Saving the Earth
Earth Day encourages kids around the world to take action. From cleaning up local
parks to testing local water, kids help the Earth on Earth Day, which is held on
April 22.
But eleven-year-old Michaela Piersanti from New Haven, Connecticut, thinks the
environment needs to be protected all year long, not just on Earth Day.
Although the event is important to millions of kids like Michaela, more needs to be
done. "We need to keep the Earth clean," Michaela said. "If we pollute, it can make
animals sick and possibly kill them."
Water for Life
A big part of Earth Day is making people aware of water pollution. In fact, the theme of
a recent Earth Day was "Water for Life."
That theme was chosen because more than 1 billion people around the world do not
have clean drinking water. Water gets polluted from sewage, factories, and
chemicals. Pollution harms the plants and animals that live in the water. It also
makes drinking water unsafe.
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SCIENCE Projects
for Home or School
You Can Do It!
Quick and Easy Project
Make a Rain Gauge
Materials
 1-L clear plastic bottle
 scissors
 plastic ruler
 masking tape
Procedure
1. CAUTION: Be careful when using scissors. Remove the cap from the bottle, and
have an adult cut the top off the bottle.
2. Tape the ruler to the outside of the bottle. The zero mark should be at the bottom of
the bottle.
3. Turn the bottle top over so that it will act like a funnel, and put it inside the bottle
bottom.
4. Put the rain gauge out in the open, but away from any roof edges or trees.
5. After it rains, measure the rainfall, and empty the bottle.
Draw Conclusions
How much rainfall did you measure? How did measuring rainfall help you describe
weather?
Design Your Own Investigation
Weather and the Seasons
How does weather in your area change from season to season? Design an investigation
in which you use various weather instruments to measure weather over the course
of a year. Record data regularly. Use your data to compare measurements such as
average daily temperature, wind speed and direction, and amount of precipitation
among the different seasons. Then draw graphs that show how weather in your area
changes over the year.
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