Exploring Hurricanes

Name: _________________________________       Date: _____________

If you live near the Atlantic Coast of the United States, you may already know what it's like when a hurricane takes aim at the coast. Everyone is glued to their television, radio, or computer for the latest storm updates. People may be frantically boarding up windows or dashing out to pick up food, batteries, and other emergency supplies. When a dangerous hurricane approaches, a long line of cars may be snaking out of town.

In this activity, you'll learn the ins-and-outs of hurricanes. You'll find out how and where they develop, how they're structured, and how they move. You'll also get a chance to track hurricanes and fly right into the eye of a virtual one.

1. You'll start your hurricane tour with a visit to WW2010 Hurricanes. Read the first paragraph. How is a hurricane defined?
   
   
   
   
2. Describe the damages hurricanes can cause.
   
   
   
   
3. Click the link to Hurricane Development and Growth. Describe the ocean conditions needed for a hurricane to develop.
   
   
   
   
4. What usually happens to hurricanes as they move over land or cooler water? Why?
   
   
   
   
5. Scroll down to the sea surface temperature map. What do the yellow, orange, and red colors show?
   
   
   
   
6. Find out what relative humidity means. Why is high relative humidity important for hurricane formation?
   
   
   
   
7. Return to the Hurricane Development and Growth page and scroll to the wind shear animation. What is wind shear?
   
   
   
   
8. What role does wind shear play in hurricane development?
   
   
   
   
9. Keep scrolling and click How They Are Named. Describe which parts of the world use the names hurricane, typhoon, or cyclone.
   
   
   
   
10. Go to the Initial Development page. Scroll to the map showing locations of hurricanes. Explain why no hurricanes form at the equator.
    
    
    
    
11. Next, find out How Thunderstorms Become Hurricanes. Play the animation and read the paragraph. Summarize the main steps in hurricane formation.
    
    
    
    
12. Now you'll learn about the Three Stages of Development. Click the links on the page for tropical depression, tropical storm, and hurricane. Give the range of winds for each storm category.
    
    
    
    
13. Experience what it's like to be a meteorologist with the Tropical Cyclone Tracker. Experiment with tracking different hurricanes and tropical storms.
    
    
    
    
14. Now that you're a hurricane expert, you can fly into the eye of a Virtual Hurricane. Fasten your seat belt and have fun! Your teacher will need to download a virtual reality player if your computer doesn't have one installed.