hurricanes

Click here to study Hurricanes

Study wind and how hurricanes form. Then collect and analyze data to predict the strength of a hurricane at landfall.

Air Pressure and Wind Speed

1. Create a table to record barometric pressure and wind speed. 

2.Wind speed can be calculated by counting the number of rotations of the anemometer in 10 secs. Work with your partner.

 

convert revolutions per minute (RPM) to miles per hour (MPH). Assume the diameter of the anemometer is 2 feet

2 feet X (pi)3.14 = 6.28 feet/revolution x   1 mile            = .00118939 miles/revolutions

                                                               5280 ft

# revolutions     X  60 second   x 60 min  x .00118939 miles  = ___________ mph 

  10 seconds         1 min             1hr                revolution

Barometric pressure  city A	Barometric pressure  city B	Difference in pressure	Revolutions in 10 seconds	Wind Speed (MPH)
1040 millibars	1000 millibars	40 millibars	21	8.99 MPH (check it!)

 Questions

a. What's the relationship between the difference in temperature and wind speed? As the difference in pressure increases/decreases, what happens to wind speed?

Global Wind Belts

1. Where does convection drive wind? How does it work (what does the hot air do, what does the cold air do)?

2. Look at current flow and tell me does the wind current flow west (left) or east (right) in:

a. The northern United States and Canada?

b. The southern United States and Central America?

c. Brazil

d. Argentina

Storm Surge

1. How high must the winds be to cause a 7 ft storm surge?

2. How high are the winds in a category 1 hurricane?

3. How high must the winds be to cause the 13 ft storm surge associated with Category 1 hurricanes?

Tropical Storms

1. How are clouds formed?

2. Which is stronger tropical storm or hurricane?

3. How do tropical storms and hurricanes gain strength?

4. At what temperature was the hurricane strongest? At what temperature did the hurricane dissipate or disappear?

Segments 9-16 are the DOL