Activities for Episode Five, Over the Edge

Activities for Episode Ten: Something in the Air

Activity 10.1: Newsflash - Hurricane Warning!

I. What You Will Do

In this activity, you will prepare one or a series of newspaper or television reports on a historical hurricane as if it has yet to occur. In your report, you will include the following:

·  a description of the parts of a hurricane

·  a description of the forces that cause hurricanes

·  a description of the path of the hurricane and its wind speeds

·  a description of the forces that may steer the hurricane towards landfall at your location

·  a description of what citizens should do to prepare for the hurricane

This activity may be completed individually or expanded for groupwork. Groups may divide up the work and/or play different specialty roles, such as TV anchorperson, meteorologist, satellite observer, aircraft reconnaissance specialists, surf reporter, concerned citizen, or another appropriate role. Each member of the hurricane reporting team may prepare a report focused on their specialty, as it pertains to the particular hurricane that they choose.

Reports may be presented as a series of shorter newscasts (covering each of the descriptions listed above) or as expanded coverage in one long newscast. Reports may be presented in written or oral format.

II. Pick a Hurricane

Go to Weather Site, Inc’s Hurricane Archive which lists all named hurricanes from 1886 to present: http://www.hurricanesite.com

Browse the hurricane listings and find a hurricane, other than Hurricane Mitch, that makes landfall at some location. You will adopt that location as your command center. Take some time to familiarize yourself with the graph and table for your hurricane as you will be reproducing this information for your report. Print this graph and table for later use.

Note that the table below each graph lists Time (Greenwich Mean Time, GMT), Date, Latitude, Longitude, Wind Speed, Pressure, and Storm Type. Make sure you understand this information. Review the appropriate pages in your textbook if you have forgotten the meaning of GMT, latitude, and longitude.

III. Anatomy, Formation and Classification of a Hurricane

As an introduction to your report(s), you will describe the anatomy of a hurricane. Use your textbook, the video, and the web sites below to report on the parts of a hurricane. Create a simple illustration of a hurricane to supplement your report.

You will also report on the forces that create and steer hurricanes. Your textbook, the video, and the web sites below will assist you in preparing this information.

Finally, be sure to describe the Saffir-Simpson scale for classifying hurricanes.

Earth Observatory: Hurricanes: The Greatest Storms on Earth

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Library/Hurricanes/hurricanes_1.html

Discovery Online: Hyper Hurricanes

http://www.discovery.com/stories/science/hurricanes/hurricanes.html

National Hurricane Center

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

IV. Tracking a Hurricane

Your report will require you to track the path of the hurricane as it sweeps across the ocean and makes landfall. If you present a series of reports (as continuing news updates as the hurricane gets closer to land), then you may want to create a series of hurricane maps. Otherwise, you can map the complete path of the hurricane on one map.

To do this, you will need a blank hurricane tracking map. Several web sites provide excellent blank maps complete with lines of latitude and longitude on which you can map the path of your hurricane. Use the latitude and longitude information provided at the Hurricane Archive (http://www.hurricanesite.com) to show the location of your hurricane at the times listed.

Blank hurricane maps can be found at:

National Hurricane Center (scroll to bottom of page)

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

Accuweather Printable Tracking Maps

http://hurricane.accuweather.com/adcbin/hurricane/tracking.asp?partner=accuweather

V. Hurricane Preparedness

The final segment of your report will provide critical information to the public for preparing for the hurricane. Be sure to tailor your hurricane preparedness information for the particular location you have chosen. For example, if your location is along a low-lying coast, then storm surge and flooding may be a concern. If your location is relatively unprotected, then high winds may be a greater concern. Consider all the possibilities for preparing your public for the hurricane. Falling trees, downed electrical lines, broken gas mains, limited roadways for evacuation, limitations in food and water supplies, and other such issues may be important for proper preparedness.

You may find more information on hurricane preparedness at:

American Red Cross – Hurricane

http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/keepsafe/readyhurricane.html

Community Hurricane Preparedness – UCAR

http://meted.ucar.edu/hurrican/chp/

Hurricane Awareness – National Hurricane Center

http://www.floridadisaster.org/hurricane_aware/english/intro.shtml