Name:______Class:______Date:______

Earth Science- Ms. Gill Weather Lab

Cyclonic Weather Systems: Hurricanes and Tornadoes

Introduction:A cyclone is an area of low pressure around which the winds flow counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere andclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. There are a coupleexamples of cyclones, a hurricane is a tropical cyclone and atornado is a cyclone in the mid-latitudes.Various hazardous weather conditions are threats to different geographic areas of the UnitedStates. The National Severe Storm Forecast Center in Kansas City, Missouri studies and monitorstornadoes while hurricanes are watched by the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida. Inaddition to using traditional synoptic maps to forecast these violent weather conditions, thesecenters also employ technologies such as Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite(GOES) and Nexrad Doppler radar.

Objective: Using a series of synoptic weather maps you will determine the track of a weathersystem and a make 24-hour prediction for a given location. You will use storm tracks of ahurricane and a tornado to compare the characteristics of these severe storms.

Procedure A: A SYNOPTIC MAP STORM TRACK

Use the Planetary Wind and Moisture Belts in the Troposphere diagram in the ESRT to draw arrows on MAP A indicating the direction of the planetary winds that affect theUnited States. (HINT: The United States spans across two (2) different planetary windbelts)

Map A: Storm Tracks

Procedure B: HURRICANE ANDREW

  1. Using the Hurricane Andrew Data Chart plot the positions of the tropical cyclone from August 20 through August 27 on Map B.
  2. For each position label the date and time.
  3. Using the wind information on the Data Chart and Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, determine the tropical cyclone’s category for each position. Label each position using thefollowing abbreviations:

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TD = Tropical Depression

TS = Tropical Storm

H-I = Category I

H-II = Category II

H-III = Category III

H-IV = Category IV

H-V = Category V

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4. Connect each position with a solid line.

5. Draw an arrow along the solid line showing the cyclone’s direction of movement.

6. Refer to the Planetary Wind and Moisture Belts in the Troposphere in your ESRT, and;

Draw a large arrow on Map B representing the trade winds between theequator and 30˚N. Position it over the Gulf of Mexico.

Draw a large arrow on Map B representing the prevailing south-westerliesbetween 30˚N and 60˚N. Position it over the continental United States.

Procedure C: WICHITA-ANDOVER TORNADO

1. Using Map C, determine the direction of the tornado’s movement. ______

2. Determine the distance in miles the tornado was on the ground. ______

3. Determine the total time the tornado was on the ground. ______

4. Using the information from steps 2 and 3 determine the tornado’s average rate ofmovement in miles per hour. SHOW WORK and LABEL.

5. Determine the width of the tornado’s path at:

Clearwater at 5:57 PM ______

Golden Spur Mobile Home Park ______

Vocabulary:

Prevailing Westerlies:______

Trade Winds:______

Jet Stream: ______

Storm track:______

Storm surge:______

Hurricane:______

Tornado: ______

Saffir/Simpson Scale:______

Fujita Scale:______

Discussion Questions:

1. What is the general direction of the track of a low pressure center in the United States? What is responsible for this general direction of movement? ______

______

2. According to the Hurricane Andrew Data Chart, what is the relationship between airpressure and wind velocity in a tropical cyclone? ______

3. Compare the distance the hurricane traveled in equal times between August 25 from 8:00AM to 8:00 PM and August 26 from 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM.

______

4.Compare the pressure and wind velocity on August 25 from 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM to thepressure and wind velocity form 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM on August 26.

______

5. What is the source of the energy for a hurricane?

______

6. According to the Saffir-Simpson Scale, what storm surge and type of damage was most likelyexperienced in Homestead, Florida, which was directly in the path of the hurricane on theeast coast?

______

7. Based on Procedure C, what appears to be the relationship between a tornado’s width andits intensity on the Fujita Scale?

______

8. Compare the duration (length of time) of the Wichita-Andover Tornado to that of HurricaneAndrew.

______

Regents Questions:

Base your answers to questions 9 through 13 on the passage below and on your knowledge of Earth Science. The passage describes a tornado produced from a thunderstorm that moved through a portion ofNew York State on May 31, 1998.

9. On the map below, draw the path of the tornado and the direction the tornado moved, by followingthe

directions below. [2]

• Place an X through the point for each of the six towns mentioned in the passage.

• Connect the X’s with a line in the order that each town was mentioned in the passage.

• Place an arrow at one end of your line to show the direction of the tornado’s movement.

10. The tornado mentioned in this passage was produced by cold, dry air from Canada quicklyadvancing into warm, moist air already in place over the northeastern United States. List thetwo-letter air-mass symbols that would identify each of the two air masses responsible forproducing this tornado. [1]

______and ______

11. Which type of front was located at the boundary between the advancing cold, dry air massand the warm, moist air mass?______

12. Using the Fujita Scale shown below and the information in the passage, complete the tablebelow, by assigning an F-Scale number for the tornado as it passed through each town givenin the table.

13. Calculate the tornado’s average rate of travel, in miles per minute, between Vestal andWindsor, by using the equation below. Express your answer to the nearest tenth.

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