Storm Tracker Stations #1

Storm Tracker Stations #1

You are a member of the National Weather Service Damage Assessment Team. Your job is to assess the damage caused by tornadoes and give them an official rating according the Enhanced Fujita Scale. Read the following scenario documenting a real life tornado. Assign the correct rating (EF0 - EF5) and give 3 pieces of evidence that support your statement from the text of the scenario.

On March 18, 1925, at 3:35 p.m., Howard Rawlinson was in his classroom on the third floor of the Crossville, Illinois, Community High School, when the school janitor burst in and told Howard’s class that if they had never seen a tornado, they were going to see one now. Howard watched as one of the dark clouds put two fingers down to earth. The tornado then came to a barn and the two funnels merged and ripped the roof and some of the walls right up into the air. Some pieces of the barn fell to the ground, and the others started swirling around the outside the tornado. The tornado was ripping the trees right out of the ground. After the tornado had left, damage was assessed. Most of the homes had some walls and roofs torn off. There was also the usual interesting stuff such as straws driven into trees.

Storm Tracker Stations #2

You are a meteorologist working for the National Hurricane Center (NHC). You have been tracking the path of a storm off the coast of Africa for several days. You have collected the follow data points and now need to place them on a hurricane data tracking map. This map will be used to predict the most probable area of landfall for this hurricane. Using a RED colored pencil, plot the following points on your data tracking map using latitude and longitude. Label each point as A, B, C, D, or E as it matches the data.

Hurricane Ike (September 1 - 14, 2008)

A: 18°N, 42°W

B: 22°N, 53°W

C: 24°N, 60°W

D: 22°N, 69°W

E: 21°N, 73°W

Remember, plotting points on a Latitude and Longitude map is like making a line graph. Go UP on the N, and OVER on the W. Make your dot. Connect the dots.

Storm Tracker Stations #3

A swarm of huge tornadoes ripped through Oklahoma and Kansas on May 3 and 4, 1999, killing 48 and destroying thousands of homes. As the search went on in dozens of dazed communities, Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating told CNN, “I’ve never heard of anything like this... The extent of devastation is unprecedented.” The governor called out the National Guard. The National Weather Service said that 45 twisters had hit Oklahoma and 14 had hit Kansas. At least one twister was a mile wide at times. Some of the worst damage occurred in Oklahoma City, where whole residential neighborhoods were lifted off their foundations and were wiped out. In Moore, a suburb of Oklahoma City, John Ireland told CNN, “It looks like a bomb hit here. Houses are just leveled. It looks like a battlefield.”

Storm Tracker Stations #4

You are a meteorologist working for the National Hurricane Center (NHC). You have been tracking the path of a storm off the coast of Africa for several days. You have collected the follow data points and now need to place them on a hurricane data tracking map. This map will be used to predict the most probable area of landfall for this hurricane. Using a BLUE colored pencil, plot the following points on your data tracking map using latitude and longitude. Label each point as A, B, C, D, or E as it matches the data.

Hurricane Andrew (August 16 - 28, 1992)

A: 23°N, 62°W

B: 26°N, 70°W

C: 25°N, 76°W

D: 29°N, 91°W

E: 32°N, 91°W

Remember, plotting points on a Latitude and Longitude map is like making a line graph. Go UP on the N, and OVER on the W. Make your dot. Connect the dots.

Storm Tracker Stations #5

The tornado had touched down for about 10 minutes in Nebraska on June 10. The Warrens had noticed the tornado coming and headed for shelter in their basement. The winds were very strong. After the tornado had passed, they came up from their basement to assess the damage. Only minimal damage was done to their home. Some of the shingles were ripped off their roof. Their neighbor was not so lucky. His mobile home had been pushed over. Luckily, he was out of town. Later that day, the news reported wind speeds of 86 mph. In the city, cars had been moved by the tremendous winds. The windows in office buildings had been broken by flying debris.

Storm Tracker Stations #6

You are a meteorologist working for the National Hurricane Center (NHC). You have been tracking the path of a storm off the coast of Africa for several days. You have collected the follow data points and now need to place them on a hurricane data tracking map. This map will be used to predict the most probable area of landfall for this hurricane. Using a GREEN colored pencil, plot the following points on your data tracking map using latitude and longitude. Label each point as A, B, C, D, or E as it matches the data.

Hurricane Katrina (August 23 - 31, 2005)

A: 26°N, 78°W

B: 25°N, 83°W

C: 26°N, 87°W

D: 31°N, 90°W

E: 35°N, 88°W

Remember, plotting points on a Latitude and Longitude map is like making a line graph. Go UP on the N, and OVER on the W. Make your dot. Connect the dots.

Storm Tracker Stations #7

You are a meteorologist working for the National Hurricane Center (NHC). You have been tracking the path of several storms off the coast of Africa for several days. You have collected the follow data points and placed them on a hurricane data tracking map. Now you must assign a Saffir-Simpson Scale rating for each of the data points for each of the 3 storms. Use the wind speed and air pressure data provided to complete the chart.

Data Point (Hurricane Ike) / Wind Speed / Air Pressure / Category
A / 50 / 1000
B / 80 / 984
C / 135 / 945
D / 110 / 960
E / 135 / 949
Data Point (Hurricane Andrew) / Wind Speed / Air Pressure / Category
A / 50 / 1014
B / 110 / 969
C / 175 / 922
D / 145 / 937
E / 40 / 995
Data Point (Hurricane Katrina) / Wind Speed / Air Pressure / Category
A / 50 / 1000
B / 100 / 968
C / 175 / 902
D / 90 / 948
E / 45 / 978

Storm Tracker Stations Lab sheet

Station 1

●Tornado Rating______

●Supporting Statements

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Station 2COMPLETE ON THE HURRICANE TRACKING SHEET

Station 3

●Tornado Rating______

●Supporting Statements

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Station 4 COMPLETE ON THE HURRICANE TRACKING SHEET

Station 5

●Tornado Rating______

●Supporting Statements

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Station 6COMPLETE ON THE HURRICANE TRACKING SHEET