Cyclones in Australia

1. Cyclones in Australia But why don’t we get hurricanes and typhoons?

2. The Caribbean Sea is the spawning ground for hurricanes in the Atlantic and eastern Pacific Oceans. • They are called typhoons in the western Pacific and cyclones in the Indian Ocean, but the physics are the same.

3. A cyclone is any mass of air that spirals around a low pressure centre. It is an organized collection of thunderstorms embedded in a swirling mass of air.

4. At the centre of the spiral is the eye, a vertical tube of clear skies and calm winds; the more intense the storm, the smaller the eye.

5. Although the main upwards flow of air is around the eye, the entire air mass is unstable. Spiraling rows of thunderstorms with relatively clear areas between them extend outwards for up to two thousand miles from the centre, gradually diminishing in intensity.

6. Lesson Objectives • Be able to imagine what it is like to experience a cyclone. • Be able to explain how cyclones form and what conditions are needed for that to happen • Be able to explain why only some parts of Australia experience cyclones.

7. Cyclone Tracy Story of surviving Cyclone Tracey Add the title and record bullet point notes on what it is like to experience a cyclone?

8. How do cyclones form

9. Cyclone Probability

10. Where do they occur Make a quick sketch of Australia and shade those areas with the highest cyclone probability

11. Leave enough room for this!! Homework Complete this table using Table 4.3a on p91

12. Taking Precautions • Using p91 of the textbook, describe using a flow chart how cyclone warnings are produced and distributed. • Using the last paragraph as a start, make a list of what preparations would be wise for a cyclone.

13. Lesson Objectives • Be able to imagine what it is like to experience a cyclone. • Be able to explain how cyclones form and what conditions are needed for that to happen • Be able to explain why only some parts of Australia experience cyclones.