Wandering W anda W onders About Stormy W eather (With Guest “Cajun Flat Stanley”)

1. Wandering Wanda Wonders About Stormy Weather (With Guest “Cajun Flat Stanley”)

2. Wandering Wanda wanted to understand hurricanes. So she traveled to a coastal parish in Louisiana after Hurricane Lili struck in 2002.

3. First Wanda located information on Hurricane Lili. She found out that Lili hit the coast of south Louisiana on October 3, 2002. So, Wanda traveled to Vermilion Parish to get some answers. She met “Cajun Flat Stanley” who helped her find answers.

4. Cajun Flat Stanley was able to find a map that showed Hurricane Lili’s path.

5. Wandering Wanda wanted to know more facts about hurricanes. Cajun Stanley showed her research and said that a hurricane is a very destructive and dangerous storm. It forms in stages.

6. Wanda then learned that when the winds in this type of storm range from 35 to 54 miles an hour, it is called a tropical depression. When the winds are from 55 to 74 miles an hour then it is called a tropical storm. When it reaches 75 miles an hour, it is called a hurricane.

7. Cajun Stanley explained that hurricanes are small and others quite large. But whatever the case, hurricanes are the mightiest of all storms. In the center of a hurricane is an eye.

8. Wanda discovered that before Hurricane Lili hit, everybody had to prepare for her arrival. The newspapers, radio and television stations all had important messages for the people in Vermilion Parish.

9. Cajun Stanley stressed that a key factor about hurricanes is the importance of hurricane safety. The people were encouraged to listen to the warnings. Many Louisiana residents evacuated to be safe.

10. Cajun Stanley explained to Wanda that the word “evacuate” means to pack your valuable things and take it with you. You need to head away from the storm. When people leave, they don’t know if they are returning to a destroyed home or not.

11. When Wanda saw the image of Hurricane Lili hitting the state of Louisiana, she began to understand how large a hurricane was. She knows now that a hurricane is a huge and dangerous storm. When she saw this radar image, she was amazed with the size of this storm.

12. Wanda also learned something unusual happened whenHurricane Lilihit Vermilion Parish. The night before she hit the coast,Hurricane Liliwas labeled acategory fourhurricane. Everyone was terrified because she was considered a verystrong and dangerous storm. But something strange occurred that night.

13. What Wanda found out was that Hurricane Lili had gotten weaker before she hit the Louisiana coast. The arrow shows where she weakened.

14. It was very unusual that Hurricane Lili weakened over water. Usually hurricanes gain strength instead of losing strength when they are on water. This is a picture of Hurricane Lili on October 2nd.

15. So, Hurricane Lili losing strength before she hit land was very, very unusual. Even the meteorologists were surprised that this happened.

16. During her research, Wanda was shocked to discover that although Hurricane Lili had weakened, her winds were still clocked at 120 miles an hour. Wanda wonders, if this hurricane was a category two, what would category four hurricane windshave been like?

17. When Lili’s storm left Louisiana, there was a lot of damage. Trees were knocked down and houses destroyed.

18. Twisters and strong winds left many telephone lines lying across the roads. Many Vermilion Parish residents stayed without electricity for a week.

19. Many homes were destroyed by the destructive path of falling trees caused by dangerous winds and tornadoes.

20. A couple of schools were badly damaged by the tornadoes, wind and rain too from Hurricane Lili.Vermilion Parish Schools were closed for over a week.

21. Thankfully though, no lives were lost during Hurricane Lili’s visit. Most people survived with only minor house or roof damage.

22. Now that Cajun Stanley helped Wandering Wanda has learn more about hurricanes, floods and tidal surges, Wanda said that she hopes that she will never have to experience any of these diasters.