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Hurricanes and Tornadoes. Hurricanes. Hurricane. Definition: Severe tropical storm with heavy rain that has wind speeds that exceed 74 mph. How Hurricanes Form. Water evaporates, into the atmosphere, from ocean water that is close to the equator and is at least 80°F
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Hurricane Definition: Severe tropical storm with heavy rain that has wind speeds that exceed 74 mph
How Hurricanes Form • Water evaporates, into the atmosphere, from ocean water that is close to the equator and is at least 80°F • Storm clouds form in the atmosphere out of the evaporated water • Winds close to the oceans surface draw up more and more water vapor into the center of the storm clouds making them larger and larger • The rotation of the Earth causes the storm clouds to spin and wind pushes the storm clouds along the ocean.
Clip on How Hurricanes Form http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k35Gwb0FFU0
Weather Conditions Associated with Hurricanes Heavy rain Strong winds Storm surge
Storm Surge Definition: Ocean water that is pushed towards shore by the force of winds moving cyclonically * Causes an abnormal rise in water levels on shore *
Animation of Storm Surge http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/surge/animations/hurricane_stormsurge.swf
How Scientists Track Hurricanes • Weather satellites • Radar • Specialized Planes “Hurricane Hunters” Hurricane Sandy taken by radar scatterometer on the Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) Oceansat-2
Clip – Hurricane Hunters http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z96uu4GZNwQ
Hurricane Warnings Can Be Given… Several days in advance
Scale Used to Measure a Hurricane’s Severity Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale
Examples of Damage Hurricanes Can Cause • Beach erosion • Flooding • Destruction of docks, houses, buildings, roads etc. • Uprooting plants
SupercellThunderstorm Definition: An extremely intense thunderstorm that grows very quickly due a strong updraft of moist surface air Characteristics: Rotates Hail Torrential rain Strong winds
Clip – Supercell Thunderstorms and Tornadoes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvOut9VUqKY
Tornado Definition: a small rotating column of air that has high wind speeds and touches the ground
How Tornadoes Form The horizontally rotating supercell thunderstorm is flipped vertically by the thunderstorm’s updraft
Clip – How Tornadoes Form http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GM-abtIT6Is
Weather Condition Associated With Tornadoes High winds
How Scientists Track Tornadoes Doppler Radar
Clip – Doppler Radar http://www.climatecentral.org/videos/how-do-we-know/how-do-we-know-tracking-tornados/
Tornado Warnings Can Be Given… In roughly 13 minutes or less
Why Scientists Can’t Accurately Predict Tornadoes http://www.livescience.com/12417-killer-tornados-spin-supercell-thunderstorms.html
Scale Used to Measure a Tornado’s Severity Enhanced Fujita Scale
Examples of Damage Tornadoes Can Cause • Destruction of houses, buildings, roads, bridges etc. • Uprooting plants