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today. Hurricanes Beginning of a video the video will be at the library (“Hurricane Katrina: the storm that drowned a city”) on reserve in media services. READ for Wednesday. first two pages of ch. 8 sec. 8.2: Tropical cyclones p. 246 (Hurricanes) go on-line and watch
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today • Hurricanes • Beginning of a video • the video will be at the library (“Hurricane Katrina: the storm that drowned a city”) on reserve in media services
READ for Wednesday • first two pages of ch. 8 • sec. 8.2: Tropical cyclones • p. 246 (Hurricanes) • go on-line and watch http://learners.gsfc.nasa.gov/mediaviewer/birth_hurr/
Hurricanes (“tropical cyclones”) • A hurricane is a type of tropical cyclone: low-pressure system that forms in the tropics • Accompanied by thunderstorms • Hurricane is used in the northern Pacific and Atlantic Oceans • Names of Atlantic hurricanes are rotated on 6-yr basis
A joke when I was a kid… • Why don’t hurricanes ever have boy’s names?
A joke when I was a kid… • Why don’t hurricanes ever have boy’s names? • Have you ever heard of a himicane? (Boys and girls names used since 1979) • Other ocean basins have names generally more applicable to the cultures of people who live there
Some 2005 statistics • 28 named storms (21 in 1933) • 15 hurricanes (12 in 1969) • 4 major hurricanes hit the US (3 in 2004 and other years) • 7 tropical storms before Aug. 1 (5 in 1977)
And some hurricane facts • Generally ~ 300 miles (500 km) wide • The eye at the center is generally 20-40 miles across (30-65 km) • Hurricane-force winds stretch outwards from the center of the storm anywhere from 25 to 150 miles (40 - 240 km) • The right side of the storm is more dangerous
How do hurricanes form? • Need • warm seawater • warm air • weak winds • Coriolis effect
stages • Tropical disturbance • Tropical depression • Tropical storm • Hurricane
Tropical depression: disorganized group of thunderstorms http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/hurr/stages/td.rxml
If your last name starts with H - P, please put your name on a piece of paper, together with the name of the person next to you, and answer this: What happens to the warm rising air in the center of a growing tropical storm (and why) ?
Tropical storm (Katrina, Aug. 30, 2005) http://www.nnvl.noaa.gov/hurseas2005/Katrina1315z-050830-1kg12.jpg
Eye and eyewall of the hurricane • Winds can’t get in to the core • Air sinks in the core • Strongest winds in the system in the eyewall NASA photo
How do hurricanes die? • need warm water to replenish system • need warmth • need water • need weak wind
Why is damage greater on the “right” side of a hurricane? 20 mph 100 mph