ALEX Learning Activity

This activity utilizes maps and other visualizations to analyze past NOAA hurricane data.  It incorporates graphing wind speed and pressure to note the correlation between the two. Finally, it will show the relationship between hurricane category and damage.  

This activity results from the ALEX Resource Gap Project.

The student will be able to collect data on 3 past hurricanes and plot their track on a hurricane tracking chart. 

The student will be able to graph wind speed vs pressure of the 3 past hurricanes to visually note the pattern that emerges.

The student will be able to explain the relationship between hurricane category and damage that occurs.

The student will be able to relate conditions that might be predictors for future hurricane events.

Please click link for complete activity handout.     code: earth

Materials: Atlantic Basin Hurricane Tracking Chart, pencil, paper, graph paper, highlighter, computer, tablet, or phone with Internet capabilities

Part 1: Data Collection

Open the first link. Choose Atlantic Hurricanes from the NOAA archives for 2016. The Hurricanes you are to track are Matthew, Gaston, and Hermine. Click on each hurricane to read the report and collect data. Complete the chart below on each hurricane and then use the tracking map provided to plot each hurricane’s course.  (Use pencil to track the hurricane and then overwrite it with a highlighter to indicate its color. Color code the Hurricane Name in the chart below to correspond to the tracking map color.).  Then go to the second link and complete the rest of the chart. Link 3 will help fill in the chart for part 3.

Link 1: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2016/

Link 2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Atlantic_hurricane_season

Link 3: http://www.hwn.org/resources/saffir-simpson-scale.html

Hurricane Name: Matthew 

(this is a brief overview of activity - see Hurrican Activity handout for a complete listing of how to do the activity).

Date      Time      Latitude               Longitude            Wind Speed (mph)          Pressure (mb)  

Did it make landfall?       Where did it make landfall?         Estimated cost of damage.

Hurricane Name: Gaston

Date      Time      Latitude               Longitude            Wind Speed (mph)          Pressure (mb)  

Did it make landfall?       Where did it make landfall?        Estimated cost of damage.                                                                                                                                         

Hurricane Name: Hermine 

Date      Time      Latitude               Longitude            Wind Speed (mph)          Pressure (mb)  

Did it make landfall?       Where did it make landfall?         Estimated cost of damage.                                                                                                                                         

Part 2: Graphing:

Now graph the daily Wind Speed vs Pressure for each hurricane. (Use a pencil to graph the hurricane (daily wind speed and pressure) and then overwrite it with a highlighter to indicate its color. Color code the hurricane's name to correspond to the tracking color.)  

Procedure:

1.            Plot on graph paper, pressure (mb)  on the x axis and wind speed (mph) on the y axis.

2.            Ensure that you scale appropriately, correctly label the X and Y-axes, and properly title the graph.

Part 3: Saffir Simpson Scale:

Complete the following chart using Link 3 from above. 

Saffir Simpson Scale: The hurricanes above produced catastrophic damage during their lifespan.  Some damage came from tornadoes.  Please complete the chart below to understand the tornado categories and damage produced in each scale.  (Disclaimer: Not all tornadoes come from hurricanes and not all hurricanes produce tornadoes.) You will use this information to assist in answering the questions.

Category              Winds (mph)       Damage               Examples

1                                             

2                                             

3                                             

4                                             

5                                             

Questions:

1.            What is the correlation between wind speed and pressure of a hurricane? POSSIBLE ANSWER: Wind speed in a hurricane is a direct relationship to surface pressure. The graph created shows the relationship between surface pressure and sustained wind speed as a causal linear relationship.

2.            What difference does the timing of the tide make on the damage done by a hurricane? POSSIBLE ANSWER: If the tide is out when the hurricane hits land, the storm surge will be lower than if the tide is in when the hurricane hits. Conversely if the tide is high when the hurricane hits land, the storm surge will be increased and the possibility of an increase in damage also increases.

3.            Describe the types of damage that would happen if a hurricane with an intensity of 3 on the Saffir-Simpson Scale hit Mobile. POSSIBLE ANSWER: A category 3 hurricane has winds of 111-129 mph. According to the National Hurricane Center, “Devastating damage will occur: Well-built framed homes may incur major damage or removal of roof decking and gable ends. Many trees will be snapped or uprooted, blocking numerous roads. Electricity and water will be unavailable for several days to weeks after the storm passes.”   https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshws.php

4.            What three things must occur for a hurricane to get stronger? POSSIBLE ANSWER: (1) Ocean surface temperatures warmer than 79 degrees Fahrenheit (26 degrees Celsius) (2) Low vertical wind shear (3) Warm moist air and a 4^th condition could possibly be (4) Ocean area along the projected storm track

5.            What time of year do most Atlantic hurricanes form? POSSIBLE ANSWER: June 1 to November 30 is hurricane season with the peak of the season being from mid-August to late October. However, deadly hurricanes can occur anytime in the hurricane season.

6.            Where do Atlantic hurricanes form? POSSIBLE ANSWER: Hurricanes can form in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and the tropical Atlantic Ocean as far east as the Cape Verde Islands. The role the Sahara Desert plays in hurricane development is related to the easterly winds (coming from the east) generated from the differences between the hot, dry desert in north Africa and the cooler, wetter, and forested coastal environment directly south in west Africa. The result is a strong area of high altitude winds commonly called the African Easterly Jet. Throughout most of the year, these waves typically form every two to three days in a region near Cape Verde (due west of Africa), but in the summer to early fall is when conditions become favorable for tropical cyclone development. Not all hurricanes that form in the Atlantic originate near Cape Verde, but most of the major hurricanes that have impacted the continental United States have originated from this area.

7.            Why causes a hurricane to die out? POSSIBLE ANSWER: A hurricane dies down when it loses its energy source, which is usually warm water at the surface of the ocean. This loss of energy can occur as a hurricane passes over cooler water or over a land mass.  If no further energy is fed into the hurricane it will weaken and die.

8.           What can be predicted about future hurricanes based on previous hurricane patterns and trends (think: water temperature, wind patterns, humidity, pressure, etc.…)? POSSIBLE ANSWER: Every year around April the meteorologists start talking about how many named storms are predicted for the season and how many hurricanes are expected to make landfall.  Scientists can predict the number of named storms and their breakdown by intensity (i.e. the number of hurricanes, tropical storms, intense hurricanes, etc.).  They can also predict approximate wind speeds and intensity for sustained winds.  These can be easily calculated using elementary statistics.  Compared to past seasons, the sustained wind speed follows the Poisson distribution with fairly consistent accuracy.  Named storms are typically predicted based on past occurrences and current measures of factors in the climate.  At the beginning of the season these are only labeled as probabilities. 

Teacher needs to complete the entire  activity in advance to ensure that they are able to answer the students' questions as they encounter trouble. 

Teacher needs to review How to Read NOAA page in advance of activity to ensure that they can answer students' questions.

Teacher needs to have Atlantic Basin tracking charts available for each student/partner before the activity starts.

Teacher needs to provide graphing paper prior to the start of the activity.

Teacher needs to review the BYOD/Internet acceptable use policies established by the teacher, school, district, or variation of the above.

Teacher can assign each student/group a different set of hurricanes from various years to see if the trend follows.

This activity can also be a live tracking activity for the fall semester (during hurricane season). It would be a daily activity that would continue for a few months.

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