Hurricane Strike!

Goto The Hurricane Strike Learning Module at

Here’s a youtube introduction to the Hurricane Strike Environment. (5 minutes)

(note: the video and this document assume that you are using the multimedia version of this activity. Some students prefer the text version. )

Science Worksheet 1 (select Sunday)

Watch the Weather Channel News Flash (on the Castillos’ TV) and look in Storm Track (on the Castillos’ laptop computer) to answer questions 1–3:

1. Where was Tropical Storm Erin at 8:00 PM on Sunday, July 30^th? (Fill in the blanks with latitude and longitude numbers and identify N, S, E, or W for each. If you have a tracking chart, plot the location.)

Latitude:   __ __ . __   N  S  E  W           Longitude:   __ __ . __   N  S  E  W

2. Which place was closest to the center of Tropical Storm Erin? (identify one)

Cuba                Florida              Mexico              The Turks & Caicos

3.  Tropical Storm Erin’s winds are gusting to 60 mph. How many kilometers per hour (kph) is that, if 1 mph equals 1.61 kph? _______ kph

4.  Tropical storms that begin in the Atlantic Ocean north of the equator form near the …  (identify one)

Tropic of Cancer                                   Tropic of Capricorn

5.  Hurricanes can’t strike places in the northern part of the U.S., like New York. (identify one)

          TRUE                FALSE

6.  If you lived in Japan, what would you call hurricanes? (Fill in the blank.)

            _______________________________

7.  If you were planning your summer vacation on the East Coast of the U.S., which month would you choose if you wanted to have the lowest chance of having your vacation ruined by a hurricane? (identify one.)

          June                 July                  August              September

8.  If there are 18 Atlantic tropical storms next year and 12 of them become hurricanes, what fraction of Atlantic tropical storms will become hurricanes? (identify one.)

9. The storm system in the above picture has rainbands that are spiraling around the storm in a counterclockwise direction. Which hemisphere is this system in? (identify one)

Northern Hemisphere

Southern Hemisphere

10.  If the hurricane is moving quickly toward the north, which island do you think would probably have stronger winds? (identify one) This video may help

Island A            Island B            Neither island   

11. Imagine that you are stuck on Island A and the hurricane is moving directly toward the west.. What would the winds do on Island A? (identify one)

1. 
   First they would blow from the north. They would get stronger and stronger for a while. Then the winds would suddenly die out. Then, really strong winds would start to blow from the south.
   
2. 
   First they would blow from the south. They would get stronger and stronger for a while. Then the winds would suddenly die out. Then, really strong winds would start to blow from the north.
   
3. 
   First the winds would swirl around clockwise. They would swirl faster and faster for a while. Then the winds would start swirling counterclockwise. They would start out light, get really strong, and then gradually weaken.
   
4. 
   First the winds would blow from the north. Then they would gradually shift directions, blowing from the east, south, and west.
   

12. Which of the following is NOT a good thing to include in a disaster supplies kit and why? (identify one and fill in the blank.)

Batteries                                   Blankets

Candles                                    Flashlights

13. What are three other things, aside from those listed above, that are good to include in a disaster supplies kit? (Write an item in each blank.)

_____________________    _____________________    _____________________

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