Name:_________________________________________ Date:___________________ Period: _________
Tracking Hurricanes *(See pages 86-87)
Intro: In 2005, Hurricane Katrina was the eleventh named storm and ended up being the sixth most powerful Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the third most destructive hurricane to make landfall in the United States. Katrina formed in the western Atlantic Ocean as a tropical depression over the Bahamas on August 23, 2005. Warm water and moisture-rich air provided energy for the storm system, causing it to strengthen and become a tropical storm, then a hurricane. When Hurricane Katrina moved into the Gulf of Mexico it strengthened, quickly becoming a category 5 hurricane. Luckily, it weakened to a category 3 hurricane prior to landfall. Despite this, Katrina still caused severe damage in the Gulf coast states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Most notably, Katrina’s storm surge flooded 80% of New Orleans as the levees were breached, caused at least 1836 deaths, and an estimated $81.2 billion dollars in damages. Hurricane Sandy (unofficially known as "Superstorm Sandy") was the deadliest and most destructive hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, as well as the second-costliest hurricane in United States history. Classified as the eighteenth named storm, tenth hurricane and second major hurricane of the year, Sandy was a Category 3 storm at its peak intensity when it made landfall in Cuba. While it was a Category 2 storm off the coast of the Northeastern United States, the storm became the largest Atlantic hurricane on record (as measured by diameter, with winds spanning 1,100 miles (1,800 km). Estimates as of June 2013 assess damage to have been over $68 billion, a total surpassed only by Hurricane Katrina. At least 286 people were killed along the path of the storm in seven countries
Purpose: The purpose of this lab is to use data collected during Hurricane Sandy and Hurricane Katrina to track the movement of its low-pressure center. Students will also answer questions using this data and his/her knowledge of weather and the atmosphere.
Materials: Colored Pencils, hurricane tracking chart
Procedure: Complete the following steps:
-
Use the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale, identify the category for each hurricane at the various lat. & long. coordinates given in the data tables
-
Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale
|
Category
|
Wind speeds
|
Five
|
≥157 mph, ≥252 km/h
|
Four
|
130–156 mph, 209–251 km/h
|
Three
|
111–129 mph, 178–208 km/h
|
Two
|
96–110 mph, 154–177 km/h
|
One
|
74–95 mph, 119–153 km/h
|
Related classifications
|
Tropical
storm
|
39–73 mph, 63–118 km/h
|
Tropical
depression
|
≤38 mph, ≤62 km/h
|
2. Using the data from the table on the following page and a BLUE colored pencil, plot the location of the low-pressure center that formed Hurricane Sandy on the hurricane tracking chart. Use the available latitude and longitude coordinates. Next to each point, record the date for that position. Once all of the positions have been plotted, connect each data point with a line using the colored pencil.
3. On the hurricane tracking chart, use a second color to plot the location of the low-pressure center that formed Hurricane Katrina on the hurricane tracking chart. Use the available latitude and longitude coordinates. Next to each point, record the date for that position. Once all of the positions have been plotted, connect each data point with a line using a colored pencil.
Date
|
Time
|
Lat. (°N)
|
Long. (°W)
|
Pressure (mb)
|
Wind Speed (mph)
|
Stage
|
23-Oct
|
1:00AM
|
12.9
|
78.7
|
998
|
45
|
|
23-Oct
|
1:00PM
|
14.1
|
77.6
|
993
|
50
|
|
24-Oct
|
1:00AM
|
15.7
|
77.1
|
988
|
65
|
|
24-Oct
|
1:00 PM
|
17.6
|
76.8
|
973
|
80
|
|
25-Oct
|
1:00 AM
|
20.1
|
75.9
|
957
|
110
|
|
25-Oct
|
1:00 PM
|
23.5
|
75.4
|
963
|
105
|
|
26-Oct
|
1:00 AM
|
25.8
|
76.5
|
968
|
85
|
|
26-Oct
|
1:00 PM
|
27.1
|
77.1
|
971
|
75
|
|
27-Oct
|
1:00 AM
|
28.1
|
76.9
|
969
|
75
|
|
27-Oct
|
1:00 PM
|
29.7
|
75.6
|
961
|
75
|
|
28-Oct
|
1:00 AM
|
31.5
|
73.7
|
960
|
75
|
|
28-Oct
|
1:00 PM
|
32.8
|
71.9
|
951
|
75
|
|
29-Oct
|
1:00 AM
|
35.2
|
70.5
|
950
|
75
|
|
29-Oct
|
1:00 PM
|
38.3
|
73.1
|
940
|
90
|
|
29-Oct
|
4:00 PM
|
38.8
|
74.4
|
940
|
90
|
|
29-Oct
|
10:00 PM
|
39.8
|
75.4
|
952
|
75
|
|
30-Oct
|
4:00 AM
|
40.5
|
77
|
960
|
65
|
|
30-Oct
|
10:00 AM
|
40.2
|
78.4
|
983
|
45
|
|
Hurricane Sandy, October 2012
Hurricane Katrina August, 2005
Date
|
Time
|
Lat. (°N)
|
Long (°W)
|
Pressure
(mb)
|
Wind Speed
(mph)
|
Stage
|
23-Aug
|
6:00PM
|
23.1
|
75.1
|
1008
|
35
|
|
24-Aug
|
6:00AM
|
23.8
|
76.2
|
1007
|
35
|
|
24-Aug
|
6:00PM
|
25.4
|
76.9
|
1003
|
45
|
|
25-Aug
|
6:00AM
|
26.1
|
78.4
|
997
|
60
|
|
25-Aug
|
6:00PM
|
26.2
|
79.6
|
988
|
70
|
|
26-Aug
|
6:00AM
|
25.4
|
81.3
|
987
|
75
|
|
26-Aug
|
6:00PM
|
24.9
|
82.6
|
968
|
100
|
|
27-Aug
|
6:00AM
|
24.4
|
84.0
|
950
|
110
|
|
27-Aug
|
6:00PM
|
24.5
|
85.3
|
948
|
115
|
|
28-Aug
|
6:00AM
|
25.2
|
86.7
|
930
|
145
|
|
28- Aug
|
6:00PM
|
26.3
|
88.6
|
902
|
175
|
|
29-Aug
|
6:00AM
|
28.2
|
89.6
|
913
|
145
|
|
29-Aug
|
6:00PM
|
31.1
|
89.6
|
948
|
90
|
|
30-Aug
|
6:00AM
|
34.1
|
88.6
|
978
|
45
|
|
30-Aug
|
6:00PM
|
37.0
|
87.0
|
990
|
35
|
|
31-Aug
|
6:00AM
|
40.1
|
82.9
|
996
|
30
|
|
Analysis Questions: Use the hurricane map that you plotted to answer the following questions in complete sentences.
1. According to the Saffir- Simpson scale, what category was Hurricane Sandy when it hit NJ? _____________
2. According to the data, Hurricane Sandy reached wind speeds of 90 mph or greater during two separate periods of time, on October 25th from 1:00AM to 1:00PM and on October 29th from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. During these times, was the air pressure greater or less than the air pressure measured at the previous locations?
3. What happened to wind speed and barometric pressure when hurricane Sandy passed over Cuba? Why?
4. What happened to wind speed and barometric pressure when Hurricane Sandy made landfall over New Jersey?
5. Using your answers to the previous questions, create a hypothesis that describes the relationship between atmospheric pressure of a hurricane and its wind speed.
6. What global wind belt causes newly formed tropical storms or hurricanes to travel in a westerly direction?
7. Compare and Contrast the pathway of Hurricane Sandy to the pathway of Hurricane Katrina. Explain what you think could have caused paths of these two hurricanes to be so different.
8. Explain how and where Atlantic Basin hurricanes begin and form. Be sure to mention, the energy source of the hurricane, air flow and air pressure.
9. Explain the terms hurricane watch and hurricane warning. What is the best course of action people should take under each of those conditions?
**10. When does the Atlantic hurricane season occur? (you will need to use another source for this question)
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