Academy College Mod 9 Meteorology Activity Paper DIRECTIONS: A .pdf with the Module 9 assignment can be found here: Module 9 Activity .pdf Finishing the

Academy College Mod 9 Meteorology Activity Paper DIRECTIONS:

A .pdf with the Module 9 assignment can be found here: Module 9 Activity .pdf

Finishing the Activity #1 Only!!!!!

Module 9 Activity #1

Answer the following two questions in the text box below. Please include a link to your sources in order to receive credit (not including your sources will result in a “0”)

1. (2pts): Why don’t hurricanes typically impact California
2. (3pts): Describe one instance where a hurricane or tropical storm directly impacted California (note: I mean California the state in the USA… NOT Baja California in Mexico, which is regularly impacted by tropical storms and hurricanes).

Please include the sources you used to answer questions 1 and 2. I will not accept answers without the sources cited and the links included in your answer. You may use any citation style (MLA, APA, WTF, etc…) you like, but please be consistent. Again, I will NOT accept answers without the sources cited (meaning you’ll get a “0” for this portion of the activity). Meteorology 10
Module 9 Activities – Hurricanes
Introduction:
Hurricanes are often considered to be some of the largest and most destructive storm systems on Earth.
With winds speeds that can exceed 200 miles per hour, the potential to dump tremendous amounts of
rainfall on a location, and the ability to raise sea levels by several feet or more, some of history’s most
extreme tragedies stem from hurricanes.
Because hurricanes can be so deadly and destructive, meteorologists (and the general public) want to
know as much about them as possible, so that they can predict them, warn people in their paths, and
minimize the damage caused by them.
By the end of this module, you should be able to:
1. Explain why hurricanes are uncommon in California, and give at least one example of a
hurricane that directly impacted California.
2. Describe where hurricanes form in the Atlantic Ocean, and in what direction they move in.
3. Interpret forecast maps issued for Hurricanes and other Tropical Systems.
Answer Sheet: The Answer sheet for Module 9 can be accessed at:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdb5IMMTvkCxGxQEe56Z0sechSBuXsfAptVwm3P3L0IpEw1g/viewform
Please note that because I have to grade the first activity manually, you won’t get an immediate score.
Activity #1: Hurricanes in California:
Take a moment and do some online research (aka “googling”) and answer the two questions below:
1. (2pts): Why don’t hurricanes typically impact California
2. (3pts): Describe one instance where a hurricane or tropical storm directly impacted California
(note: I mean California the state in the USA… NOT Baja California in Mexico, which is regularly
impacted by tropical storms and hurricanes).
Please include the sources you used to answer questions 1 and 2. I will not accept answers without
the sources cited and the links included in your answer. You may use any citation style (MLA, APA,
WTF, etc…) you like, but please be consistent. Again, I will NOT accept answers without the sources
cited (meaning you’ll get a “0” for this portion of the activity).
Activity #2: Typical Hurricane Tracks (adapted from a lab from the Science Education
Resource Center at Carleton College):
For this activity, we are going to look at the development and evolution of hurricanes during the 2005
Atlantic hurricane season. While hurricanes also form in the Eastern Pacific (near California), almost all
of the hurricanes that directly affect the United States form in the Atlantic Ocean. The 2005 hurricane
season was the most active hurricane season on record in the Atlantic, producing 28 tropical storms, of
which 15 became hurricanes, of which 7 became major hurricanes, and of which 4 topped the scale at
Category 5 hurricanes (Emily, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma). Because this was such an active season, it gives
us a great sense of how hurricanes form, travel, and evolve.
Directions: Watch this video, which shows the formation, movement, and evolution of each tropical
storm and hurricane that formed in the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. The video can be accessed here:
http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a003300/a003354/StormsOnly512x288.mpg
To watch this video, you will need some kind of multimedia player (most PC’s, Macs and Smartphones
should already have one installed, but if you cannot watch the video, try to open it on another device
before reaching out to me).
A few things to know about the video:
1. The video displays a map exactly like the one below. I’ve labeled the map with a few features I
want you to be aware of:
Mid-Latitude Cyclone
Lines of Latitude
(°N of the equator)
N
Sea Surface Temperatures (Yellows
and Oranges represent warm waters
while Blues, Dark Blues and Purples
represent cold waters).
2. Like other maps we’ve looked at in this class, North is at the top of the map, South is on the
bottom, West is on the left while East is on the right.
3. When a named storm forms in the video, the name of the storm will appear next to the storm
and the name will follow along with the storm until it is no longer classified as a tropical cyclone.
Furthermore, the movement of the storm will be documented with a line as the storm travels.
4. You may need to watch the video two or three times before you feel comfortable answering the
questions below. That’s normal! There is a lot happening in the video, including the presence of
non-tropical storms (those aren’t named and won’t have labels, so hopefully that helps!), and
the formation and movement of more than one tropical cyclone at the same time. Take your
time watching the video and I promise you that none of the questions below will be too difficult.
Answer the following questions below on the Google Answer sheet linked at the top of this assignment:
1. Typically, storms that became named storms formed:
a. Over the cold ocean waters (the dark blue and purple areas)
b. Over land
c. Over the warm ocean waters (the bright yellow and orange areas)
d. Nowhere on this map
2. Storms that formed South of 20°N (on the bottom half of this map) typically traveled:
a. From East to West
b. From West to East
c. From North to South
d. From Southwest to Northeast
3. Most storms that traveled North of 20°N (into the top half of the map):
a. Turned back South
b. Turned to the North, and in some cases, Northeast
c. Turned due West
d. Turned straight back to the East (Without turning to the North first)
4. Once a named storm traveled over the Cooler Waters (dark blues and purples), the storm:
a. Became stronger, developing a buzz-sawed like shape to it.
b. Either weakened, fell apart or became a mid-latitude cyclone (a hook-shaped band of
clouds like on the map above).
c. Immediately turned back to the West.
5. Once a named storm traveled over land, the storm:
a. Became stronger.
b. Did not change in intensity until it traveled back over the ocean.
c. Weakened, often times falling apart.
d. None of these are true.
Activity #3: Looking at Hurricane Products from the National Hurricane Center.
Tracking and forecasting of tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean Basin and Eastern
Pacific (Near California) basins is done by the National Hurricane Center, a branch of the National
Weather Service in Miami, Florida. The National Hurricane Center is also responsible for issuing
Hurricane Products (such as forecast Discussions, Maps) along with Watches and Warnings for the
coastal areas of the United States. This is crucial because it’s these products which are then used by
local/state/federal emergency planners to determine what areas need to be evacuated, and what areas
require disaster resources and relief. Without these services, the United States would be more prone to
deadly hurricane events, like the 1900 Galveston Hurricane (https://www.history.com/news/how-thegalveston-hurricane-of-1900-became-the-deadliest-u-s-natural-disaster).
Directions: (Video tutorials for this activity can be found here: https://youtu.be/DTnWpH27XVQ and
Step 1: Go to the National Weather Service site at www.hurricanes.gov
Once you’re there, you should see a site that looks like this:
The site contains information for any named storms present in the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific oceans,
and identifies the potential for any tropical cyclone activity to develop in the next 2-5 days. Before
moving on to step 2, take some time to explore the website to see what kind of resources are available.
Step 2: Once you’d had some time to familiarize yourself with the website, hover your cursor over
“Archives” in the menu below the “National Hurricane Center Banner” (the archives link is circled in red
above), and a drop-down menu will appear. In the drop-down menu, click on “Tropical Weather
Outlooks”
The page you will see is the current 5-day tropical outlook for the Atlantic Ocean Basin. By clicking on
the “Eastern North Pacific” Tab next to the “Atlantic” Tab, you can view the 5-day tropical outlook for
the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
At the time I’m writing this lab, there was virtually nothing going on in either ocean basin, so let’s look at
some archived events instead!
Step 3: Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on “List of Atlantic Outlooks (July 2014-Present)”
Clicking on that link will take you to a page with links to all of the tropical weather outlooks archived
since July, 2014.
Step 4: Scroll down until you see “2017-08-22 11:51.” Click on that link, and it will take you to the
Tropical Outlook issued at 8:00am Eastern Daylight Time on August 22, 2017. The page should look like
this:
If you’d like, you can take a look at what was happening in the Eastern Pacific at this time, but for now,
we are going to look at the Atlantic Ocean Basin. At this time, there is no Named Storm present, but two
Colored “X”s with shaded cones sticking out of them. These represent two areas where tropical
development is possible (The X represents where the Low Pressure center currently is, and the shaded
area represents where it may travel to in the next 5 days). The coloring of the X and the shaded area
corresponds to the probability that the low pressure will develop into a named tropical cyclone:
Orange = Medium (Between 40-60%) Chance of Development
Red = High (Above 60%) Chance of Development
Step 5: Hover your cursor over the red “X” that is currently present near Cancun, Mexico. As you hover
over it, it will give you information about the storm. Answer the two questions below on your answer
sheet on Google:
1. This area has a ________________ chance of development in the next 5 days
a. Low: Less than 30%
b. Medium: Between 40-60%
c. High: Greater than 60%
2. This area is actually associated with the remnants of which named storm:
a. Tropical Storm Harvey
b. Hurricane Irma
c. Tropical Storm Maria
d. Hurricane Katia
It is very possible for a tropical cyclone to dissipate (die off) only to re-generate a few days later when it
encounters more favorable conditions (warm ocean waters, moist air, and low vertical wind shear). The
red “X” from the two questions above represents a case where a storm developed, entered hostile
conditions and fell apart, only to enter an area where re-generation is possible. Let’s fast-forward a few
days to see what happens to this area of low pressure:
Step 6: Go back to the archive list (you can either just click on the “back” button of your browser to reenter the archive list, or just repeat steps 1-3 to get back to the list). Now click on “2017-08-24 14:54.”
This link takes you to a page that looks very similar to the page you visited in Step 4, but for 8am EDT on
August 24, 2017, which is 2 days later. Let’s focus on the Gulf of Mexico, which was mostly shaded in red
in the “Step 4” figure, indicating a high probability that a named tropical cyclone would develop there in
the next 2-5 days. However your cursor over the red “§” symbol indicating where the low pressure is
now present. Answer the two questions below:
3. The low pressure we looked at in questions 1 and 2 above:
a. Did re-generate into a tropical cyclone
b. Did NOT re-generate into a tropical cyclone
4. The low pressure is now classified as a:
a. Remnants
b. Tropical Depression
c. Tropical Storm
d. Hurricane
Step 7: Hover your cursor over the “archives” link, and click on “Tropical Cyclone Advisories.”
Step 8: On the Advisory Archive Page, Select “2017” in the list of years right below “2018 Tropical
Cyclone Advisory Archives.” This will take you to the archives page for the 2017 Hurricane Season.
Step 9: Click on “Hurricane HARVEY” Under the Atlantic list.
Step 10: Click on “Graphics Archives” at the top of the page.
Step 11: Once you click on Graphics Archives, you will be taken to an animation that shows you each of
the Graphics Maps of Hurricane Harvey, from it’s formation in the Caribbean, to it’s re-generation in the
Gulf-of-Mexico, to it’s landfall in Texas. Above the animation, you will see a table with 5 lists in it. Under
the “Legacy Cone” list, click on “3-day with line” link which will show you an animation of all of the
advisories for Harvey.
Step 12: Let the animation load and progress until 7am CDT (8am EDT) on August 24, 2017, which is the
same time you looked at in step 6. The image you’ll see should look like the one below:
You can toggle between advisories by clicking on the “” (for next
advisory) button.
As you can see, this map shows a tremendous wealth of information, all of which is very important to
both Meteorologists and the General Public. The information includes the current intensity and position
of the storm, the storm’s current movement, the forecast positions and intensities of the storm, a cone
of uncertainty (the area shaded in white surrounding the storm’s forecast position), and any related
watches/warnings for coastal areas (there is a legend of what type of watch/warning has been issued on
the bottom panel of the map).
Answer the following four questions based on the image above:
5. The storm’s maximum sustained winds are:
a. 10 mph
b. 23.8 mph
c. 93 mph
d. 60 mph
6. Based on the cone of uncertainty, the storm will likely:
a. Continue Northwest and make landfall over the Southern/Central Texas Coastline
b. Turn east and make landfall over Florida
c. Turn Due North and make landfall over Louisiana (The state with “LA” in the center of it)
d. Turn South and make landfall over Mexico
7. A “watch” means that tropical storm (yellow) or hurricane (pink) conditions are possible in the
next 48 hours while a “warning” means that tropical storm (blue) or hurricane (red) conditions
are expected in the next 24 hours. Based on the colored shadings along coastal Texas, most of
Southern and Central Texas should:
a. Expect Hurricane Conditions in the next 24 hours
b. Know that Hurricane Conditions are possible but not expected in the next 48 hours
c. Know that Tropical Storm Conditions are possible but not expected in the next 48 hours
d. Know that neither Hurricane nor Tropical Storm conditions are expected in the next 2448 hours.
8. The line in the center of the cone of uncertainty displays the forecasted track of the tropical
cyclone with larger dots indicating forecast positions (where the dot is located) and intensities
“the white letter in the dot” of the tropical cyclone in the future. According to the dot for 1pm
on Friday, the storm should:
a. Weaken into a Tropical Depression before hitting Texas
b. Remain a Tropical Storm before hitting Texas
c. Become a Hurricane before hitting Texas
Step 13: Finally, let’s toggle forward on the advisory map until we reach 1pm on Friday (to do this, click
on the “>” button above the map and continue clicking until you’ve reached 1pm on Friday, August 25th).
The date and time below the storm’s name and intensity should read “Friday, August 25th, 2017 and
1pm CDT Intermediate Advisory 21A”). Answer the final two questions below
9. The tropical cyclone:
a. Strengthened into a Hurricane, as was forecast at 7am on August 24th (the previous
image)
b. Remained a Tropical Storm, as was forecast at 7am on August 24th (the previous image)
c. Weakened into a Tropical Depression, which was not forecast at 7am on August 24th
d. Dissipated, and is no longer a tropical cyclone
10. True/False: At 1pm on Friday, August 25th , The hurricane still forecast to make landfall on the
Central Texas Coastline
a. True
b. False

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