Hurricane Lab
PART 1: Hurricane
Strikes
In this part, you will
compare hurricane activity in two counties in the
Go to http://hurricane.csc.noaa.gov/hurricanes/populationQuery.do
. Use the ‘Costal Population Tool’ to find two graphs (one for each county).
Follow the directions for choosing a graph. For information on how to read the
graph, see the section ‘What does this graph tell me?’
Individual County
Analysis
Analyze each county graph
separately. Use the following questions to guide your analysis and submit a
summary for each county graph.
-
How many total hurricanes struck the county in the
last century?
o How many of those hurricanes were category 3-5?
-
During which decade
did the most hurricanes hit the county?
o What is the average hurricane category for this
decade (1-2 or 3-5)?
-
How many hurricanes
were direct strikes vs. indirect strikes?
o What is the difference between direct and indirect
strikes?
-
How many of the
hurricanes that struck the county moved from water to land?
-
What was the
population change from 1900 to 2000?
-
Describe the most
recent hurricane that hit this county? (category, direct/indirect, water to
land/land to water)
-
Using the information
on the graphs, describe the average hurricane that hits the county (category,
direct/indirect, water to land/land to water).
-
Given all the
information on the graphs, which hurricane in the county was most damaging?
Consider population, media, and what you know about hurricanes.
Comparison of Two
Counties
Considering the hurricane
graphs for both counties, which county would you live in? Explain why in terms
of the average hurricane, the average category, direct vs. indirect, water to
land vs. land to water, etc. Use information from your research and the two
county graphs to support your answer. Answer this question in 2-3 paragraphs.
PART 2: Tracking a
Hurricane
Go to http://www.nhc.noaa.gov
Print off the blank
tracking graph called “Full Atlantic” located near the bottom of the page.
Then select “TPC Archives”
beneath “Hurricane History.” Find your hurricane under the year under the
section “Hurricane Season Tropical Cyclone Reports”. (Andrew and Hugo are
located under “Infamous Atlantic Storms”.)
Once you have found the
page for your hurricane, scroll down. You are looking for “Table 1. Preliminary
best track.” Select the table, by holding down and dragging the mouse over the
entire table, then copy.
Open an Excel document and
paste.
Analysis of
Hurricane Data
Click on a cell ________
and then go to “Insert” and select “Function.” In the dialogue box that pops
up, select “Average.” Now, highlight all of the data for the storms wind speed.
To the right of the cell that now contains the storms average wind speed, write
“Total.”
Click on the cell right
below the cell that contains the storms average wind speed. Go to “Insert” and
select “Function.” Again, select
“Average” and highlight all of the data for when the storm is classified as a
hurricane. To the right of this cell, write “Average Hurricane Wind Speed.”
-
How do these two
numbers (average and total) compare?
Now, highlight all of the
data for the storms wind speed. Go to “Insert” and select “Chart.” In the
dialogue box that appears, select “XY-scatter” and click finish.
-
What does the Y-axis
represent in the graph that results?
-
What does the X-axis
represent in the graph that results?
-
Sketch a copy of the
graph that results on your own piece of paper.
Be sure to include the X and Y axis.
Now, sketch the lines that represent your two average values that you
have already determined.
-
Color the portion of
the graph where your wind speed average data for the entire storm came from.
-
Color the portion of
the graph a different color where your hurricane wind speed average came from.
The Path of Your
Hurricane
Using the data, plot the
path of the hurricane on your blank tracking graph using latitude and longitude
data. In the data given, there are
locations for the hurricane at multiple times throughout the day. Each day’s data includes a reading at
Now that we have established
that we track the hurricane at the same time everyday, we can observe how fast
the hurricane is moving within a 24 hour period.
-
Does it appear that
the hurricane is moving at a constant rate?
-
Based on your
observations of the hurricanes, sketch a graph of what the hurricane’s velocity
would look like with respect to time.
-
Is there a
correlation between the hurricane’s speed and its intensity?
-
Is there a
correlation between the hurricane hitting land and its rate of movement?
-
Based on your observations
of the hurricane’s rate of movement and landfall, sketch a graph of the
hurricanes rate of movement with respect to time.
Before moving on, scan your tracking map into the
computer. Save the image as a JPEG. This map will be used in your power point.
Unknown Hurricane
Analysis
Data for a second
hurricane, called the ‘Unknown Hurricane’, is located below in Table 1. You
know nothing about the hurricane’s history or where it ultimately makes
landfall. You know nothing about the hurricane’s stages or categories.
Use the data and your
research from your research to break the data into the stages of a hurricane.
The previous data table for your hurricane already did this for you, so you can
use it as a reference. Also, determine the category of the hurricane using the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.
Use the data given each
day at
-
Does it appear that
the hurricane is moving at a constant rate?
-
Based on your
observations of the hurricanes, sketch a graph of what the hurricane’s velocity
would look like with respect to time.
-
Is there a
correlation between the hurricane’s speed and its intensity?
-
Is there a
correlation between the hurricane hitting land and its rate of movement?
-
Based on your
observations of the hurricane’s rate of movement and landfall, sketch a graph
of the hurricanes rate of movement with respect to time.
-
Do both hurricanes
appear to move a similar rate?
-
Where does your
second hurricane make landfall. Using
other sources, what major city is this hurricane headed for?
Final Step: Scan your tracking map into the computer. Save the image as a JPEG.
This map will be part of the hurricane lab report.
Table 1. Unknown
Hurricane Tracking Data
|
Position |
Pressure |
Wind Speed |
Stage |
||
|
(UTC) |
Lat. (°N) |
Lon. (°W) |
(mb) |
(kt) |
|
|
12/1200 |
15.9 |
82 |
1006 |
20 |
|
|
1800 |
16.4 |
83 |
1006 |
20 |
|
|
13/0000 |
16.7 |
83.2 |
1005 |
20 |
|
|
600 |
17.3 |
83.3 |
1004 |
30 |
|
|
1200 |
18.5 |
83.4 |
1003 |
35 |
|
|
1800 |
19.8 |
83.6 |
1001 |
45 |
|
|
14/0000 |
20.7 |
83.6 |
999 |
55 |
|
|
600 |
21 |
83.6 |
999 |
60 |
|
|
1200 |
21.3 |
82.9 |
997 |
60 |
|
|
1800 |
22.4 |
82.4 |
995 |
60 |
|
|
15/0000 |
23.1 |
82.6 |
988 |
60 |
|
|
600 |
23.8 |
82.2 |
988 |
65 |
|
|
1200 |
24.4 |
81.8 |
987 |
65 |
|
|
1800 |
25.1 |
81.3 |
986 |
65 |
|
|
16/0000 |
26.1 |
80.6 |
986 |
65 |
|
|
600 |
27 |
80.2 |
985 |
65 |
|
|
1200 |
27.8 |
80.1 |
982 |
65 |
|
|
1800 |
28.6 |
79.9 |
984 |
65 |
|
|
17/0000 |
29.4 |
79.8 |
984 |
65 |
|
|
600 |
30.2 |
79.8 |
985 |
65 |
|
|
1200 |
31.2 |
79.7 |
984 |
65 |
|
|
1800 |
32.2 |
79 |
978 |
70 |
|
|
18/0000 |
33.4 |
77.4 |
976 |
80 |
|
|
600 |
34.8 |
75.2 |
964 |
95 |
|
|
1200 |
36.8 |
71.6 |
960 |
90 |
|
|
1800 |
39 |
67.4 |
968 |
80 |
|
|
19/0000 |
41.5 |
61 |
968 |
80 |
|
|
600 |
44.9 |
51.5 |
968 |
80 |
|
|
1200 |
48 |
48 |
968 |
80 |
|
|
1800 |
51 |
45 |
968 |
80 |
|
