On September 21, 1989, Hurricane Hugo struck Charleston, South Carolina,
after devastating the Caribbean. Satellite pictures made it possible to
track the storm and give ample warning to residents. Even so, many lives
were lost and more than $7 billion of damage was done.
While Hugo was far stronger than most other hurricanes, it was typical
in many ways because it occurred in the latter part of September and hit
the coast of South Carolina. The height of hurricane season in the northern
hemisphere is in the fall, and the southern U.S. coastal areas are most
at risk.
Beginning as early as June, meteorologists scan satellite photos of the
warm waters off the west coast of Africa for telltale cloud formations that
indicate hurricanes are brewing. Because hurricanes and hurricane tracking
generate so much news and publicity, they are something students readily
see as a real-world application of science, and the topic can provide an
entry into other aspects of meteorology.
Infrared image taken from a satellite as Hurricane Hugo makes landfall
on September 22, 1989, at 12:01 a.m. The eye of the hurricane is black,
and the severest part of the storm is dark red. [Courtesy of the National
Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service.]
Connections
Every day, TV weather forecasters provide people with information to
help them plan their activities. Increasingly, we see pictures from weather
satellites and weather radar on the news. When violent weather is possible,
satellite and radar tools are especially important. Students can research
the development of these tools and how they are used to predict severe weather.
In addition, students can follow a hurricane (or other violent storm)
through television and newspaper reports and write about its effects on
the people and the area in the storm's path. Students can also use the reports
of how fast the storm is moving and its distance from shore to estimate
when and where it will hit land. The history of hurricanes that have devastated
the United States or other countries can provide gripping topics for reports
as students trace the path of these hurricanes and the impact of the storms.
Web Resources
- Hurricanes: Online Meteorology Guide from the University of Illinois
http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/hurr/home.rxml
This is an excellent general site that covers hurricane information, from
why they develop to the destruction that they cause. The hurricane tracker
allows students to see the path of Hurricane Hugo with wind speed and barometric
pressure at any given time during the storm.
- National Hurricane Center, Tropical Prediction Center from the U.S.
Department of Commerce, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
This site has up-to-the-minute information on all tropical storms around
the world, including the latest satellite and radar images that students
can view and use to estimate landfall.
- Hurricane: Storm Science from the Miami Museum of Science
http://www.miamisci.org/hurricane/hurricane0.html
"Hurricane" includes basic information about hurricanes as well
as how people who survived Hurricane Andrew were affected by the storm.
Students can interact with the site to track Hurricane Hugo.
- Event-Based Science: Hurricanes! from Montgomery County Maryland
Public Schools
http://mcps.k12.md.us/departments/eventscience/ebs.Hurricane.html
This web site for the Event Based Science series of classroom activities
includes a list of web resources on hurricanes as well as information about
the hurricane classroom activity.
- The Hurricane Hunters
http://www.hurricanehunters.com/
How can you resist a site that invites you for a cyberspace ride into the
eye of a hurricane! The photos are spectacular. Among a number of other
interesting things on this site: a history of the Hurricane Hunters that
dates to World War II; a list of FAQs, such as "Do you fly over the
top of a hurricane?"; and suggestions for preparing for a hurricane,
presented in English and Spanish.
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- Hurricane Field Trip from Virtual Field Trips at Tramline, Inc.
http://www.field-trips.org/sci/hurricane/index.htm
A tour of hurricane web sites with articles and information on hurricanes,
including an animated illustration of a developing hurricane, information
about preparing for a hurricane, and a hurricane timeline; a good place
to begin a unit on hurricanes.
- Handle a Hurricane from KGAN Weather Eye, sponsored by the Central
Iowa Power Cooperative
http://weathereye.kgan.com/lounge/plans/hurricane.html
Students take on roles in this decision-making simulation set in a Florida
town as a hurricane approaches. Throughout the lesson, students learn basic
information about hurricanes in order to make informed decisions about
the approaching storm.
- Severe Weather: Hurricanes
http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/sevweath/sevweath.html
Students can work in teams to study Hurricane Andrew and then track, analyze,
and predict the path of a new hurricane. Interesting graphics include movies
and a hurricane tracking chart, and there is also a glossary of weather
terms.
- Lesson Planning: Hurricanes Spark a Storm of Classroom Acitivity!
http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson015.shtml
The article on this site lists a nice variety of classroom activities,
geared mainly to elementary and middle school students, that include alphabetizing
the names of hurricanes, making static electricity, drawing a cartoon to
illustrate a joke about weather forecasters, tracking a hurricane's path
on a map, and more.
Classroom Resources from the ENC Collection
- Hurricane
 Date: 1998 Grade(s): 6 - 12
Cost: $39.95 ENC#: 013439
Video describing the process of hurricane formation and showing how
meteorologists use satellite data to predict hurricanes. A four-page guide
for using the video is included.
(For more details see ENC
Record)
- Natural disasters:
Earth science readings
 Date: 1996
Grade(s): 5 - 8 Cost: $24.95
ENC#: 004745
Activity book with readings on
Hurricane Camille, hurricane formation, and hurricane preparation. Readings
and activities on other weather phenomena are also included.
(For more details see ENC
Record)
- Hurricanes: Earth's
mightiest storms
Date: 1996 Grade(s): 3 - 8
Cost: $16.95 ENC#: 010822
Photographs, diagrams, and simple text explain the power of hurricanes
and how they are formed. The book features photographs of the great hurricane
of 1938, Hurricane Hugo (1989), and Hurricane Andrew (1992).
(For more details see ENC
Record)
- Weather WorkStation
 Date: 1998 Grade(s): 6 - Post-Sec.
Cost: $80.00 ENC#: 015978
A comprehensive multimedia resource on meteorology with an excellent
section on hurricanes, including an animation of how hurricanes are spawned.
(For more details see ENC
Record)
- Hurricane!
 Date: 1995 Grade(s): 5 - 8
Cost: $10.95 - $14.95 ENC#: 007883
The video and teacher's guide to a hurricane module that
accompanies the Internet Resource listed above.
(For more details see ENC
Record)
Teacher Resources from the ENC Collection
- A world of weather:
fundamentals of meteorology
Date: 1998
Grade(s): 12 - Post-Sec. Cost: $55.95
ENC#: 014035
A readable meteorology text complete
with an excellent chapter on hurricanes and laboratory exercises to test
your understanding.
(For more details see ENC
Record)
- The atmosphere: an
introduction to meteorology
Date: 1998
Grade(s): 12 - Post-Sec. Cost: Out
of Print ENC#: 015383
This resource
includes a good chapter on hurricanes as well as general meteorology principles.
It's out of print, but it still may be available at the library.
(For more details see ENC
Record)
Search Strategies
Find more materials by searching Curriculum
Resources on ENC Online using these terms: Atmosphere, Earth
science, Hurricanes, Meteorology, or Weather.
Connections to Standards
Realizing that there are many ways to use this Classroom Calendar entry,
we chose these standards because they relate to the entry, in full or in
part. If you want to explore the standards further, please use the link(s)
provided.
Connections to NSES
Content Standard A: Science as Inquiry: Abilities necessary to do inquiry
(5-8)
Content Standard A: Science as Inquiry: Abilities necessary to do inquiry
(9-12)
Content Standard D: Earth and Space Science: Structure of the earth system
(5-8)
Content Standard D: Earth and Space Science: Energy in the earth system
(9-12)
Content Standard F: Science in Personal and Social Perspectives: Science
and technology in local, national, and global challenges (9-12)
Content Standard F: Science in Personal and Social Perspectives: Natural
hazards (5-8)
Content Standard F: Science in Personal and Social Perspectives: Science
and technology in society (5-8)
Content Standard F: Science in Personal and Social Perspectives: Natural
resources (9-12)
Gay Gordon
Publications |
First posted: 5/23/2001
Last modified: 7/1/2004 |
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