Download a sample student powerpoint project

Hurricane Melissa
By Melissa Wrzesien
Science 5th
September 25, 2003
What is a hurricane???
First, I want you to know that there are
three categories smaller than a
hurricane
– Tropical disturbance/tropical wave
– Tropical depression
– Tropical storm
A tropical storm is not as extreme as a
hurricane. A hurricane is a tropical
storm with winds over 74 miles per hour.
Hurricanes are different from other
storms because they form in the
summer to fall time period over warm
water (80º or warmer, often in the
tropics, Atlantic Ocean, and/or Gulf
of Mexico) and when the water is
warm the air is warm so the hurricane
can strengthen and become even
more powerful.
Five things that make hurricanes
different from big storms are:
• Hurricanes have no fronts
• Hurricane winds weaken with height
• The centers of hurricanes are warmer
than their surroundings
• Air sinks at the center of a hurricane
• Hurricanes weaken rapidly over land
There are five different levels of
hurricanes according to the
Saffir-Simpson scale.
Category
Wind Speed
Storm Surge
1
74-95 mph
4-5 ft
2
96-110 mph
6-8 ft
3
111-130 mph
9-12 ft
4
131-155 mph
13-18 ft
5
More than 155 mph
More than 18 ft
Now that you know the different levels of
hurricanes, it would be helpful to know how we form.
First the wind blows the clouds clockwise and we
start pulling up ocean water. Then the bottom water
moves counterclockwise.
Next, air sinks into the center of us (the
eye).
Wind spins around the eye,
where we are the
strongest.
As the wind flows higher it
becomes weaker and flows
clockwise.
Now that you know how we form it might be
helpful to know what is needed for us to even
form in the first place.
We need:
– Ocean water above 80°F (the warm part needs to
be around 200 feet deep)
– Warm, humid air
– Winds blowing
– High pressure in the upper atmosphere
Death
You know about our birth and what is needed for us to live but
now you must learn about our death. Yes, even hurricanes will die
sometime. Before I tell of our horrible death I want to say that
I love easterly winds and hate westerly ones. Easterly winds keep
us going but the evil westerly winds tear us apart. I don’t
understand why they like to kill things, but a hurricane can’t know
everything.
Westerly winds aren’t the only thing that can kill us. When we go
over land we die because we don’t get the warm water that we
need to survive. We live a short life, I know, but it’s a great one.
Wait, you know how we are born and die but you still need to know
about everything in between.
Our Life Stages
Thunder storms start forming into a swirl
that is considered a tropical depression.
Tall storms gather toward the center-it’s
now a tropical storm.
Eye forms and the winds reach 74 miles per
hour, making it officially a hurricane.
Hurricane hits land and weakens-becomes a
non-tropical storm.
I think you have learned enough about
hurricanes at this point in time. I’m off
because now that I’m a category 3
hurricane I can go hit land. I will take the
path Hurricane Fran took because she is
my hero. Hope to see some of you guys
when I touch down in the Carolinas!!!
Bibliography
Information from:
– http://asterix.ednet.lsu.edu/~edtech/webquest/canequest.htm
– http://www.usatoday.com/weather/hurricane/science.htm
Pictures from:
– http://www.usatoday.com/weather/tg/whurwhat/whurwhat.htm
– http://www.usatoday.com/weather/hurricane/stories/2001/2001
-07-19-hurricanes-amm.htm
– http://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/images/hurricane-frannasa1.gif