Objectives
To track a hurricane using latitude and longitude; to give information about the hurricane’s formation and its amount of devastation.
Materials
- Computer with internet access
- Student Worksheet
Procedure
Select a hurricane from the list provided on the student worksheet (download from Lesson Resources). Once you are on this site go to Atlantic, Caribbean and the Gulf Coast to locate your hurricane by year. Another useful site is http://fermi.jhuapl.edu/avhrr/gs/averages/index.html. Using the hurricane you selected, go to www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastall.shtml and find out the following information.
- Where did your hurricane originate?
- What was its path? Draw its path on your hurricane map.
- When did it occur? When was it classified as a tropical storm? When was it upgraded to a hurricane?
- As the hurricane advanced to the coast, did it change its category and what was its category rating?
- Where did it make landfall? How much damage and what type of damage was done in its path?
- How far inland did it travel before it stopped affecting the mainland?
- How many if any lives were lost? How many if any people were injured?
- What type of evacuation plan was followed? What types of measures were taken by the local, state, or federal government?
Student Worksheet