Grade 7 - Geography Project

Geography

Are all examples of Tropical Storms

Deathly weather spirals cause by rising warm air

Different sections of the scale are...

Measuring, catogorizing and classifing tropical storms and tornadoes

Storm surge is a sudden rise in sea level caused by the winds puching water towards the coastlines.

It is like a never ending tsunami, althrough the waves are not as high

The Enhaned Fujiti (EF) Scale

Tornadoes are not measured with The Saffir-Simpson Scale, instead The Enhanced Fujiti Scale is used. The Enhanced Fujiti Scale was originally called the F scale (The Fujiti Scale) but on February 1, 2007 the NOAA updated it to the EF Scale (Enhanced Fujiti Scale). The NOAA updated it beacuse the old scale was inconsistent, over-estimating wind speeds.

The Fujiti Scale has 4 sections

- Rating Scale: EFO/EF1/EF2/EF3/EF4/EF5

- Wind Speed: 104km-136km/137km-176km/177km-216km/217km-264km/265km-320km/Over320km

- Type of damage frequency: minimal/moderate/significant/severe/devasting/incredible

- Percentage of tornadoes: 28/40/24/6/1 to 2/ less then 1

A doppler rader is eletronic soundings that measure the speed and rotation of winds and wind drafts, detecting if there are any tornadoes

Since tornadoes are very localized weather events a doppler rader can pinpiont storm bursts and satellite communication systems can alert pepole, allowing more and more pepole to take cover before the tornadoe hits.

The Saffir-Simpson Scale

Severity

Wind Speed

Weak

Moderate

Strong

Very strong

Devasting

This is the storm's strength, a weak storm will have weaker winds then a moderate or strong storm

75km to 152 km

153km to 176km

177km to 208km

209km to 248 km

Above 248km

The powers of hurricanes, cyclones and typoons are measured with the Saffir-Simpson Scale. The names Saffir and Simpson come from the scientists who created this scale.

This scale indicates...

- wind speed

- storm surge

- two dangerous ways in which energy is released

This is how fast the winds in that storm are traveling at

Height of Storm

Category

Storm surge is a sudden rise in sea level caused by high winds pushing water towards coastlines. It is like a never ending tsunami, though not as high

1.2m to 1.5m

1.8m to 2.4m

2.7m to 3.6m

3.9m to 5.4m

Above 5.4m

Category 1

Category 2

Category 3

Category 4

Category 5

This is how tall the tropical storm is

This is the amount of damage the storm will do. The higher the category number the more damage the tropical storm will do

Tropical storms are fed by surface waters that have been heated to 28 celsius. The increase in climate is heating up ocean waters by half a degree every single year since 1970. For 43 years the water temperature has been slowy going up.

The tropical storms link

The tornadoe link

This will bring the waters in the Atlantic hurricane region to the 28 celsius level that can spawn hurricanes.

Facts about storms that happened in 2004 and 2005

- In 2004 and 2005 twice as many hurricanes appeared, then predicted .

- Scientists completed the alphabet and had to use additonal names from the Greek letters because they were so many hurricanes in 2005

- 2280 hurricane related deaths and $100 billio U.S was the result of hurricanes in 2005

Besides the Atlantic Ocean there are other places that reached even higher temperatures because of global warming.

- The Gulf of Mexico has almost reached 35 celsius water surface temperatures in some places.

- Studies show that over the past 30 years the occurances of Category 4 and 5 tropical storms have doubled

- The NOAA expects that in the future hurricanes will be even stronger with much more rainfall, all because of increasing ocean temperatures due to global warming

How does this extra energy effect the amount of storms?

Heat from the sun in the form of eletromagnetic waves passes through our atmosphere easily and then reflects back into space. But since there is an increase in the usage of fossil fuels there are more and more greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. This traps the sun's energy in the atmosphere and it gets reflected back into Earth. This extra energy is causes warmer sea waters.

Tornadoes are partly caused by the warm rising air that comes from the Gulf of Mexico. The ocean waters are warming which means that the water in the Gulf of Mexico will also get warmer. This will cause more severe tornadoes that will cause more damage.

Any questions or comments?

Conclusion: Global warming causes warmer oceans and warmer oceans will lead to more dangerous and severe storms.

By Jason and Jay

Unit 2: Physical Patterns Are Important

Chapter 5: Global climates

Powerful And Devasting Storms

By Jason and Jay

YES

Global warming is increasing the occurrences of tropical storms andtornadoes.

Is global warming responsible for the increasing amounts of severe, devasting tropical storms and tornadoes?

The atmosphere

Radiant energy in

the form of

eletromagnetic waves

Blizzards

Hurricanes

Hurricanes that affect the Caribbean and North America orginate of the coast of Africa

Tornado Alley

Tornado Isaac

This area in America has the most tornado occurances

Typhoons

Typoons start at the Pacific Ocean

Hurricane Mitch

Effected area: Central South Florida

Formed: October 22, 1998

Dissipated: November 5, 1998

Winds: 180 kilometers per hour

Deaths: 19, 325

Category: 5

"Most powerful and destructiv hurricane of the 1998 Atlantic hurricane season "

Category: 1

Formed: August 21, 2012

Dissipated: September 1, 2012

Winds: 80mph

Deaths: 34 direct and 7 indirect

Damage: 2.39 billion USD

Areas affected: Puerto Rico, Cuba, The Bahamas, Louisiana

Damages

Super Typoon Tip

Category: 5 "super, strong, most devasting typoon ever recorded

Formed: October 4, 1979

Dissipated: October 19, 1979

Winds: 305 kilometers per hour

Areas effected: Japan, Guam and Pohnpei

Fatalities: 86 direct and 13 indirect

Number of Tornadoes per the top 9 states

LOT'S of tornadoes occur in tornadoe alley

1. Texas: 8,049

2. Kansas: 3,809

3. Oklahoma: 3,443

4. Nebraska: 2,595

5. Lowa: 2,368

6. Illinois: 2,207

7. Missouri: 2,119

8. Mississippi: 1,972

9. Alabama: 1,844

Cyclone Orissa

Location: Myanmar, India

Dates...

Started to form: October 25th, 1999

Dissipated (broke up or went away): November 3, 1999

Damage: 4.5 billion U.S.A

Category: 5

Wind speeds: 260 km per hour

Deaths: 15,000 direct deaths

"Deadliest storm to ever hit India"

Cyclone Thelma

Areas effected: Vietnam and Philippines

Formed: Novemeber 1, 1991

Dissipated: Novemeber 8, 1991

Winds: 85 kilometer per hour (50 mph)

Deaths: 5,081 - 8,165 total

Damage: 27.67 million (USD 1991)

Cyclones

Cyclones are formed over the Indian Ocean

A tropical storm is a storm that orginates from the tropicas with the following characteristics...

All three of these powerful tropical storms all have common characteristics.

Such as: - High strong winds

- Heavy rain

- Originating from the tropics

But how are these destructive tropical storms created?

The Earth

Our atmosphere has swirling masses of air because our earth is spinning and because of uneven surface heating, powerful storms occur as a result.

Tropical storms (hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones)

Tornadoes

1. Due to the sun's uneven heating, warm air rises from the ocean surface

1. When humid air rises during the daytime, colder air comes down to the ground to takes its place

2. Cooler air blows into the base of the air mass

2. Occasionally rising warm air begins to rotate around a coloum of cold air.

3. The warm air spins around the cool spirling air creating a tropical disturbance. A tropical distubance is a weather phenomenon that comes from warm waters when cool air blows into the base of warm air

3. This causes a funnel of spiralling warm air which is called a vortex. A vortex is the rapid spiralling winds of a tornado

4. More air is heated and added to the spinning air mass and the storm gets stronger and stronger.

Many pepole think of tornadoes as a tropical storm but besides a few similarities they are very differnt from each other.

Tropical storms

Before turning into a storm tropical storms are swirling mountains of warm moist air. How does this warm air turn into a storm?

The Equator

After they form near the equator, the storms begin to move to mid-latitude areas. Somtimes they can reach a great distance from their orginating spot, moving to places like Nova Scotia.

Tropical storms orginate and form on either sides of the equator

The same or different?

Hurricanes, Cyclones and Typoons

Tornadoes

Occur during summer and spring

Occur during summer and autumn

Tornadoes develop over land and do not have dangerous storm surges

Devolps over water and have dangerous storm surges

They drop down from the clouds

Arrive on land

Does not have the spiral trademark

The spiral of a tornado is a trademark, much tighter and faster-spinning than hurricanes

Created near the equator

Tornadoes occur worldwide but most of them happen in Canada or the U.S.A

A tornado us one of the fastest moving natural phenomena on earth