Hurricanes Environmental Science Quiz

Eye

The least powerful part of a hurricane. The winds are typically light and skies are partly cloudy or sometimes clear.

Eyewall

Most powerful part of a hurricane known as a ring of thunderstorms. These swirl around the eye, the winds are the strongest of the hurricane and rain is the heaviest.

Rain bands

The outermost part of a hurricane with bands of clouds and rain that go far out from a hurricanes eyewall. They can stretch for hundreds of miles and can contain thunderstorms and tornadoes.

Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale

How hurricanes are categorized based off of wind speed.

Coriolis Effect

The curving of moving objects, including wind, from a straight path due to Earth’s rotation

In the Northern hemisphere this makes objects move counterclockwise

In the Southern hemisphere this makes objects move clockwise 

Hurricane Season

The Atlantic one runs from June 1-Nov 30

Three levels of tropical cyclones and their windspeeds

Tropical depression- wind speeds are less than 39mph

Tropical storm- winds speeds are more than 39mph but less than 74mph

Hurricane- wind speeds are 74mph and more

Category 1 wind speeds

74-95mph

Category 2 wind speeds

96-100mph

Category 3 wind speeds

111-130mph

Category 4 wind speeds

131-155mph

Category 5 wind speeds

156mph and higher

Hurricane Sandy

Catastrophic storm because of the high tides and full moon at the time, it became a hybrid storm mixed with a Nor’easter, and there was not enough pressure in the air so the Bermuda High (high air pressure system over Bermuda) was weak.

Conditions hurricanes need to form

In order to form, hurricanes need water that’s temperature is 80 degrees Fahrenheit or higher and winds that don’t change speed/direction

Hurricanes and global warming

Hurricanes can become more intense because of this though hurricanes are not made because of it, the impact is typically worse since this is what’s going on, in Earth.

Effects of hurricanes

Winds- High winds knock down trees, break power lines, and rip apart houses

Rainfall- The amount of rainfall typically goes from 6”-12” if hurricanes last long they can make floods which can occur more than 100 miles inland.

Storm Surge-  a rapid rise in the water level that moves onto land as the eye makes landfall. Two factors that cause storm surge are: Strong winds that push the water toward the coastSuction created by the storm's low pressure.

Tornado- a violently rotating column of air that extends from the bottom of a vertically developed cloud. Tornadoes are often produced by hurricanes. Some hurricanes develop several tornadoes, while others create none at all.