2013 EDITION
A N N UAL
U P D A T E
WEATHER 2013
BY: CARLI MEDINA, KELSEY TIEMENS, AND ALEXIS ROHWEDER
It’s been an exciting year for weather Letters from the editors:
We wrote this magazine to inform you in an entertaining way about the phenomena of weather. We have learned so much about the different types of storms, and we want you to know how fascinating and dangerous they are. We believe it is our duty as weather researchers to encourage people to be educated about the weather and its danger it poses.
HURRICANES
This article includes:
BLIZZARDS AND LAKE EFFECT SNOW
TORNADOES
Table of Contents
1)Cover page 2)Table of contents 3)Tornadoes 4-5) Hurricanes 6-7) Blizzards 8) Lake effect snow 9) What factors effect weather 10) Bibliography
Imagine standing in
your Oklahoma backyard when harsh
TO R N A D O FU N FACTS!
winds strike your face. You look in the air and notice the sky has turned a deep shade of green.. All of a sudden rain starts to cascade from the ominous sky. You bolt to your house as the rain pelts against your skin. Once
WATERSPOUTS ARE TORNADOES THAT FORM OVER A BODY OF WATER
inside, you look back and see a funnel could
3 OUT OF 4 TORNADOES HAPPEN IN THE UNITED STATES
basement to find your family waiting for you.
THE UNITED STATES HAVE AN AVERAGE OF 800 TORNADOES A YEAR
forming. You rush to the safety of your
THIS IS A START OF A TORNADO. What goes through your mind when you hear the word tornado? Maybe you think scary, large, destructive, or disastrous. These are all normal things to think of. A tornado is a vast violent
TO RN ADO SAFETY TIPS
rotating vortex of wind.
Where do they occur?
You may also be wondering, where do they
occur? Although they can occur anywhere, there is a large “L” shaped region in the United States call Tornado Alley. The states in Tornado Alley consist of Oklahoma, Kansas, parts of Texas, Nebraska, eastern South Dakota, and eastern Colorado.
DurationTornadoes can last anywhere from a few seconds, to an hour. Although it is very rare for a tornado to last more than ten minutes, some do last an elongated amount of time. The recent tornado in Oklahoma lasted an astonishing forty minutes. It is extremely rare for a tornado to last this long, and the damage they can do is astounding.
When do they occur? Tornadoes typically occur in April to midJune. With the most happening in May.
-STAY AWAY FROM ALL WINDOWS -TRY TO GET TO A BASEMENT IF POSSIBLE
Hurricanes! Imagine standing on a lonesome sidewalk as the clouds rumbled above you, and then raindrops start to fall. You hear every rain drop with a thud on your umbrella, and then all the sudden you hear sirens indicating that a severe storm is on the way. You in live Florida so just like any other coastal state you were already expecting a hurricane. A Hurricane is a storm with violent winds that can cause severe damage to anything in it’s path. You hurry to warn your family and grab your dog before the hurricane arrives. Then the speed of the raindrops start to
increase so you dash into the defense of the indoors. You rush to find a place far from windows and doors to protect yourself until the hurricane passes.Hurricanes happen when warm air mixes with cold air over the ocean. Hurricanes usually last between a few days to a week so you stock up on supplies and wait for days. Ever since you were young you have been learning correct hurricane safety in school and at home. Get away from windows and stock up on supplies, and then wait for authorities to tell you what to do.than before. Everybody was
T H E DA M AG E !
Finally after 6 days of waiting you get the overwhelming news that the storm has passed.You walk outside and your whole house is destroyed and so is every other house you can see. You find your neighbor frantically searching for his loved ones and join in to help. The only sounds you hear are screams, car horns and water trickling into the sewage pipes. You know that the next few months are going to be very hectic because this very same thing happened about eight years ago by hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina was one of the deadliest hurricanes of 2005 and killed about two thousand people. Cleanup from hurricane Katrina is still on going and this hurricane’s cleanup will take just as long. You start to think, what will happen after this storm? Will there just be another one that will destroy everything you have fixed from before?What are the true benefits of living here? The United States has about fourteen per year and about forty percent are here in Florida every year! Shouldn’t we be considering leaving and moving to a safer area?
Everything to know!
A hurricane is a tropical storm with a violent winds that can cause a lot of damage. Hurricanes form, in the North Atlantic Ocean, the Northeast Pacific Ocean east of the dateline. Usually coast states get the worst of a hurricane but other states or countries can as well. In the United States there only about fourteen times a year and about forty percent of them happen in Florida. Hurricanes can also be called cyclone, typhoon or tropical storms it just depends where you are. There are a lot of casualties during hurricanes but about ninety percent are due to drowning!
How we rate hurricanes? We use the Saffir-Simpson hurricane intensity scale to describe the potential damage for hurricanes.This scale is measured from one (the minimal) to five (the worst).
2013 Hurricane Names Andrea Barry Chantal Dorian Erin Fernand Gabrielle Humberto Ingrid Jerry
Karen Lorenzo Melissa Nestor
N AM ING HURRIC ANES? A hurricanes name is from a large list of names. Each year has a different list which has different names. We name hurricanes so communication between citizens,meteorologists, or researchers can be easier.
Blizzards Image a calm winter day, you're driving home and you little sister is giggling at pointing at something out the window. “What is it?” I ask and she says “snowflake”. I turn to face my windshield and notice a plethora of them, all crowding together and molding into something bigger. Soon the flakes become clumps and I can hardly see five feet ahead of me. I began to get chills as I realize that we are stranded in the blizzard. The car swerves as a strong wind pushes against us. I quickly pull over to the nearest gas station to get us some shelter, I pull my sister out of her carseat and into the snow. We tread through the white ocean of snow and into the store where we find many other frightened people. Blizzards are common this time of year in Illinois. Its January 1st 1999, our communities are genuinely ready for lake effect snow so I am not too concerned about the survival rate which is around 90%. As time went on the blizzard got worse, we could hardly see the highway right in front of the glass double doors. My sister started to cry as we heard loud crashes and bangs coming from the road. I assumed they were car accidents but I told her otherwise in hopes that she would not worry.
A foreign man near us asked another man what had caused this. He calmly explained that blizzards generally form when the jet stream causes cold, dry northern air to collide with warm, humid southern air, lake effect snow can also create large blizzards. Just then the ceiling moaned and we looked around as the lights flashed off and on slowly, Eventually they had gone out completely. The small group of people in the store started to panic because without power there is no heat. We huddled together, about 13 of us in efforts to keep warm. We started telling our experiences with blizzards and snowstorms. So far we learned that snow costs about $1 million dollars to clean up per inch. More house fires start due to power outages, candles and fireplaces. Crops and livestock may die, and flooding may occur if the temperature suddenly rises. It is also possible to even be buried alive by snow. I never knew how threatening blizzards are to human beings. Soon it was night and we all wanted to get home, a woman frantically tried to force open the doors but they wouldn't budge. “We aren’t going anywhere” her husband repeatedly said to her. The owner of the gas station was very kind and lent us blankets, we spent the night there, shivering in the cold. The next morning it was still snowing, “how long will it last?” somebody whispered. “Blizzards can last from 4 days to 4 weeks I replied. We might be at this gas station longer than expected. My little sister tugged on my pant leg and begged to go home, I told her it wasn't safe yet and she glumly nodded her tiny head. I wanted to leave, but I could not risk our chances with snow drifts. I wanted to tell my family we were okay but I had no cell phone. Three days had passed and we had lived on the convenience food in the store. The power switched back on and the snow had finally stopped. Somebody climbed out a window and shoveled the snow away from the door. We walked outside in awe to see mangled cars all over the highway. It took another day before all the snow had been cleared and we could finally return home. This experience was tough but now I know always to have a blizzard kit. This kit would include food, clothes, blankets, a cell phone, and medicine. The Blizzard of 1999 was massive with a total of 39 deaths and a halt to all transportation for almost three days. Blizzards are truly amazing but can be deadly, you should always be informed on them.
Lake Effect Snow People often underestimate the power of lake effect snow. This snow results from cold, arctic air traveling over a moderately warm body of water. It can make roads very dangerous, temperatures low, and it can cause strong winds. Lake effect snow is common in populated areas of the Great Lakes of North America. This includes , northwestern Pennsylvania, northeastern Ohio, southwestern and central Ontario,and northwestern and north central Indiana You could also say that lake effect snow is quite the money maker earning about one million dollars and inch to clean up. Cleanup uses plow trucks, salt for the ground and snow machines, it has also provided many jobs. Lake effect snow is common in the winter and can occur in the spring. It can damage crops and often the snow will melt and then freeze into ice. You should never take lake effect snow lightly because you never know when it may hit! Be prepared with flashlights, candles, cell phones, and extra food incase of emergencies. Watch the local weather channel and take notice when there is a chance of this snow. You should always be prepared.
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Have you ever wondered about the weather? Then you need to keep reading, because we've got the answer to all your wonderful weather questions!
The Atmosphere All weather occurs in the lowest level of our atmosphere-the
Weather
troposphere. The gases that help the Earth retain heat are called the greenhouse gases. These gases include- water vapor, carbon
Well first we should start off with
dioxide, ozone, methane, nitrous oxide, and chlorofluorocarbons.
what weather is, weather is the properties of
These absorb the heat instead of allowing them to escape back
atmosphere at a given time and location,
into space.
including temperature, air movement, and precipitation. There are many factors that influence and change the weather. These factors include, the sun, the atmosphere, and the oceans. We will explain what each factor does to affect and change our weather.
The Sun The sun’s plays an important role of what our weather is. The sun’s tilt is responsible for the seasons. The reason why the sun’s tilt is responsible for the seasons is because of the direct of the sun’s rays. When the rays hit more directly the weather will be warmer. When the rays hit less directly the weather will be colder.
The Oceans Ocean currents influence temperature, weather patterns.
Bibliography http://www.weatherquestions.com/What_is_a_monsoon.htm http://www.farmersalmanac.com/weather/2013/03/04/what-causes-a-blizzard/ http://volweb.utk.edu/school/sumnercs/ellism/ink4.htm http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Lake-effect_snow.html http://library.thinkquest.org/C0126189/blizzard_dangers.htm http://www.ask.com/answers/107365941/how-long-do-blizzards-last http://www.willistonherald.com/news/after-blizzard-clean-up-work-continues/ article_bd65b0ae-8681-11e2-91a9-001a4bcf887a.html http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CEQQFjAD&url=http%3A %2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2Fhow-much-does-snow-cost-2009-3&ei=viNUYDaEfij4AP95YDYBQ&usg=AFQjCNFfYsNV5WVxXINI1pvrGR08B2DdOg&bvm=bv.46340616,d.dmg http://www.chiff.com/a/blizzard-tips.htm http://tornado-facts.com/interesting-tornado-facts/ http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/extremes/1999/january/blizzard99.html http://www.learner.org/interactives/weather/atmosphere.html http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/hurricane-profile/ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ http://www.ready.gov/hurricanes