minutes ONSE QUESTIONS Skills: Develop and support an argument that applies historical think. ces located in one place, either in the introduction or the conc cally defensible claim and responds to all parts of the ilize specific examples of evidence to fully and effectively jons between the the focus of the essay (such as political, uation, era, or geographical area. argument and one of the following. es in the United result of Riding the Activity 19 Wave of a Hurricane Background Hurricanes are the most destructive storms on Earth. They develop from tropical storms (cyclones) and are classified as hurricanes when their winds reach 64 kt (about 119 kph or 74 mph). Hurricanes have a small central region known as the eye, where the winds are light and there are few clouds. Moving out from the eye, there is a narrow band of intense thunderstorms, heavy rains, and strong winds. This first band wall are strong but is called the eye wall. Beyond the eye diminishing winds and thunderstorms. Hurricanes are very large storms that can reach 500 km in diameter. The strength or intensity and duration of these storms depend upon many meteorological variables such as mid-level wind speed, water temperature, humidity, position of fronts, and upper level winds. Hurricanes contain tremendous amounts of energy. They gather this energy from warm ocean waters in the tropics. As the warm, humid air rises, it cools and condenses, releasing heat (called latent heat). Latent heat is the heat released or absorbed when substances change phases. This heat warms the surrounding air, making it lighter and causing it to rise farther. As the warm air rises, cooler air flows in to replace it, causing wind. The ocean warms this cooler air, and the cycle continues. The heat from warm ocean water is the fuel for hurricanes. For this reason, hurricanes diminish and die when they move inland or move into colder water. Objective Track the position of Hurricane Ike and distinguish between a hurricane watch and a hurricane warning issued by the National Weather Service. Vocabulary Hurricane: A weather phenomenon in which a storm is made up of winds greater than 119 kph or 74 mph directed around an area of low pressure. Storm surge: The rise in sea level caused by wind and pressure associated with a hurricane. SCLI LINKS. THE WORLD'S A CLICK AWAY Topic: hurricanes Go to: www.scilinks.org Code: PSCM 013 1 14 14 15 15/ 15/ 15/1 Project Earth Science: Meteorology, Revised 2nd Edition Copyright © 2011 NSTA. All rights reserved. For more information, go to www.nsta.org/permissi eurology, Revised 2nd Edition ved. For more information, go to www.nsta.org/permissions. 209 20