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Investigate maps and data to learn about the connections between hurricanes and climate, places where hurricanes form and how climate change may be affecting their strength.
What you’ll need:• Hurricanes and Climate Student Investigation Workbooks (following pages)• Colored pencils• Rulers• Map of Tropical Cyclones 1985-2005 (following pages)• Map of Sea Surface Temperatures (following pages)
Directions:1. About hurricanes… • Survey student knowledge about hurricanes through class discussion. Students may
use page 1 of the workbook to collect knowledge and questions. 2. Where do hurricanes happen? • Show the class the Map of Tropical Cyclones 1985-2005. Explain that the lines on the
map show the paths of hurricanes and other tropical storms and there are six areas of the world where hurricanes occur.
• Referring to the map, ask students to color the approximate locations of these six regions on page 2 of their workbook using a different color for each region and then identifying the colors in the map key.
• As students notice where hurricanes do and do not occur, you may wish to share: • Hurricanes are usually over the ocean, which provides warm, moist air that fuels the storms.• The storms do not form at the equator where there is no rotating Coriolis force.• They do not form at the poles because it’s too cold for tropical cyclones.
3. How many hurricanes happen?
• Looking at the Map of Tropical Cyclones 1985-2005, students will likely notice that there are more hurricane paths in some regions than others. As a class, develop a hypothesis about whether the same number of hurricanes happen in each region.
• Using the table on page 3 of their workbook, ask students to create a bar graph (histo-gram) to explain how many hurricanes happen in each region. Ask students if their bar graph supports the idea that hurricanes are not equally distributed between regions.
4. When do hurricanes happen?
For Teachers:
Student Learning Objectives• Students describe the regions where hurricanes happen.• Students graph and interpret data to learn that different regions have varying numbers of hurricanes.• Students will be able to explain that hurricanes happen during the warmest times of year and in regions that have warm sea surface temperatures.• Students will graph and interpret data about how hurricanes have changed over recent decades as the Earth has warmed.
Classtime• 2-3 class periods
Grades• 5th - 9th grade
National Science Standards• A: Science as Inquiry• D: Earth Science• F: Science in Personal & Social Perspectives
National Geography Standards• 1: How to use maps ... to acquire, process, and report information.• 3: How to analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and environments...
Standards for School Mathematics• Data Analysis and Probability
Hurricanes and Climate
Activity by Lisa Gardiner (Spark, UCAR Science Education) copyright NESTA
Map of Tropical Cyclones (Hurricanes) 1985–2005
The map above shows the paths of all tropical cyclones that occurred between 1985 and 2005. Tropical cyclones are also known as hurricanes. The color of each path indicates the strength of the storm (according to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale). See key at left.
Image: Courtesy of Wikipedia Commons
Key: Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
Tropical Depression Tropical Storm
Category: 1 2 3 4 5
Hurricanes and Climate - A Windows to the Universe Classroom Activity © University Corporation for Atmospheric Research All Rights Reservedwww.windows.ucar.edu
• Students investigate the seasonal timing of hurricanes on page 4 of their workbook. Have students use the same colors they used for the map to indicate the hurricane season for each region on the timeline.
• The questions at the bottom of the worksheet are intended to point out that hurricanes happen at different times of year in the Southern and Northern Hemispheres and also that hurricanes happen during the warm time of year.
5. Where’s the warm water? • Provide student pairs or groups with either a paper or web page Map of Sea Surface Temperatures. Tell students that this map shows the
temperature of the water that is at the ocean surface as measured by satellites. Review the key with students. • Have students compare the Map of Sea Surface Temperatures and the Map of Tropical Cyclones 1985-2005 and notice that hurricanes
happen in areas where the ocean water is warm. Remind students that they had also figured out that hurricanes happen at warm times of year. Ask students to predict what might happen to hurricanes as the Earth becomes warmer.
6. Is global warming affecting hurricanes?• Introduce the data tables page 6 of the workbook. The top table shows the total number of hurricanes that happened in each region dur-
ing two different time periods. The bottom table shows the number of very strong hurricanes that happened during those time periods. • Instruct students to answer the questions on the right side of the page and consider the ideas they generated about how warmer climate could affect hurricanes. 7. Are hurricanes getting stronger?• Students represent the data from the lower table (strong hurricanes) in small bar graphs and then interpret the graphs to draw conclusions during the summary discussion. (See sample questions below.)• Does this data indicate that there are more hurricanes now?• Does this data show that there are more stronger storms?• Why might global warming cause changes in hurricanes?• What other information would you like to have to know whether climate change is the cause?
Science background:Hurricanes form in the tropics over the ocean where the sea surface is warm and so is the air. They go by different names in
different places – like tropical cyclones and typhoons. Scientists use the Saffir-Simpson scale to describe the strength of hurricanes (Category 1-5). Hurricanes form in areas of low pressure over a large area of warm water. Air is drawn into the low pressure in a spiral pattern due to the Coriolis Effect. Hurricanes draw energy from the warm water they move over. Scientists have determined that the strength and length of storms is probably affected by global warming. There is also evidence that the number of hurricanes changes over time with a natural cycle that does not relate to global warming, so there are probably multiple factors at work. Researchers are currently trying to learn more about the connection between warming and hurricanes and whether other climate cycles play a role.As global warming causes oceans to become warmer, and more moisture is held in the atmosphere, the intensity of hurricanes will likely increase. The warming ocean is correlated with an increase in the intensity of hurricanes. Hurricanes take heat energy from the oceans and convert it into the energy of the storm. Thus, warmer oceans offer more heat energy to hurricanes, allowing them to become stronger storms. Webster et al. (2005)* compared hurricane data from two 15-year time periods similar to how students compare the time periods in this activity (pages 6-7 of the workbook). There is strong evidence that recent climate change caused by humans has been increasing the intensity of hurricanes, but not all scientists agree that the data we have are enough to draw a conclusion. * Webster et al., 2005, Changes in Tropical Cyclone Number, Duration, and Intensity in a Warming Environment. Science 309, 1844-46.
Learn more online! • What on Earth Does Climate Change Impact? http://spark.ucar.edu/shortcontent/what-earth-does-climate-change-impact • Hurricanes https://spark.ucar.edu/shortcontent/hurricanes
Hurricanes and ClimateActivity by Lisa Gardiner (Spark, UCAR Science Education) copyright 2009 NESTAwww.windows2universe.orgwww.spark.ucar.edu
Satellite Sea Surface Temperatures
The map above shows the temperature of the ocean surface (called “sea surface temperature” or SST). The data to make this map was collected by instruments on the GOES and POES satellites from June 21-24, 2005. See key to colors at left.
Hurricanes and Climate - A Windows to the Universe Classroom Activity © University Corporation for Atmospheric Research All Rights Reservedwww.windows.ucar.edu
Image: Courtesy of NOAA
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35Sea Surface Temperatures in Degrees Celsius
Key:
Hur
rican
es a
nd C
limat
e - A
Win
dow
s to
the
Uni
vers
e Cl
assr
oom
Act
ivity
©
Uni
vers
ity C
orpo
ratio
n fo
r Atm
osph
eric
Res
earc
h Al
l Rig
hts R
eser
ved
ww
w.w
indo
ws.u
car.e
du
1D
o yo
u kn
ow w
here
hur
rican
es h
appe
n? D
o yo
u kn
ow h
ow th
ey m
ight
be
chan
ging
bec
ause
of g
loba
l war
min
g? T
his
inve
stig
atio
n w
orkb
ook
will
hel
p yo
u ex
plor
e th
ese
ques
tions
. The
�rs
t ste
p is
to c
olle
ct a
nd o
rgan
ize
the
fact
s ab
out h
urric
anes
. Use
this
pag
e to
hel
p yo
u or
gani
ze th
e fa
cts.
Firs
t lis
t wha
t you
kno
w a
nd th
e qu
estio
ns y
ou h
ave
abou
t hur
rican
es. T
hen
expl
ore
mor
e ab
out h
urric
anes
on
Win
dow
s to
the
Uni
vers
e to
he
lp y
ou a
nsw
er y
our q
uest
ions
.
About hurricanes...
Que
stio
ns I
have
abo
ut h
urri
cane
s:
Wha
t I k
now
abo
ut h
urri
cane
s:W
hat I
lear
ned
abou
t hur
rica
nes:
Go
to: w
ww
.win
dow
s.uca
r.edu
/ear
th/A
tmos
pher
e/hu
rric
ane.
htm
lA
s yo
u ex
plor
e on
line,
�ll
in w
hat y
ou le
arn
here
.
Hur
rican
es a
nd C
limat
e - A
Win
dow
s to
the
Uni
vers
e Cl
assr
oom
Act
ivity
©
Uni
vers
ity C
orpo
ratio
n fo
r Atm
osph
eric
Res
earc
h Al
l Rig
hts R
eser
ved
ww
w.w
indo
ws.u
car.e
du
Paci
�c O
cean
Atla
ntic
Oce
an
Indi
an O
cean
N
EW
S
Paci
�c
Oce
an
Arc
tic O
cean
Nor
thA
mer
ica
Sout
hA
mer
ica
Afr
ica
Asi
aEu
rope
Aust
ralia
Ant
arct
ica
Equa
tor
Equa
tor
Ther
e ar
e si
x re
gion
s of
the
wor
ld w
here
hur
rica
nes
(tro
pica
l cyc
lone
s) a
re li
kely
to o
ccur
. Lab
el th
ese
on
the
map
bel
ow a
fter
you
look
at t
he “M
ap o
f Tro
pica
l Cyc
lone
s 19
85–2
005”
. Ch
oose
a d
i�er
ent c
olor
for e
ach
regi
on a
nd c
olor
the
part
of t
he o
cean
whe
re h
urric
anes
are
like
ly to
occ
ur. F
ill th
e co
lors
into
the
key
belo
w.
Where do hurricanes happen?
East
Pac
i�c
Oce
an
Wes
t Pac
i�c
Oce
an
Nor
th A
tlant
ic
Sout
hwes
tern
Pac
i�c
Nor
th In
dian
Oce
an
Sout
h In
dian
Oce
an
What do you think?
Doe
s th
e sa
me
num
ber o
f hur
rica
nes
happ
en
in e
ach
regi
on?
(Loo
k at
the
“Map
of T
ropi
cal
Cycl
ones
” to
help
you
ans
wer
this
que
stio
n.)
YES
NO
2
Hur
rican
es a
nd C
limat
e - A
Win
dow
s to
the
Uni
vers
e Cl
assr
oom
Act
ivity
©
Uni
vers
ity C
orpo
ratio
n fo
r Atm
osph
eric
Res
earc
h Al
l Rig
hts R
eser
ved
ww
w.w
indo
ws.u
car.e
du
3
Hur
rica
neRe
gion
Hur
rica
neSe
ason
Num
ber o
f hu
rric
anes
per
ye
ar (a
vera
ge)
East
Pac
i�c
Oce
anM
ay -
Nov
embe
r9
Wes
t Pac
i�c
Oce
anA
pril
- Jan
uary
17N
orth
Atla
ntic
June
- N
ovem
ber
6So
uthw
este
rn P
aci�
cO
ctob
er -
May
5N
orth
Indi
an O
cean
Apr
il - D
ecem
ber
2So
uth
Indi
an O
cean
Oct
ober
- M
ay10
Aver
age
hurr
ican
es d
ata
from
NO
AA b
ased
on
data
from
196
8-19
89 a
nd ro
unde
d to
clo
sest
who
le n
umbe
r.
How many hurricanes happen?
The
num
ber o
f hur
rica
nes
(tro
pica
l cyc
lone
s) th
at h
appe
n va
ries
a b
it fr
om y
ear t
o ye
ar. B
ut th
e av
erag
e nu
mbe
r can
tell
you
how
m
any
are
likel
y. T
ake
a lo
ok a
t the
dat
a ta
ble
belo
w. T
his
show
s th
e tim
e of
hur
rican
e se
ason
and
the
aver
age
num
ber o
f hur
rican
es in
ea
ch re
gion
. Wha
t do
you
thin
k? D
o re
gion
s ge
t the
sam
e nu
mbe
r of h
urric
anes
?
Mak
e a
bar g
raph
! A b
ar g
raph
is a
gre
at w
ay to
sho
w re
lativ
e di
�ere
nces
in
num
ber.
Each
bar
is th
e am
ount
of h
urric
anes
for e
ach
regi
on. D
raw
eac
h ba
r us
ing
the
sam
e co
lors
that
you
use
d fo
r the
map
on
the
prev
ious
pag
e.
Now what do you think?
Doe
s th
e sa
me
num
ber o
f hur
rica
nes
happ
en
in e
ach
regi
on?
(Loo
k at
you
r bar
gra
ph to
hel
p yo
u an
swer
this
que
stio
n.)
YES
NO
East
Pa
ci�c
Wes
t Pa
ci�c
Nor
th
Atla
ntic
Sout
hwes
tPa
ci�c
N
orth
In
dian
Sout
h
Indi
an
20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
Average number of hurricanes (tropical cyclones) in a year
Hur
rica
ne s
easo
n is
the
tim
e of
yea
r whe
n hu
rric
anes
will
mos
t lik
ely
happ
en. B
ut h
urric
ane
seas
on is
not
at
the
sam
e tim
e in
all
plac
es. U
se th
e sa
me
colo
rs fr
om y
our k
ey o
n pa
ge 2
to in
dica
te th
e hu
rric
ane
seas
on fo
r ea
ch re
gion
on
the
timel
ine
belo
w.
When do hurricanes happen?
Que
stio
ns:
1. W
hich
regi
ons
have
hur
rican
e se
ason
at a
bout
the
sam
e tim
e of
yea
r? C
an y
ou s
ee h
ow re
gion
s fa
ll in
to tw
o gr
oups
bas
ed o
n th
e tim
ing
of
hurr
ican
e se
ason
? Whi
ch re
gion
s ha
ve s
imila
r tim
ing?
2. L
ook
at w
here
thes
e re
gion
s ar
e lo
cate
d on
you
r map
. In
term
s of
thei
r loc
atio
n, w
hat d
o re
gion
s w
ith s
imila
r hur
rican
e se
ason
s ha
ve in
co
mm
on?
(Hin
t: lo
ok fo
r the
Equ
ator
!)
3. In
whi
ch s
easo
ns a
re h
urric
anes
mos
t com
mon
? (R
emem
ber,
seas
ons
are
oppo
site
in th
e N
orth
ern
and
Sout
hern
Hem
isph
eres
.)
Janu
ary
Febr
uary
Mar
chA
pril
May
June
July
Augu
stSe
ptem
ber
Oct
ober
Nov
embe
rD
ecem
ber
East
Pac
i�c
Oce
an
Wes
t Pac
i�c
Oce
an
Nor
th A
tlant
ic
Sout
hwes
t Pac
i�c
Nor
th In
dian
Oce
an
Sout
h In
dian
Oce
an
Hur
rican
es a
nd C
limat
e - A
Win
dow
s to
the
Uni
vers
e Cl
assr
oom
Act
ivity
©
Uni
vers
ity C
orpo
ratio
n fo
r Atm
osph
eric
Res
earc
h Al
l Rig
hts R
eser
ved
ww
w.w
indo
ws.u
car.e
du
4
Hur
rican
es a
nd C
limat
e - A
Win
dow
s to
the
Uni
vers
e Cl
assr
oom
Act
ivity
©
Uni
vers
ity C
orpo
ratio
n fo
r Atm
osph
eric
Res
earc
h Al
l Rig
hts R
eser
ved
ww
w.w
indo
ws.u
car.e
du
Paci
�c O
cean
Atla
ntic
Oce
an
Indi
an O
cean
N
EW
S
Paci
�c
Oce
an
Arc
tic O
cean
Nor
thA
mer
ica
Sout
hA
mer
ica
Afr
ica
Asi
aEu
rope
Aust
ralia
Ant
arct
ica
Equa
tor
Equa
tor
The
tem
pera
ture
of t
he o
cean
sur
face
is n
ot th
e sa
me
ever
ywhe
re a
nd it
has
an
impa
ct o
n hu
rric
anes
. U
se a
red
or o
rang
e pe
ncil
to c
olor
the
part
s of
the
ocea
n w
here
the
wat
er is
the
war
mes
t bas
ed o
n w
hat y
ou
see
in th
e “S
ea S
urfa
ce Te
mpe
ratu
res”
map
.
Where’s the warm water?
What do you think?
Do
hurr
ican
es h
appe
n in
pla
ces
whe
re th
e oc
ean
tem
pera
ture
is w
arm
? (C
ompa
re y
our
map
of w
arm
wat
er to
you
r map
of t
he s
ix
hurr
ican
e re
gion
s to
ans
wer
this
.)
YES
NO
5
6W
e kn
ow th
at h
urric
anes
form
abo
ve w
arm
oce
an w
ater
. And
it’s
thou
ght t
hat w
arm
er w
ater
can
lead
to s
tron
ger h
urric
anes
. The
Ear
th
war
med
one
deg
ree
Fahr
enhe
it ov
er th
e 20
th C
entu
ry. W
arm
ing
is c
ausi
ng s
ea s
urfa
ce te
mpe
ratu
res
to c
limb.
Has
glo
bal w
arm
ing
has
an
impa
ct o
n hu
rric
anes
? Thi
s is
an
area
of a
ctiv
e re
sear
ch. O
ne w
ay th
at s
cien
tists
are
tryi
ng to
ans
wer
this
que
stio
n is
by
look
ing
at th
e hi
stor
y of
hur
rican
es.
The
top
tabl
e sh
ows
the
tota
l num
ber o
f hur
rican
es th
at h
appe
ned
in e
ach
regi
on d
urin
g tw
o tim
e pe
riods
. The
low
er ta
ble
show
s th
e nu
mbe
r of v
ery
stro
ng h
urric
anes
that
hap
pene
d ov
er th
e sa
me
two
time
perio
ds. R
esea
rche
rs a
t Geo
rgia
Tech
and
the
Nat
iona
l Cen
ter
for A
tmos
pher
ic R
esea
rch
exam
ined
this
dat
a to
lear
n m
ore
abou
t whe
ther
hur
rican
es h
ave
chan
ged
in re
cent
dec
ades
bec
ause
of g
loba
l w
arm
ing.
Tak
e a
look
at t
he n
umbe
rs a
nd a
nsw
er th
e qu
estio
ns b
elow
.
Is global warming affecting hurricanes?
Tota
l Num
ber o
f Hur
rica
nes:
Hur
rica
neRe
gion
1975
-198
919
90-2
004
East
Pac
i�c
Oce
an14
414
0W
est P
aci�
c O
cean
340
283
Nor
th A
tlant
ic80
100
Sout
hwes
tern
Pac
i�c
8379
Nor
th In
dian
Oce
an13
28So
uth
Indi
an O
cean
128
147
Num
ber o
f Str
ong
Hur
rica
nes:
(Cat
agor
y 4
and
5 st
orm
s)H
urri
cane
Regi
on19
75-1
989
1990
-200
4
East
Pac
i�c
Oce
an36
49W
est P
aci�
c O
cean
8511
6N
orth
Atla
ntic
1625
Sout
hwes
tern
Pac
i�c
1022
Nor
th In
dian
Oce
an1
7So
uth
Indi
an O
cean
2350
Que
stio
ns:
1. H
as th
e to
tal n
umbe
r of h
urric
anes
incr
ease
d, d
ecre
ased
, or s
taye
d ab
out t
he s
ame?
Is th
e tr
end
the
sam
e fo
r all
regi
ons?
2. H
as th
e nu
mbe
r of s
tron
g (c
atag
ory
4 an
d 5)
sto
rms
incr
ease
d,
decr
ease
d, o
r sta
yed
abou
t the
sam
e? Is
the
tren
d th
e sa
me
for a
ll re
gion
s.
Dat
a fro
m W
ebst
er, e
t al.
(200
5) C
hang
es in
Tro
pica
l Cyc
lone
Num
ber,
Dur
atio
n, a
nd In
tens
ity in
a W
arm
ing
Envi
ronm
ent.
Scie
nce
309,
184
4-46
.
Hur
rican
es a
nd C
limat
e - A
Win
dow
s to
the
Uni
vers
e Cl
assr
oom
Act
ivity
©
Uni
vers
ity C
orpo
ratio
n fo
r Atm
osph
eric
Res
earc
h Al
l Rig
hts R
eser
ved
ww
w.w
indo
ws.u
car.e
du
N
EW
S
Nor
thA
mer
ica
Sout
hA
mer
ica
Afr
ica
Asi
aEu
rope
Aust
ralia
Ant
arct
ica
1975
-198
919
90-2
004
1975
-198
919
90-2
004
1975
-198
919
90-2
004
1975
-198
919
90-2
004
1975
-198
919
90-2
004
1975
-198
919
90-2
004
Nor
th A
tlant
ic
East
Pac
i�c
Wes
t Pac
i�c
Sout
hwes
t Pac
i�c
Nor
th In
dian
Sout
h In
dian
50 40 30 20 10 0
50 40 30 20 10 0
50 40 30 20 10 0
50 40 30 20 10 0
8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
120
100 80 60 40 20 0
How
man
y st
rong
hur
rica
nes
wer
e th
ere
a fe
w d
ecad
es a
go?
How
man
y ar
e th
ere
toda
y?
Mak
e sm
all b
ar g
raph
s on
the
map
bel
ow u
sing
the
data
on
the
prev
ious
pag
e to
sho
w w
heth
er th
ere
has
been
a
chan
ge in
the
num
ber o
f str
ong
hurr
ican
es in
the
six
regi
ons
of th
e w
orld
whe
re tr
opic
al c
yclo
nes
occu
r.
Are hurricanes getting stronger?
What do you think?
Are
ther
e m
ore
stro
ng h
urri
cane
s no
w?
(Tak
e a
look
at t
he b
ar g
raph
s of
str
ong
hurr
ican
es y
ou
mad
e ab
ove.
Do
they
sho
w a
tren
d?)
YES
NO
7
Hur
rican
es a
nd C
limat
e - A
Win
dow
s to
the
Uni
vers
e Cl
assr
oom
Act
ivity
©
Uni
vers
ity C
orpo
ratio
n fo
r Atm
osph
eric
Res
earc
h Al
l Rig
hts R
eser
ved
ww
w.w
indo
ws.u
car.e
du
Map
of T
ropi
cal C
yclo
nes (
Hurri
cane
s) 19
85–2
005
The
map
abov
e sh
ows t
he p
aths
of a
ll tro
pica
l cyc
lone
s tha
t occ
urre
d be
twee
n 19
85 an
d 20
05. T
ropi
cal c
yclo
nes a
re al
so kn
own
as
hurri
cane
s. Th
e co
lor o
f eac
h pa
th in
dica
tes t
he st
reng
th o
f the
stor
m
(acc
ordi
ng to
the
Saffi
r-Sim
pson
Hur
rican
e Sc
ale)
. See
key a
t lef
t.
Imag
e: Co
urte
sy o
f Wik
iped
ia C
omm
ons
Key:
Saffi
r-Sim
pson
Hur
rican
e Sca
le
Tr
opica
l Dep
ress
ion
Tr
opica
l Sto
rm
Cate
gory
: 1
2
3
4
5
Hurri
cane
s and
Clim
ate
- A W
indo
ws to
the U
nive
rse C
lass
room
Act
ivity
©
Unive
rsity
Cor
pora
tion
for A
tmos
pher
ic Re
sear
ch A
ll Rig
hts R
eser
ved
ww
w.w
indo
ws.u
car.e
du
Sate
llite
Sea
Sur
face
Tem
pera
ture
s
The
map
abo
ve s
how
s th
e te
mpe
ratu
re o
f the
oce
an s
urfa
ce
(cal
led
“sea
sur
face
tem
pera
ture
” or S
ST).
The
data
to m
ake
this
map
was
col
lect
ed b
y in
stru
men
ts o
n th
e G
OES
and
PO
ES
sate
llite
s fr
om Ju
ne 2
1-24
, 200
5. S
ee k
ey to
col
ors
at le
ft.
Hur
rican
es a
nd C
limat
e - A
Win
dow
s to
the
Uni
vers
e Cl
assr
oom
Act
ivity
©
Uni
vers
ity C
orpo
ratio
n fo
r Atm
osph
eric
Res
earc
h Al
l Rig
hts R
eser
ved
ww
w.w
indo
ws.u
car.e
du
Imag
e: C
ourt
esy
of N
OA
A
05
1015
2025
3035
Sea
Surf
ace
Tem
pera
ture
s in
Deg
rees
Cel
sius
Key:
