Topic: GIS

20. Tropical Cyclones

Post date 19 November 2020

Weather and Climate: a Teachers’ Guide

Pathway: Extending Weather

Depressions – Microclimates – Urban Climates – Tropical Cyclones

Lesson overview: In this lesson we explore the structure, location and names for Tropical Cyclones as well as some of their potential impacts.

Tropical Cyclones are intense and extremely damaging storms. Fuelled by the transfer of heat from the ocean to the atmosphere they can grow into some of the most destructive weather systems on Earth. Tropical cyclones need specific conditions to form and intensify. These limit the locations in which Tropical Cyclones are able to form. Called Tropical Cyclones anywhere in the world, they are classified as Typhoons in the North-West Pacific and Hurricanes in the Atlantic and North-East Pacific. A Tropical Cyclone has a distinctive structure, consisting of a clear central ‘eye’, surrounded by extensive cloud bands that spiral outwards and may be hundreds of kilometres long. They can have severe impacts, causing coastal flooding and widespread damage to both the natural world and human infrastructure. As the climate changes, the most damaging Tropical Cyclones are expected to increase in intensity.

Learning objectives:

To understand what weather and hazards are associated with a Tropical Cyclone.
To be able to describe the structure of a Tropical Cyclone.
To be able to explain how and why Tropical Cyclones form.

Key Teaching Resources

Tropical Cyclones PowerPoint
Tropical Cyclones worksheet
Hurricane Dorian student data
Plotting Tropical Storm locations using GIS – video.

Teacher CPD/ Extended Reading

Read Tropical Cyclones_More for Teachers

or watch

Alternative or Extension Resources

Category 6 hurricanes? A DME

Typhoon Haiyan GIS activity and background information

Tropical Cyclone challenge game

Further Tropical Cyclone teaching resources

A Hurricane is Approaching: a listening exercise based on a recent National Hurricane Center podcast.

Tropical storm tracker: grid reference plotting practice

Make a Tropical storm case study infographic using this basic template

A blank Tropical Cyclone case study sheet

Weather and Climate: a Teachers’ Guide

1. Weather in Our Lives

2. Weather Measurements

3. Weather and Climate

Post date 19 November 2020

hurricane katrina — Fig. 1 Satellite Image of Hurricane Katrina, 28 August 2005 at 2045 GMT. Courtesy NOAA/CIMSS/SSEC.

Overview document for teachers – START HERE.

At the bottom of the page, you will also find some further reading/ background information for teachers, if you would like to deepen your understanding of Tropical Cyclones.

Introduction to Tropical Cyclones

Resources for Teachers

Tropical cyclones – the basics PowerPoint.

What do you call a tropical cyclone – physical basemap

What do you call a tropical cyclone – cumulative hurricanes basemap.

Teacher resource – Tropical Cyclone basics answers.

Worksheets and Resources for Students

What do you call a tropical cyclone? (cumulative hurricanes or physical basemap)

What kind of storm?

Where, Why and How do they Form?

Our Tropical Cyclone Challenge– use the online interactive resource with accompanying worksheet to discover the recipe for a Tropical Cyclone.

Resources for Teachers

Tropical cyclones: where, why, how PowerPoint.

Thunderstorm recipe (teacher).

Worksheets and Resources for Students

Homework task:

Tracking Tropical Cyclones

Resources for Teachers

Tracking tropical cyclones PowerPoint

Worksheets and Resources for Students

Category 6 hurricanes? a DME

Japan Decision Making Exercise

Hazards

Resources for Teachers

Tropical cyclones – hazards PowerPoint.

Hurricane Harvey Links

Storm surge worksheet- answers.

Hazard posters.

Worksheets and Resources for Students

Tropical cyclone hazards worksheet.

Storm surge worksheet.

Case study: Hurricane Harvey and worksheet.

Homework task:

Option 1: Hurricane Harvey case study and Hunting Hazards.

Option 2: Tropical cyclones worksheet

Option 3: GIS hurricane task.

Impacts

Resources for Teachers

Tropical cyclones – Impacts PowerPoint.

Cyclone Idai Links

The many ways a tropical cyclone can kill you (teacher).

Worksheets and Resources for Students

The many ways a tropical cyclone can kill you.

The other effects a tropical cyclone may have.

Personas.

Case study – Cyclone Ida i.

Extra: Tracking hurricane Irma.

Responses

Resources for Teachers

Tropical cyclones – responses PowerPoint.

Super Typhoon Haiyan/ Yolanda Links.

Worksheets and Resources for Students

Case study – Haiyan.

Response Decision Making Exercise.

Typhoon Haiyan disaster response.

Homework task: GDACS mapping exercise and maps.

Assessment Resource: Cyclone Fani Decision Making Exercise; Cyclone Fani DME resource booklet.

Background Information for Teachers

Rainforest Deforestation the Carbon and Water Cycles

Post date 10 November 2020

This news item from NASA relates to this animation, as does this Nature Communication from October 2020.

Suggested learning activities:

Data and GIS exercise for A Level students

Explore leaf area, evapotranspiration and temperature data using various statistical techniques to explore the relationship between deforestation and weather on this resource on the RGS website.

Activity 1:
Ask students to write a voiceover for the film, demonstrating their understanding of the concepts involved.

Activity 2:
Complete this sentence based on the film:
When rainforests are deforested, places downwind are left with more/ less/ the same amount of rainfall and greater/ less/ the same amount of flood risk.

Activity 3:
Look at www.globalforestwatch.org/map and identify a Tropical region which has experienced deforestation in the last decade.
Look at earth.nullschool.net. What is the prevailing wind direction in that region?
Using www.google.com/maps, write a paragraph explaining how you think the water cycle has been affected by deforestation for a place downwind from the rainforest region you identified.

Activity 4:
Having watched the animation, use https://www.globalforestwatch.org/map , http://earth.nullschool.net and https://www.google.com/maps to write a paragraph explaining how you think the water cycle has been affected by deforestation for a specific place downwind and/ or downriver from a rainforest region.

Activity 5:
Having watched the animation, read these articles from Nature and NASA (noting that this predates the Nature article), NASA (2019), Geography Review (p22 – 25) and Carbon Brief.
Summarise the impact of tropical deforestation on the carbon and water cycles.

More information about the water cycle and climate change and the water cycle and an excellent summary from Cool Geography.

Weather and Climate: a Teachers’ Guide

Weather and Climate: a Teachers’ Guide

1. Weather in Our Lives

2. Weather Measurements

3. Weather and Climate

Where, Why and How do they Form?

Tracking Tropical Cyclones

Impacts

Responses

Background Information for Teachers

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Weather and climate resources and events for teachers