The following are links to websites that contain useful information on the topic of 'Extreme Weather'
The Geoscience Australia site looks at natural hazards including bushfires, cyclones, earthquakes, floods, landslides, tsunamis, volcanoes and severe weather conditions.
El Nino, of droughts and flooding plains
Linked to the Quantum TV programme, this page has detailed information and links about El Nino and its effects on Australia's weather.
Cyclones, Tornadoes & Hurricanes
ABC Splash has devised a number of useful resources about cyclones in Australia. Topics include; super cyclones, survival, Cyclone Yasi, threats, impacts and relief operations.
BBC Bitesize has devised a number of useful resources about cyclones or hurricanes.
The Hong Kong Observatory's tropical cyclone page includes educational information about cyclones including basics, the structure of cyclones, tracking and forecasting, and the economic and social effects of natural disasters such as cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons. Diagrams and images add detail.
This website from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology has information about historical cyclones, current warnings, how cyclones develop, preparation and safety and answers to frequently asked questions. The website also includes the latest radar, rainfall and satellite information.
This website from Geoscience Australia provides basic information about cyclones, their cause, warning systems, locations and significant events such as Cyclone Larry (Qld 2006), Cyclone Tracy (NT 1974) and cyclones in Western Australia.
Useful for locating on a map the current location and trajectory of tropical storms or cyclones.
The UK Met Office has information about tropical cyclone disasters including naming, forecasting, images and movies of past events and links to frequently asked questions.
The ABC provides the latest cyclone stories and explains how they form and why they cause so much damage. A visualisation shows wind speeds, and a graphic shows inside a cyclone.
The US Tropical Prediction Center provides analysis and forecasts of hurricane weather and tropical cyclones. The site provides satellite images, hurricane awareness, frequently asked questions, historical facts and figures about major disasters and storm watch information for active systems.
A detailed PowerPoint presentation about the causes and health effects of hurricanes. Suitable for interactive whiteboard.
This site has information about tornadoes, hurricanes and cyclones.
A BBC interactive demonstration about the causes, size and effect of hurricanes. Suitable for whiteboard.
This National Geographic website provides facts, photos, videos and news about Hurricanes and disasters such as 'Katrina'.
Information mostly in the form of maps, satellite images and photographs about severe weather in Australia including severe storm reports, tropical cyclones, lightning, and tornadoes.
This site provides links to detailed information about the formation, function, management and vegetation of Queensland's coastal sand dunes. The page also has links to information about beach erosion and the effects of cyclones on beaches.
The Bureau of Meteorology developed 'Stormwatchers' as an interactive cyclone awareness game that allows children to work through one of 5 'true-to-life' cyclone scenarios, and provides them with the skills to be better prepared in a real cyclone situation. Download, suitable for an interactive whiteboard.
Droughts
This page from the US Weather Service provides an introduction to the causes and impacts of drought.
This Queensland Government site provides information about the Southern Oscillation Index and other indicators of drought in Queensland and eastern Australia. The site includes maps and information about recent rainfall across Australia.
This page by Paul Holper at the CSIRO provides brief information about the influence of El Nino events on the occurrence of drought in Australia.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology provides interesting historical case studies of drought in Australia including the Federation drought 1895-1902 and the long El Nino 1991 to 1995. The page includes information about why Australia is drought prone with long-term events.
The NSW Department of Primary Industries has provided drought information for farmers and residents in all rural areas in the State. The website provides maps of current drought areas and advice for farmers, managing drought and drought assistance.
Floods
A Wikipedia article about the 2010-2011 Queensland floods. Topics include the extent of the floods, deaths, response and economic impact.
This regional ABC News website provides an introduction, news articles, images and video about the January 2011 Queensland floods and their impact.
This website from Geoscience Australia provides basic information about floods, their causes, locations and significant events such as the 2007 Gippsland and NSW coast, 1998 Katherine (N.T.), 1990 Eastern Australia, 1974 SE Queensland, 1955 Hunter Valley etc.
Dramatic films of NSW floods of 1955
A special Movietone News item about the floods that devastated NSW, particularly the Hunter River and Maitland in 1955.
A BBC Scotland interactive website about floods: the causes, prediction, impact and action. The website uses the 2002 Inverness floods as a case study. Information is also provided about other floods in Britain in recent times. Suitable for interactive whiteboard.
Brisbane floods: Before and after
The effect of the 2011 Brisbane floods are graphically displayed in a series of high-resolution photographs of suburbs and areas of SE Queensland in which the before and after images can be compared by rolling across the image.