A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain. Tropical cyclones may also be known as hurricanes (NW Atlantic Ocean), typhoons (NW Pacific Ocean) or simply as cyclones. A hurricane is a tropical cyclone with winds of 74 miles (119 kilometers) per hour or greater that occurs especially in the western Atlantic, that is usually accompanied by rain, thunder, and lightning, and that sometimes moves into temperate latitudes. Over the past two centuries, tropical cyclones have been responsible for the deaths of about 1.9 million people worldwide. Large areas of standing water caused by flooding lead to infection, as well as contributing to mosquito-borne illnesses. Hurricanes also have beneficial effects can also be important factors in the precipitation regimes of the places they affect and bring much-needed rain to otherwise-dry regions. Hurricanes in the eastern north Pacific sometimes supply moisture to the Southwestern United States and parts of western Mexico. Additionally, Japan receives over half of its rainfall from typhoons.

5E Lesson Plan

Engage

• What's "wrong" with this photo? Highlight sections of the photo and use the comment feature to write your observation.

• VIDEO: Commenting on photos [1:55]

Explore

• • Sign up to research a hurricane

  • Study these satellite photos of Hurricanes. Enter observations in QuickWrite. Analyze with Word Cloud

  • Track your chosen hurricane using the Hurricane Tracking Tool

  • Enter your data here.

  • Examine trends in class data. See the table.

Explain

• • Watch the National Geographic Video on Hurricanes

  • Read about Hurricanes at NASA/NOAA

  • After examining your data and the class data, complete this report. See all student reports.

Extend

• • Visit the NASA Extreme Weather Survey.

  • Create a collaborative map of this year's hurricane destruction in the appropriate layer.

  • What is the difference between hurricanes and tornados?

Evaluate

• • Create a collaborative assessment to assess student understanding of hurricanes.