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Tina,
The data sites that you posted are excellent to use with students. I have used them with my earth science class in the past.
Reading through your most recent post about the Oklahoma tornadoes reminded me of two NOVA programs. Oklahoma's Deadliest Tornadoes is an updated version of a previous NOVA program. It is a great synopsis of the events surrounding the tornado in Moore, OK. I particularly liked how it explained weather patterns and how they are used to predict these types of storms many days in advanced. Many students do not understand global weather patterns and how events in the Pacific Ocean (for example: El Nino or La Nina) can affect what happens in the middle of the North American continent.
The other program of which I am reminded is The Hunt for SuperTwister. This program highlights what scientists and meteorologists do to predict storms. It was published in 2004 so it is a little dated. However, it still gives good background information. I tend to show clips from it.
Finally, PBS has an interactive that shows how damage from tornadoes is rated. Rate Tornado Damage allows students to use the Fujita Scale of tornado intensity to assess the level of destruction left in the wake of actual tornadoes.
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I just got this link to National Geographic coverage of the Oklahoma tornadoes.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/05/130601-oklahoma-tornadoes-supercell-natural-disasters-science/
In the introduction we are reminded that on the level of weather these storms are independent events; unlike earthquakes. I never thought of this as a misconception and wonder if others have?
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Hi Pam,
I really liked the National Geographic articles that you included in your post. I would like to make a comment on your question/statement. I believe that it depends on a person's previous experience. There are some that do have misconceptions about severe weather events because they do not know anything about them. I only have anecdotal evidence to support my argument, but bear with me.
This year, my Earth Science students had a very good understanding about the factors that cause severe weather to develop. They also knew intuitively what led to the development a tornado because they have lived in the Midwest all their lives. They have observed severe storms that produced tornadoes or tornado-like conditions.
During my first year of teaching, I became friends with a young lady who had recently moved to Kansas because her husband's job. Until she moved to Kansas, she had lived in Southern California for her entire life. She had never experienced severe weather like we see in the Midwest and definitely had no previous experience with tornadoes. She did not know the difference between a watch or warning. However, she was really intelligent and conscientious. When the “local” meteorologist reported there was a tornado watch or warning anywhere in the entire Eastern portion of Kansas, she went to her basement. After a particularly stormy week, I noticed that she looked really tired and I asked if she was okay. It was then that she revealed that she had been sleeping in her basement. A good plan in light the recent events over the past couple of weeks. However, the severe weather of which she was concerned was about 175 miles away in a very rural area. It was nowhere near where we lived. After questioning her, I found out that she was comparing a tornado with the only severe natural disaster of which she had experienced—an earthquake. She had been through several earthquakes of varying intensities while she lived in California and so she figured she should take shelter. To make a long story short, my husband and I ended up buying our friends a weather radio and a map of the state that showed counties. The weather radio came on automatically if there is a warning or watch from the National Weather Service. The map of the counties allowed her to decide if she needed to go to the basement or back to bed.
National Geographic reaches a worldwide audience so I guess the author of the article did not want to leave anything to chance. What we take for granted in the Midwest, others around the country or world would not because they have not experienced it.
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A new set of long-term climate records based on cave stalagmites collected from tropical Borneo shows that the western tropical Pacific responded very differently than other regions of the globe to abrupt climate change events. The 100,000-year climate record adds to data on past climate events, and may help scientists assess models designed to predict how the Earth’s climate will respond in the future.
http://www.gatech.edu/research/news/borneo-stalagmites-provide-new-view-abrupt-climate-events-over-100000-years
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This just came through on the earth science list serve and I thought it worth reposting here. There are lots of great links
As of Thursday evening (3 Oct), Tropical Storm Karen shows a forecast track extending from a landfall in the vicinity of Mobile/Pensacola to the northeast along the east of the Appalachians. See http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/graphics_at2.shtml?gm_track#contents for the most current forecast.
One of the reasons storms' tracks along the east of the mountains is so interesting -- and I'm not suggesting Karen will have these effects -- can be seen in this photo from July 1916: http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/htmls/wea00730.htm
The NOAA Photo Library (http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/) displays plenty of interesting historic photos.
The first 16 photos on this page, http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/nws/flood1.html, are from the 1916 floods. More contemporary text is here: http://toto.lib.unca.edu/findingaids/books/nc_flood/default_ncflood.html#Land Slide That Devastated Entire Valley. Later, in 2004, similar circumstances to 1916 created yet more memorable results.
In 2004, Hurricanes Frances and Ivan (http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tracks/tracks-at-2004.png) caused not only flooding but also a deadly debris flow on Peeks Creek in the NC mountains: http://www.weather.gov/gsp/PeeksCreek is the NWS summary, and http://www.geology.enr.state.nc.us/Landslide%20web%20version/Geologic_hazards_landslide_show/Landslides_Peeks_Creek_Debris_Flow_2004.htm is from the NC Geological Survey.
If you need a great local NC scenario the interplay among weather, hydrology, geology, and "human terrain," this is it!
Scroll to slide 55: http://www.geology.enr.state.nc.us/Landslide%20web%20version/Geologic_hazards_landslide_show/Landslides_example_historical_events.htm
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These are great resources everyone. I teach in Arizona and we have limited weather experiences so my students have little background knowledge!
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The National Research Council invites you to attend a briefing for the report release of Abrupt Impacts of Climate Change: Anticipating Surprises on Tuesday, December 3 from 11:00-12:00 EST at the Koshland Science Museum (6th & E Sts. NW, Washington, DC).
Abrupt Impacts of Climate Change examines the likelihood of various physical components of the Earth system undergoing major and rapid changes, explores how to monitor climate change for warnings of abrupt changes and emerging impacts, and identifies high-priority needs for future research directions and monitoring capabilities.
The event will be webcast here.
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Aerial images taken over the Philippines reveal the scale of devastation Typhoon Haiyan has caused in the once-vibrant coastal city of Tacloban. The typhoon, known locally as Yolanda, is believed to have killed 2,500 people. Hover or swipe over each satellite photo to view before and after imagery.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/specials/typhoon-haiyan-photos-before-after/
http://youtu.be/rS0gv4Xbw7w
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