A severe depression. Wind speeds reach over 60 km/h but can reach

over 200 km/h. Found over oceans within 30° of the equator. Start on the eastern sides of oceans. Move westwards. Die out over land. If wind speed reaches 120 km/h then it is a

hurricane.

As the storm approaches, air pressure and temperature drop; cloud cover and rainfall increase.

Huge cumulonimbus clouds rise up near the centre and torrential rain falls; wind speeds reach their maximum.

At the centre, the eye is calm, clear, warm and dry. Once the centre passes, huge clouds appear again

with very heavy rain and very strong winds. At the edge of the storm, the air pressure and

temperature rise; cloud cover and rainfall decrease.

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/education/teachers/videos/what-are-hurricanes

This explains in fairly simple terms where and how tropical storms occur.

During the 6-minute video, learners should make a note of 10 things they didn’t know about tropical storms.

Class discussion to follow.

Staff could refer to Intermediate Geography (2nd edition) by Calvin Clarke or to the Met Office website for some diagrams across a storm.

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/tropicalcyclone/facts

(1) Warm damp air rises

rapidly.

(2) Air begins to spiral because of the spinning of the Earth.

(3) Warm air cools as it rises, the water vapour condenses, clouds form

and rain falls.

(4) High in the atmosphere

the air spreads out.

(5) As the air rises and spreads more, warm damp air is sucked in at great speed to take its

place.

You are going to do some research into this hurricane, which occurred on 29 October 2012.

Can you remember anything about it, eg: Where did it occur? What damage was caused? What was the impact on people? How did people try to prepare? Were any lives lost? What was the impact on the landscape?

You will probably have to go on the internet to find out more about it. Jot down some of the key points.

Instead of just writing a factual account of the hurricane, you are going to try to imagine that you were living in New York from Monday 28 October until Wednesday 30 October. Some Scottish schoolchildren were actually there at that time as they were taking part in a debating competition. You can write a diary extract for the three days or a letter to your family describing how you felt. You could create a Fakebook page for a person who was there or even for the Mayor of New York or President Obama. (http://www.classtools.net/fb/home/page)