Residents of the United States Gulf coast are
unlikely to ever forget where they were on August 29, 2005.
Five days earlier, Hurricane Katrina was rated as a Category
1 storm when it first struck southern Florida after raging over
the northern Bahamas as a tropical storm. It then churned
through the Gulf of Mexico before making landfall again
near New Orleans. By August 30, Hurricane Katrina had become the costliest and one of the deadliest hurricanes in U.S. history.
Much of what we know about hurricanes comes from satellite images, such as this one of Katrina hitting New Orleans. To accurately predict a hurricane's path and strength,
forecasters also incorporate local weather data into their
predictions. Surface winds influence the speed and
direction of the hurricane's movement, and water
temperature greatly affects the size and ferocity of the
storm.
Scientists can also compare the actual path of a hurricane with different
courses it could have taken - which is what you'll be doing in this activity.
Click the blue
Begin Lesson Here button (above) to start the activity.
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