Welcome to the Hurricane Web Quest

Welcome to the Hurricane Web Quest.

What kinds of weather conditions do we who live in South have to endure? Well, every year around April 1st, Mother Nature's weather patterns feel the need to adapt to warmer weather, and we here in the Southern United States must roll with her changing moods. Part of what we face comes in the form of a weather pattern known as a hurricane. These systems begin either in the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico, and can, over time, create quite a stir to not only coastal communities, but to many other states in its path as well. To know exactly how these systems act, we must first know how they are "born," so to speak. A hurricane goes through its own life cycle not much different than that of a person. To best understand this concept, we want you to take on the exciting task of assuming the role of the storm! In being the hurricane, you will describe your life in detail from a first-hand account! An "hurricanography", if you will.

So What's My Task?

You are to prepare a Power-Point presentation telling your very own hurricanography. We take the role as eager listener, as you tell us about the ups and downs, the triumphs and tragedies, the mystery and the mayhem of your life as a storm system! Pretty neat, eh?

You've Created Quite a Disturbance!!!

Your birth will cause those on the coasts to shake in their shoes! But that's not all you've created. So what's involved here? Here's where we'll want you to go from this point:) We want you to create a series of slides using the directions listed below. Each slide will tell us, your audience, about each of the stages in your glorious life cycle. The minimum amount of slides you will design is six, to give us a wide understanding of your wonderful beginning to your dramatic end. However, to get more into detail, feel free to branch out into more if you're daring! You'll find descriptions of how each slide should be designed listed in detail below!

Note: Please design your slide show to begin with your birth (this must be your first slide) to your demise, described on your last slide.

Each slide of your presentation should include:

Important events that have taken place during this stage

Location(longitude and latitude)

Wind speed(in miles per hour)

Optional-pictures at that stage of life, or sketches

What are my resources?

You may use any book, magazine, multimedia encyclopedias, or other resources that are available to you, either in the classroom or library. Use as your primary resource the linked sources listed below. DO NOT conduct your own search on hurricanes. Use only the sources listed below.

USA Today Weather will give you an excellent starting point to begin your quest. It has lots of links to take you in many different directions

NOAA: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This site has lots of great satellite photos and government information.

Hurricane Hunters! Track actual hurricanes! Here you can see how the U.S. Navy gathers data from inside a hurricane!

What's our procedure?

Phase 1: Acquiring the knowledge to be worthy of beginning the quest

Phase 2: Creating a Power-Point presentation

Phase 1: Acquiring the knowledge to be worthy of beginning the quest

Answering the following questions will provide you with the background knowledge to begin.

1. What is a hurricane?

2. What is needed for the formation of a hurricane?

3. How do they form?

4. Where do they form?

5. What can make a hurricane lose its power?

6. What are the stages in the development of a hurricane?

7. What are the categories of hurricanes and their corresponding wind speeds?

Phase 2: Creating a Power-Point presentation

In this phase you will create individual slides involved in your presentation as explained in the section on tasks.

Project Evaluation

Your Power Point presentation will be evaluated using the following criteria:

Excellent