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he sun disappears behind a giant wall of clouds. Powerful winds bend trees and batter homes. Waves pound the shoreline and flood the streets. They’re the most powerful weather force on earth. They’re …
In the summer and early fall, the air over the oceans heats up and then rises. Then it cools, and the moisture in the air forms storms over the ocean. When bands of these thunderstorms begin to swirl in a circular fashion, the system is called a tropical depression . If the swirling winds reach 40 miles per hour, the system is called a tropical storm . If the winds reach 74 miles per hour, its name is changed to a hurricane . Hurricanes weaken when they move over cooler water or land. Some die out over the Atlantic Ocean before they ever hit land. Read each step. Then, number the pictures in order.
A strange thing about hurricanes is that in the center of the fast moving, dangerous winds is a calm area called the eye . The eye of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the Gulf Coast in fall of 2005, was 25 miles across.
Hurricanes form where the water of the seas is above 80° F (27° C). The Earth’s seas are the warmest near the equator because of the way the Earth is tilted. The equator is always getting direct sunlight, keeping the waters warm.
Eye
Direct rays
North Pole
Sun
South Pole
Equator
with the letter A , the next starts with the letter B , and so on. The letters Q , U , X , Y and Z , however, are not used. Often when an unusually destructive hurricane hits, that hurricane’s name is retired and never used again. Since 1954, 96 names have been retired.
Hurricane names are chosen from lists compiled by the World Meteorological Organization. The Atlantic is assigned six lists of names, with one list used each year. Every seventh year, the first list begins again. Each name on the list starts with a different letter. For example, the name of the very first hurricane of the season starts
Here is a list of names for the year 2024. Number them from 1 to 21 in alphabetical order. __ Ernesto
__ Rafael __ Oscar __ William
__ Francine __ Milton __ Kirk
__ Chris __ Debby __ Alberto
__ Gordon __ Patty __ Helene
__ Nadine __ Isaac __ Valerie
__ Sara __ Tony __ Joyce
__ Leslie __ Beryl
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© Vicki Whiting June 2024
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