Fortunately, we do not have to deal with destructive tornadoes in Alaska (although a few small tornadoes HAVE happened in the state!) Watch the example videos below to give you an intro to this Hazard Topic!
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Science Topics and Resources for Tornado Hazards:
Week 1: Basic science – follow the steps below to learn the basics. Week 1 assignments are given in the Case Study 1 page
1) Watch the video “How do tornadoes form?” from Scientific American:
Read the following sections on the Wunderground Severe Weather website:
2) Read information about thunderstorms and tornadoes from the NOAA Severe Storms Laboratory. Some of this information will be review from the readings above, but the articles tend to go into a little more detail about the science:
- Severe weather 101: Thunderstorms
- Severe weather 101: Tornadoes
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Week 2: Forecasting tornadoes – follow the steps below to learn the basics. Week 2 assignments are given in the Case Study 1 page
1) Read about forecasting tornadoes – a tricky business!
- NOAA Forecasting Tornadoes page
- Tornado FAQ (this is a very information packed site, so browse around for additional information too)
- Read this Excellent article about forecasting the 2013 Moore Ok tornado!
Watch the following video about what Doppler Radar is
Watch the following video form the National Science Foundation about the next generation of tornado research
2) Read a Washington Post article about storm chasers and other researchers in tornado forecasting.
3) Play the NOAA HotSeat simulator! You are in the HotSeat trying to accurately forecast severe thunderstorms and tornadoes! You will write about your game playing experience in the blog post assignment for Week 2
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Week 3 and Case Study Report – Assignment is given on the Case Study 1 and 2 pages. For Case Study 2, you are required to provide one additional paragraph comparing and contrasting your two case studies disasters.