CU-Boulder ATOC 1070 - Lab8 (2 pages)

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Sarah Rose Lab 8 Hurricanes Section 8 Group Members Ana Ian and Robert Question 1 Xena most closely followed Type B Hurricane Xena went traveled pretty evenly west until it reached Hispaniola At Hispaniola it began the bend northward slightly but hits Cuba s Eastern side 82 knots then along Cuba s northern coast 97 knots before it hit the main land in Florida s panhandle 128 knots The hurricane s peak winds steadily increased on its path to Florida This is probably due to warmer waters which provides latent heat that fuels hurricanes Question 2 Hurricanes are areas of low pressure that form in the tropical latitudes these storms require warm shallow waters because the latent heat from those waters give energy to the storm When these storms move over cold water or land they weaken because they are cut off from their power source The forward motion of storms is dictated by 500hPa winds which are subject to small and large scale weather systems Tracking a hurricane is very challenging because even the factors that compose a hurricane low pressure system warm tropical waters 500 hPa winds ect have factors There are so many moving parts that have to be considered to perfectly track the route of a hurricane For example you know the hurricane is about to enter a part of the ocean that historically has warm waters but if the warm sections of the water is too shallow the hurricane might lose strength when you were expecting it to gain momentum Question 3 A storm surge is an offshore rise of water associated with a low pressure weather system They cause a lot of damage sometimes more then the weather system itself Surges happen when winds push the water surface and cause a pile up higher then regular sea level Storm surge is a very complex phenomenon because it is sensitive to the slightest changes in storm intensity forward speed size radius of maximum winds RMW angle of approach to the coast central pressure minimal contribution in comparison to the wind and the shape and