PLEASE HELP WITH ALL QUESTIONS! THANK YOU Introduction In addition to being the
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Question
PLEASE HELP WITH ALL QUESTIONS! THANK YOU
Introduction
In addition to being the starting point for weather sensing, analyzing, and forecasting in the United States, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) also provides a wealth of weather safety and environmental information via their webpages. For
example, http://www.noaa.gov/resource-collections/weather-atmosphere-education-resources has links to weather-related NOAA activities and opportunities of interest for students and others.
Go to the National Hurricane Center’s (NHC) main page (http://www.nhc.noaa.gov); scroll over Educational Resources on the top menu line. A list of several items providing potentially life- saving information appears. For example, “NWS Hurricane Safety,” the second listed item, gives information on hurricanes: their hazards, forecasting, and action items for an approaching hurricane. Go back to the main NHC page, and again under Educational Resources, click on item four, “Storm Surge.” Here is where you will find animations of storm surge and photographs of its damage, often the mostly deadly aspect of hurricanes. Scroll down to “Notable Surge Events.” Here you can see results from the Sea, Lake and Overland Surges from Hurricanes (SLOSH) computer model for several infamous hurricanes, including the historic Galveston 1900 storm, the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history. Take a few moments to explore the depth and breadth of information available through these notable surge events.
1. The “Surge Vulnerability Facts” at the bottom of the same Storm Surge Overview page tell us that a strong hurricane producing a 23-foot storm surge somewhere along the U.S. Gulf Coast has the ability to flood 57% of arterial roads, almost half of rail miles, 29 airports, and virtually all ports in the area. It would also risk the inundation of ________ of interstate highways. Such input is crucial for emergency planners to order evacuations and prepare for possible destruction. [For reference, Hurricane Katrina in 2005 produced a 24 to 28-ft surge over a twenty-mile stretch of the Mississippi coast.]
[ ] 27%
[ ] 49%
[ ] 67%
Next, it is instructive to examine the wind fields of a specific tropical cyclone that lead to its storm surge. Here we consider the effects across the Florida Keys from 2017’s Major Hurricane Irma. Irma was the most intense Atlantic hurricane to strike the United States since Katrina in 2005, and the first major hurricane to make landfall in Florida since Wilma in 2005. Its impacts in the Leeward Islands were also devastating. Irma’s landfall in the U.S. led to significant wind damage, storm surge, and rainfall flooding effects even after it weakened over land. In total, an estimated 134 fatalities occurred, 90 of which were in the U.S. Total costs due to the hurricane are estimated to exceed $64 billion, unofficially the fifth-costliest hurricane on record. You may wish to review the track of Hurricane Irma (#9) on the Current Weather Studies 12A, Figure 1 track map of 2017 tropical storm systems.
Figure 1 (courtesy of the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State University) can be found among a wide variety of images for Irma
at http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/products/tc_realtime/storm.asp?storm_identifier=AL112017. Figure 1 is a plot of the mean sea level pressure of Irma’s eye in millibars (red with scale to the left) and maximum wind speed in knots (blue with scale to the right) over time as determined by satellites and U.S. Air Force Hurricane Hunter planes. The date and time is the horizontal scale from August 30, 2017 (8/30 at 00 UTC or Z) to September 11, 2017 at 00Z. Each tic mark on the time scale represents 6 hours.
2. We will concentrate here on Irma’s rapid intensification period (approximately 0Z 5 SEP to 0Z 6 SEP). The maximum plotted wind speed occurred at about 0Z 6 SEP (09/06). That speed was about ________ knots (167 mph).
[ ] 90
[ ] 105
[ ] 125
[ ] 145
3. At this maximum wind speed time, Irma was a strong Category- ________ hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. [See Table 2 of Investigation 12A in the Weather Studies Investigations Manual.]
[]1
[]2
[]3
[]4
[]5
4. Irma’s lowest central pressure (occurred multiple times between 6 SEP and 7 SEP) was about ________ mb, plotted during and after having attained maximum wind speed.
[ ] 880
[ ] 895
[ ] 905
[ ] 920
5. During all hours of the day on 5 SEP, to the maximum wind time on 6 SEP, the wind speed was increasing. The sea level central pressure during the same time period was generally ________.
[ ] increasing
[ ] remaining steady
[ ] decreasing
6. After wreaking havoc in the Leeward Islands and a landfall in Cuba, Major Hurricane
Irma took aim on the Florida Keys, at the southern tip of the state of Florida. The land interaction with Cuba, however, weakened Irma. As noted on Figure 1, the period from 0Z 7 SEP to 0Z 10 SEP observed a period of slowly ________ winds and overall ________ pressure.
[ ] increasing; increasing
[ ] decreasing; increasing
[ ] decreasing; decreasing
[ ] increasing; decreasing
While pressure patterns surrounding a hurricane center are fairly symmetric, wind patterns in hurricanes are seldom concentric about the eye, particularly when storms approach land. After Irma weakened from its interaction over Cuba, it regained some strength in the waters between Cuba and the Florida Keys. It also began to trek northward, meaning landfall somewhere in the Keys was inevitable. We will investigate which Key-island would take the brunt of Irma’s strongest winds.
Figure 2 shows the wind-field surrounding the center of Irma’s circulation (or eye). The eye of Irma is centered in the map plot with a red dot hurricane symbol [ ]. The coastal and political boundaries of Cuba and mainland Florida are delineated by thick gray lines appearing in the north and south portions of the map, respectively. The Florida Keys are a series of small islands that run nearly horizontal (east-west) mostly from near Irma’s eye eastward. The horizontal graph axis is west longitude and the vertical is north latitude.
7. Sea-level pressure is estimated based on dropwindsonde (essentially a rawinsonde dropped by aircraft from flight level with a parachute) data given immediately below the longitude axis of the color-coded graph (in blue). At that time, the lowest mean sea-level pressure (MSLP) was determined to be ________ mb (hPa).
[ ] 929
[ ] 937
[ ] 946
[ ] 961
Isotachs are drawn on the map and labelled for 34, 50, 64, and 80 knots. The highest wind speeds are shaded red, in a roughly donut shape, surrounding the storm’s center. Immediately surrounding the much calmer central eye is an unlabeled set of isotachs with the inner-most isotach denoting 20 kts (enclosing the central area hurricane symbol). Surface wind directions are shown by the colored arrow shafts with speeds as the feathers in standard surface model format at grid points throughout the map area.
8. The overall flow pattern of winds as shown by the wind arrows about the central eye was ________ as seen from above.
[ ] clockwise
[ ] counterclockwise
9. The observed maximum surface wind speed is given in the caption below the image (VMAX) as ________ knots (112 mph).
[ ] 68
[ ] 79
[ ] 89
[ ] 98
10. The largest area of highest-speed winds was located generally ________ of the center of the eye.
[ ] north
[ ] east
[ ] south
[ ] west
Analyze the map directly on screen or on a printed copy. The distance between marks along the left-axis latitude scale of 1 degree is equal to 60 nautical miles (nm), so 0.5 degrees is 30 nm. Make a distance scale by placing a sheet of paper along the latitude scale of the map and mark several corresponding ticks on your sheet, labeling distances as 0, 30, 60, etc., nm. Use your scale for the distance question-items that follow. [At the latitudes shown on this map, longitude scale is approximately the same.]
11. According to your scale, the surface wind speeds increased from near calm in the center of the eye (where the red dot is) to hurricane strength (nearest heavy 64-kt isotach) in about ________ nm. This change of wind speed over such a short distance implies an extremely strong horizontal air pressure gradient!
[ ] 10
[ ] 30
[ ] 50
12. As mentioned earlier, the hurricane was moving generally northward when it struck the Florida Keys. For an estimate of the swath of hurricane-force winds to the right side of the storm track (east of the central eye), draw a line from the central eye eastward through the center of the crescent-shaped, highest wind speed region. Then use your scale to approximate the width where the wind speeds were greater than 64 kts (i.e., between the two sides of the heavy 64-kt isotach). This band of the storm’s hurricane force wind speeds of 64 kts and higher was about ________ nm.
[ ] 15
[ ] 35
[ ] 40
[ ] 60
13. The pattern of hurricane-force wind speeds in this hurricane, as is typical, ________ the advancing eye of the storm as it was moving toward higher latitudes (generally northward in the Atlantic Basin). This pattern illustrates that the internal dynamics of hurricanes and their interactions with the larger-scale flow may produce complex wind patterns.
[ ] formed a symmetric ring about
[ ] were primarily to the right of
[ ] were primarily to the left of
14. The overall storm’s movement at this time, according to NHC guidance, was toward the north-northwest at 7 knots. (You may wish to add a bold arrow from the eye to denote that movement.) Therefore, for this path, Irma’s highest winds directed toward the shore and the barrier islands east of the eye, would therefore produce the highest storm surge generally ________ the advancing center’s position.
[ ] alongside of
[ ] behind
AL1117 2017091012 160 1020 140 1000 120 980 100 80 2 940 60 920 40 900 20 08/30 08/31 09/01 09/02 09/03 09/04 09/05 09/06 09/07 09/08 09/09 09/10 09/11 00:0000:00 00:00 00:00 00:0000:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 DATE/TIME 880 maximum wind speed, blue line, for Major Hurricane Irma during the period from 0Z 30 AUG 2017 to 0Z 11 SEP 2017. Figure 1. Analyzed mean sea-level pressure (MSLP), red line, in millibars (left axis) andExplanation / Answer
1. The “Surge Vulnerability Facts” at the bottom of the same Storm Surge Overview page tell us that a strong hurricane producing a 23-foot storm surge somewhere along the U.S. Gulf Coast has the ability to flood 57% of arterial roads, almost half of rail miles, 29 airports, and virtually all ports in the area. It would also risk the inundation of ________ of interstate highways. Such input is crucial for emergency planners to order evacuations and prepare for possible destruction. [For reference, Hurricane Katrina in 2005 produced a 24 to 28-ft surge over a twenty-mile stretch of the Mississippi coast.]
Answer - 67%
2. We will concentrate here on Irma’s rapid intensification period (approximately 0Z 5 SEP to 0Z 6 SEP). The maximum plotted wind speed occurred at about 0Z 6 SEP (09/06). That speed was about ________ knots (167 mph).
Answer - 145
3. At this maximum wind speed time, Irma was a strong Category- ________ hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. [See Table 2 of Investigation 12A in the Weather Studies Investigations Manual.]
Answer - Category 5
4. Irma’s lowest central pressure (occurred multiple times between 6 SEP and 7 SEP) was about ________ mb, plotted during and after having attained maximum wind speed.
Answer - Manual says 914 But Fig (1) shows 880
5. During all hours of the day on 5 SEP, to the maximum wind time on 6 SEP, the wind speed was increasing. The sea level central pressure during the same time period was generally ________.
Answer - decreasing
6. After wreaking havoc in the Leeward Islands and a landfall in Cuba, Major Hurricane
Irma took aim on the Florida Keys, at the southern tip of the state of Florida. The land interaction with Cuba, however, weakened Irma. As noted on Figure 1, the period from 0Z 7 SEP to 0Z 10 SEP observed a period of slowly ________ winds and overall ________ pressure.
Answer - decreasing; increasing
7. Sea-level pressure is estimated based on dropwindsonde (essentially a rawinsonde dropped by aircraft from flight level with a parachute) data given immediately below the longitude axis of the color-coded graph (in blue). At that time, the lowest mean sea-level pressure (MSLP) was determined to be ________ mb (hPa).
Answer - 929
8. The overall flow pattern of winds as shown by the wind arrows about the central eye was ________ as seen from above.
Answer - counterclockwise
9. The observed maximum surface wind speed is given in the caption below the image (VMAX) as ________ knots (112 mph).
Answer - 98
10. The largest area of highest-speed winds was located generally ________ of the center of the eye.
Answer - east
11. According to your scale, the surface wind speeds increased from near calm in the center of the eye (where the red dot is) to hurricane strength (nearest heavy 64-kt isotach) in about ________ nm. This change of wind speed over such a short distance implies an extremely strong horizontal air pressure gradient!
Answer - 10
12. As mentioned earlier, the hurricane was moving generally northward when it struck the Florida Keys. For an estimate of the swath of hurricane-force winds to the right side of the storm track (east of the central eye), draw a line from the central eye eastward through the center of the crescent-shaped, highest wind speed region. Then use your scale to approximate the width where the wind speeds were greater than 64 kts (i.e., between the two sides of the heavy 64-kt isotach). This band of the storm’s hurricane force wind speeds of 64 kts and higher was about ________ nm.
Answer - 60 knots
13. The pattern of hurricane-force wind speeds in this hurricane, as is typical, ________ the advancing eye of the storm as it was moving toward higher latitudes (generally northward in the Atlantic Basin). This pattern illustrates that the internal dynamics of hurricanes and their interactions with the larger-scale flow may produce complex wind patterns.
Answer - were primarily to the right of
14. The overall storm’s movement at this time, according to NHC guidance, was toward the north-northwest at 7 knots. (You may wish to add a bold arrow from the eye to denote that movement.) Therefore, for this path, Irma’s highest winds directed toward the shore and the barrier islands east of the eye, would therefore produce the highest storm surge generally ________ the advancing center’s position.
Answer - behind
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