WEA TH ER I
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Tornadoes
Blizzards
Monsoons
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Page. 4-5
Page. 6-7
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Hurricanes/ Flooding Page. 8-11
Indiana Weather Page. 12-18
Quick Information In these articles you will be learning about Indiana weather, tornadoes, hurricanes, blizzards, and monsoons. This magazine is made for education purposes, please be respectful. Thank you.
Weather Balloons A weather balloon is a scientific instrument which is used to collect data about atmospheric weather conditions. Some people also call weather balloons “sounding balloons,� because they take soundings of the atmosphere. This data is used in weather prediction, and to track general weather trends.
LETTER FROM THE E DITOR As you read this article
progresses over land it
Fortunately, they aren’t
you will learn a lot about
drops snow on land.
that dangerous, unless your
Tornadoes, Hurricanes,
Certain weather is really
area isn’t used to them year
Blizzards, A little bit of
dangerous and it’s
round. If they aren’t, they
flooding, Indiana’s weather, important to know what to can cause flash flooding and and Monsoons. You will
do in a situation like this.
whatnot. Lastly, a blizzard
learn as much as we did,
All of our articles have
can produce about 3-5 feet
maybe even more as you
procedures like how to stay sometimes even more, so
immerse yourself in our
safe when a tornado is near. you may be stranded or
article. We learned that
All of these weather topics
even stuck in one place, but
most storms occur through
are important and you
our safety tips and
water and wind. A lot of
should learn as much as you information will inform you
people think all storms do is can so you know what to
about these chilling, windy
bad things but in fact they
do in one of these weather
storms.
do a lot of good things.
emergencies. (The hurricane
There is a lot more to
is the most dangerous and
weather then people think
you should stay away from feet, and read our
there is. Most people don’t
it.)
know what lake effect snow
This is all I will explain so, sit back, kick up your fascinating, informative
Next is the tornado, I
magazine.
is but it’s not that complex. recommend you go to a Lake effect snow is
shelter if you can. Then
caused by arctic winds
comes a Monsoon/Blizzard
coming down and going
these storms rank about the
over a lake which takes in
same. Monsoons can flood
water vapor and as it
the large amounts of land. By: Tyler Wasserott, Becca Koon, Curtis Wealing, Mitchell Crane
I T’ S A TW I STER! Funnel  Cake A  tornado  is  a  rotating  column  of  air  that  extends  from  a  thunderstorm  to  the  ground.  It  also  is  a  mobile,  destructive  vortex  of  violently  rotating  winds  having  the  appearance  of  a  funnel-shaped  cloud.   In  order  for  a  vortex  to  be  classified  as  a  tornado,  it  must  be  in  contact  with  the  ground  and  the  cloud  base.
Cone  of  Air When  cooler  polar  air  masses  meet  warm  and  moist  tropical  air  masses,  the  potential  for  severe  weather  is  created.  In  tornado  alley,  air  masses  to  the  west  are  typically  continental  air  masses  meaning  there  is  little  moisture  in  the  air.  This  warm,  dry  air  meets  the  warm,  moist  air  in  the  Central  Plains  creating  a  dry  line.  It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  tornadoes  and  severe  thunderstorms  often  form  along  dry  lines.
The Fujita Tornado Scale, more commonly called the "F Scale", has subsequently become the accepted and recognized scale for estimating wind speeds within tornadoes based upon the damage done to buildings and structures. Wind speeds in tornadoes range from values below that of hurricane speeds to more than 300 miles per hour! In 1971, Dr. T. Theodore Fujita of the University of Chicago devised a six-category scale to classify U.S. tornadoes into six intensity categories F0-F5. These categories are based upon the estimated maximum winds occurring within the funnel.The equation relating the wind velocities (V in mph) with the F scale (F) is V = 14.1 * ((F+2) to the 1.5 power). F1 on the F Scale is equal to (73 mph).The strongest tornadoes max out in the F5 range (261 to 318 mph).
By: Mitchell Crane
F RO Z EN P L A N ET Winter War
Unfortunately, Death Rates. ❖Related to ice and snow: -About 70% occur in automobile -About 25% are people caught out in the storm -Majority are males over 40 years. ❖Related to exposure to cold: -50% are people over 60 years old -Over 75% are males -About 20% occur in the home Sad, I know but these are facts.
stained boxers, complained. Hoping
Cold winter days are common in my
up from the worn couch I laugh taking
hometown Whatcom, Washington.
in his appearance once more. “Heat
Wind chills can freeze you to the bone
wave, hot stuff. But I don’t know why.”
if you sit around too long. So it’s quite
All too soon the wind picked up,
a surprise when a heat wave
thrashing the
blows over our tiny town. I
naked branches,
planned to spend my day,
crashing and
curled up with my laptop,
cracking,
clicking away on a new novel.
splintering the
My German Shepard, August,
damp ground.
huddled by my feet holding
“Blizzard.”
warmth in his scruffy fur. The
Graham didn’t
winds howling outside the
sound worried
living room window. “Well I
more like an
guess, Graham will be
annoyed bear.
hibernating upstairs.” I giggle to
Snow quickly fell fluttering to the
myself, scratching behind August’s
ground. Coating the ground. The
ear. Suddenly it became to hot. My
amount falling was so large you
skin felt as if it was melting, dripping
couldn’t see farther than two feet. In
like a luke warm ice cream cone.
several minutes our porch was buried
Thundering steps came down the
in the white powder. It was a barren
wooden stairs. “What in Sam’s name
frozen planet.
is going on!” Graham, with his face flushed, a sweaty forehead, and pink
Safety Tips For A Blizzard Outside: Do not eat snow, find shelter. ✓try to stay dry ✓cover all exposed parts of the body
In A Car: Stay in car ✓Open the window a little for fresh air to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning
At Home or In A Building: Stay inside. Use alternative heat (Fireplace, wood stove, etc.)
By: Becca Koon
ICE S TORM OF TH E BLIZZA RD I Got A Jar Of Snow! Blizzards? If you know what snow is, you most likely understand what a blizzard is. Unfortunately it is not an ice cream cup filled with candy from Dairy Queen. Blizzards are severe winter storms that pack a combination of blowing snow and wind resulting in very low visibility. Sounds pretty bad, huh? Well odd fact blizzards are highly dangerous is because of the wind chill. Now what’s a wind chill? Wind chill is the felt air temperature on exposed skin due to wind. It can cause frostbite or hypothermia. Nasty, I know, just don’t get caught is my advice. Ice storms are also a big factor in blizzards, they coat everything. Now when I say everything I mean everything, it’s like going to the beach and getting sand stuck in places you didn’t even know that you had. Back on topic. The U.S. mainly gets snow storms, hail, and ice storms. So nothing real severe. Lake effect snow is a large factor too, now that I think about it. Lake effect snow is exactly what it in tells. It isn’t a large part of a blizzard but it’s there for the lake area towns and cities.
Amount  Of  Snow  to  fall  in  a  blizzard  -  3-5ft  or  more By: Becca Koon
By: Becca Koon
MONSOONS
In the picture above, I show you the climates of North America. Now for monsoons in North America, are most occurring in Western Mexico and Southwestern United States. In the United States, they occur in Eastern New Mexico.
T HI S I S MONSOON SE ASON! I Thought India Only Had To Deal With This Well yes and no. India has to deal with most monsoons. They even have their own season for it. But North America also has to deal with it , but in smaller amounts. let’s just begin with the basics, what is a monsoon. A monsoon is a severe thunderstorm, or severe season of rain, with strong winds. Monsoons are triggered by the earth’s tilt in relation to the sun. Monsoons can be pretty bad, such as; a weak monsoon rainy season may cause drought, crop failures, and hardship for people and wildlife. However, heavy monsoon rains have caused massive floods that have killed thousands of people. So you really just need to hope for luck.
Major Dangers in Mexico and the Untied States The thunderstorms that are generated by the monsoon system can bring life-giving and beneficial rains, but can also be life-taking as they unleash violent flash floods, thousands of lightning strikes, crop-damaging hail, and walls of damaging winds and blowing dust.
By: Becca Koon Words To Know Circulation cell: A circular path of air, in which warm air rises from the surface, moves to cooler areas, sinks back down to the surface, then moves back to near where it began. The air circulation sets up constant winds at the surface and aloft. Convection: The rising of warm air from the surface of Earth. Jet stream: High-speed winds that circulate around Earth at altitudes of 7 to 12 miles (12 to 20 kilometers) and affect weather patterns at the surface. Subtropics: Regions between 23.5 and about 35 degrees latitude, in both the northern and southern hemispheres, which surround the tropics. Tropics: Regions of Earth's surface lying within 23.5 degrees latitude of the equator.
HURRICANES!! Hurricane Sandy the tenth named storm of 2012 was one of the most destructive storms of the decade! Imagine waking up and looking out the window to see the ocean and an Enormous dark spiraling cloud of rain and wind slowly coming for land. As you see that
Most people decide to
Here is what you
you turn on the T.V. to
leave for a hurricane
should do.
see a hurricane warning and your family is hassling you to leave what do you do.
but if you decide to stay by any crazy chance here is what
Go on.
you should do just incase you stay .
By:Tyler Wasserott
HURRICANES
Hurricane Safety Protocols
Hurricane Name: Floyd Date it Happened: September 14-18, 1999 Rating: Category Number of Deaths: 57 Rainfall: 15-20 inches Windspeed: 40-138 MPH
Poll Results What do you think is the most dangerous thing about a hurricane? Storm Surges Wind Rain Rip tides Debris
12% 20% 4% 0% 32%
An sw er is st or m su rg es (giant walls of wate r)
WHAT TO DO IF YOUR IN A HURRICANE? If you ever are in a hurricane you should take a safe route away from the city about 70-150 miles, if you stay or your car has problems or something carry an emergency kit carrying a first aid kit, food and water, flash lights and batteries, portable battery operated radio, medicine, durable clothes and shoes, money ( only if you need to its not necessary).
By:Tyler Wasserott
HURRICANE KATRINA WInd Speed
Peaked at 175 MPHR Rain fall
15 inches or higher Repair costs
Exceeds $100 billion
When is Hurricane season and what is the difference between Hurricanes and Tornados
HURRICANE DAMAGE Flooding from Hurricane Katrina
...............................................................
If you are ever wondering when hurricane season is just imagine walking out into the warm 80 deg. weather and seeing a hurricane forming over the water. That right hurricane season is from June 1 to November 30.
This shows the hurricane sandy from space. Look how big hurricanes can be!!
.................................................. A Hurricane is a huge tropical storm the if it Many people think reaches winds of 74 MPH of hurricanes and tornados higher it is considered a are alike. In many cases hurricane. These terrible that is true but there are storms produce about 2.4 some differences. Trillion gallons of rain a day.
That will Dampen your mood won’t it. Hurricanes can last for 2 weeks or more and be more then 300 miles in length with and an eye about 20-30 miles wide.
WHAT CAN HURRICANES DO IT TERMS OF DAMAGE
A storm surge from Hurricane Ike.
By:Tyler Wasserott
Look at this destruction from Hurricane Katrina isn’t it just terrible
The streets are flooding with so much rain water from Hurricane Sandy.
Most dangerous hurricanes in the history of the world Good things that hurricanes can do????
•••
THE RATING OF A HURRICANE Have you ever wondered how a hurricane is rated. It’s nothing like a tornado. Hurricanes are rated by wind power Intensity but not the amount of damage the hurricane does like a tornado is. This Scale is called The Saffir-Simpson scale.
The Great Hurricane of
kill people but in-fact they do some good things to. All the rain
4.
Galveston Hurricane of
from hurricanes can water crops across the U.S. where ever the
5.
Hurricane Okeechobee
rain hits. They hurricane takes
6.
Hurricane Jeanne
7.
Hurricane Katrina
heat from anywhere and distribute it throughout the area. When hurricanes form over water they spread nutrients all over the ocean.
This is why everyone hates
used again. The place where these names are made is the Geneva World Meteorological Organization.
1900
8.
Hurricane of Labour Day
9. 10.
The Interesting thing about how a
have been used enough times the name gets retired and its never
Typhoon Nina
1780
Name’s The Game.
hurricane/ tropical storm name is eventually reused. But if they
2. 3.
Bad things hurricanes do...............
hurricane is named is that every
Bhola Cyclone
bad things like destroy homes and
People think all hurricanes do is
Hurricane Irene slamming into the coast of the USA
1.
hurricanes. Hurricanes destroy houses, Neighborhoods, Towns, Cities, And States. They kill
Hurricane Andrew Hurricane Hugo
FROM THE EDITOR All of this info was fo
und on multiple different we bsites that i can’t remembe r and most of the pictures were found on the wiki med ia
thousands of people. Hurricanes can literally blow you away.
By: Tyler Wasserott
May 22, 2013.
WEATHER THROUGH INDIANA
Indiana and the weather that happens when inside its boundaries. By: Curtis Wealing
If you imagine a day that it is snowing then the next day the snow is gone and the sun is out. You might be in Indiana at the beginning of Spring. Indiana’s weather is unlike most other states, Indiana’s weather
varies throughout the year. Normally a day in the summer the temperature can be around seventyfive to eighty-five degrees fahrenheit. But if you take the overall year high is about sixty-one degrees. The
average yearly low is about forty-two degrees fahrenheit in winter. Although we have a variety of weather in Indiana, we do have significant differences between seasons.
WEATHER THROUGH INDIANA May 23, 2013
Seasons May Differ Winter has snow every year whether it be a subtle amount or large areas that are feet deep with snow. It all varies on the weather pattern. Spring is the more rainy season but can have very different weather. The temperature can go through a wide range of fluctuations. When spring begins it normally starts out colder then gradually gets warmer throughout the season. Then it reaches into summer where most of the time we
FUN FACTS: 1. Weather is like this because of wind, wind carries temperature and clouds all around the planet every hour of every day. 2. The wind “currents” are part of a large system called the Jet Stream 3. The Jet Stream goes throughout the atmosphere across the whole United States. 4. When something goes through the Jet Stream it can be transferred to anywhere in the U.S
have normal heat around seventy to ninety degrees. Then when you aren’t continuously sweating, there is rain and sometimes wind. On occasions there is a just perfect balance of heat and wind. As Fall comes up the temperature drops from around seventy-five degrees to possibly fortyfive. In this season it doesn’t always start to snow but it does get dry and rains.
WEATHER THROUGH INDIANA May 24, 2013
Why It’s This Way It
Indiana’s climate is humid continental which means the land has drastic changes between seasons. Summer can be from heats up to the record high which is one hundred and sixteen degrees. Then it could get down to an extremely low temperature just like the record low which is negative thirty six degrees! The weather has been specially odd in the past two years or so. Most scientists think that the drastic change in weather temperature is because of the is part of “The Greenhouse Effect” which is when rays of the sun get into our atmosphere and get trapped inside and because of this it heats up the surface of the earth. A great example of this would be when you leave your car out in the heat and when you get in it, the inside is warmer than outside. Normally by a drastic amount, but sometimes it can be ten to twenty degrees different inside.
“Jet Stream” which is a narrow segment of very strong, air currents going around the globe several miles above the earth at extreme speeds. Another reason for the different weather temperatures is the latitude, we in Indiana are about three thousand thirty-eight miles from the equator. Which makes everything colder here than it is down south. The equator is the imaginary line that cuts the world in half from top and bottom. This imaginary line gets a direct hit from the suns potentially harmful rays. The farther you are away from it the colder you and your surroundings are.
The water cycle plays quite a big role in the distribution of water in the Northern half of Indiana. The water cycle is when the liquid of a body of water is evaporated into the atmosphere then it is released to earth again. When it hits Earth it goes into the With the weather from ground then into another the Greenhouse Effect and the different or the same body of Jet Stream it makes the water to start it over again. This seasons very odd and seem as cycle happens most of the day if they shouldn’t be true. The without us even noticing cold and warm weather is because water vapor is invisible swept into our area from the of course.
WEATHER THROUGH INDIANA MAY 25, 2013
The Types of Indiana Weather Because of the placement of Indiana there are the different parts of the year with different temperatures. When the weather from Canada and the arctic circle come down things get colder. The cold weather and the things that come with come down from there in the winter and and is carried by the wind also know as the Jet Stream. Wind carries different temperatures and types of weather anywhere and everywhere. Another thing is the placement of the state applies is the reason plant life thrives. Because the spring and summer have rain, heat and sunlight, the plants grow the amount that is needed and sometimes more if not tended to. This is not a bad thing of course though.
tornadoes in the spring and summer then having extreme heat in the summer. In Indiana we have a combination of weather from throughout the U.S. The major storms that Indiana doesn’t have are the hurricanes that a couple other states on the eastern coast have.
These storms also have their not as big but their almost equally dangerous counterparts called Thunderstorms. Thunderstorms are strong storms that include rain, thunder, lightning, and sometimes hail. These storms form from the basic storms that we see every day. The action of warm air rising and cold air lowering plays a big role in the formation of thunderstorms. If the The different types of weather warm surface air is forced to rise, it that occur in Indiana are things like will continue to rise, because it is less just cloudy days. It can progressively dense than the air around it. While get worse very easily though. Days this is happening droplets of water can go from clear to cloudy to pouring can freeze and become hail. These rain and hailing in a matter of hours. pieces of hail can be very dangerous The odd weather in Indiana does not because they can be the size of a pea necessarily stack up to the to up around golf ball sized. Hail is competition of places such as also an unpredictable part of a Oklahoma in the tornado season or thunderstorms. With hail, nothing is the hurricane season in Florida. There exactly predictable, it all depends on have also been rumors of Indiana the process within the sky at that having the worst weather in the moment in time. Throughout Indiana country because of the huge weather the most of what we have are differences between seasons. sometimes similar but the process Between having the possibility they go through to do what they do blizzards in the winter to having damage wise is quite different.
WEATHER THROUGH INDIANA May 25, 2013
Extreme Weather Explained When this extreme weather happens it occurs because of yet again the water cycle. But when the weather gets too extreme and a warm front hits a cold front a tornado can potentially form. The operation that happens when the tornado forms is there is there are two fronts colliding and start spinning together and there shortly after seeps to the ground and crashes on the ground with a whirlwind style of motion. When the whirlwind motion hits the ground it sucks up most to all things in its path. This destructive force doesn’t arrive often in Indiana. Even when it does it doesn’t arrive extremely destructive. Blizzards also happen in Indiana but the blizzards don’t happen often, when they do though they often happen in the Northern part of Indiana. The Southern part of Indiana just receives more heat than the Northern part though and has less snow.
possibly snow. Unlike low pressure systems high pressure systems normally go with nice weather. Storms have a hard time forming in stable air. Because of this, in these systems, clouds often tend to evaporate and the air stabilizes. Air in a low pressure system is unstable, thus making weather like thunderstorms, blizzards, and tornadoes.
Another unique characteristic to Northern Indiana is the “Lake Effect Snow and Rain”. The “Lake Effect Snow” is when air from the arctic above us by Canada crosses Lake Michigan or any other body of water, and then continues to combine with water vapor from the specific body of water. Once the vapor and cold air combine they condense into a cloud and continue traveling in any direction the wind will allow. The cloud eventually releases the cold snow onto land that is past the lake.”Lake Effect Rain” is similar but it needs warmer lake water. The cloud that is formed between Other than the Jet Stream and the the cold air and warm water vapor Water Cycle a major role in the goes with the wind above land reason some weather happens. and it releases. These are called Pressure systems are a crucial “Lake Effect” types of weather part of development in weather. A because both are produced by low pressure system develops the lake while having the when warm and wet air rises from exception of the cold air and the the Earth's surface. As the warm difference between the air rises, it may become thick temperature in the water vapor enough to produce rain or rising.
WEATHER THROUGH INDIANA MAY 26, 2013
After Effects Because of the many different types of weather there are also sometimes after effects. For example when a tornado goes through an area it has some after effects that can be excessive damage and on rare occasions death. Floods are also often after effects of different types of weather that occur in Indiana. Thunderstorms are a big cause of flooding in our state. Thunderstorms do not need to rain much because they are such powerful storms. If the thunderstorm is big enough then it can pick up a large amount of lake water and put a miniature version of the lake on a town or city. This does not happen that often but is does happen and that means that it is a danger potential. The next storm that could bring a minor flood is when it just turned
spring and there was enough snow on the ground. Blizzards can cause floods because on occasions there can be drastic in weather and temperatures. One day there can be a blizzard that can put feet of snow on the ground and with the help of the atmosphere it warms up. The snow melts and then turns into water that will go anywhere it wants to. Rain while not as often as thunderstorms can cause flooding if it puts enough on the ground. When things like this happen there are signs and warnings that will help you get through these things. Unless you are a good swimmer it will be slightly difficult to get through a flash flood. A flash flood is a flood that occurs without warning. It does not happen quite as often as normal floods that are anticipated. Floods can happen quickly or over time. They can also be on a small scale then up to consuming a whole town.
WEATHER THROUGH INDIANA May 27, 2013
Extra Facts Some interesting facts that are cool and interesting about the weather in Indiana are, between all the different seasons and different types of weather throughout the year about forty inches of rainfall every year. Thats about three inches of rainfall each month. Before winter really comes around the average day with the very first freezing temperature is in October around the sixteenth. So when you have a cold day be glad it’s not that close to October. Another one is that the yearly average for getting the first snowfall is in November. The date is around November twentieth. More intriguing facts are in Indiana there hasn't been a day with a temperature above one hundred since the nineteen
fifties. My guess is that we are due for a hot day soon enough The most recent day that was below zero degrees fahrenheit was in nineteen ninety six. It wasn’t that long ago but it was still more recent than the temperature being over one hundred On that same day the temperature also set the record for a whopping negative thirty six degrees fahrenheit. Since Indiana was declared a state there has been only one thousand one hundred seventy eight tornados. While that might seem like a lot it is not since indiana was founded in eighteen sixteen. And one last spectacular fact is that the most snow fall recorded was in 1979 in Rockford, it was 74.5 inches in one season.