Hurricanes and Tornadoes - district87.org

How Scientists Predict Hurricanes
It used to be hard to tell when a hurricane was coming. Now
scientists make weather forecasts. The weather forecasts tell
people about hurricanes that are far away.
Scientists get information from instruments all over the
world. There are satellites high above Earth’s surface. They can
tell about a hurricane’s rainfall. Pilots fly special planes into
hurricanes to get information. This information helps scientists
make computer models. A model shows a system or set of
events. Models help people study things that are too big or too
dangerous to study directly.
Computer models can predict the
strength, direction, and speed
of a hurricane. Scientists
compare the forecasts
made by the models to
what really happens.
Then they fix the
models to make them
more accurate.
Hurricane Models
Hurricane models predict what path the storm will take. A
forecast shows where a hurricane is and where it might go. The
map below is a forecast for Hurricane Frances. Scientists try
to predict what path a storm will take, and what areas it will
affect. As they predict further into the future, they expand the
area that might be affected.
Teamwork of Scientists
Scientists work together to make predictions about
hurricanes. Some may study how heat moves. Others
may study how the winds in the atmosphere will affect a
hurricane. Scientists share their information to make the best
possible forecast.
Satellites can collect
wind speed and water
temperature data.
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