Name: Brandon Kim Section: PHY-112-099WB Date: 01/31/22

Part 1:

Here we look at the tracks of hurricanes. You will need to search for the storm names in the search box
under Temporary Places. Load the name of the storm once you have found it and click on a point to find
the wind speed and pressure. For certain storms, we will include the storm surge as well as the
precipitation in areas near the landfall. You will also need to observe the elevation of areas close to the
coast and look at historical imagery to determine the impact of the storm on coastal communities.

The chart is worth 13 points, and each question is worth 1 points each, for a total of 25 points.

1. Complete the following chart (13 pts):

Hurricane Name Wind Speed (mph) Atmospheric Category Year Storm Surge
and observation Pressure (mb)
number
Sandy - 37 70.0 945.0 1 2012 8.9ft Storm Surge
at landfall

Andrew - 33 145.0 926.0 4 1992 17 ft

Katrina - 26 105.0 928.0 2 2005 27.8 ft Storm

Surge at land fall

Camille - 18 150.0 900.0 4 1969 22.6 ft Storm

Surge at landfall

Harvey - 10 115.0 938.0 3 2017 Precipiation at

landfall: 60.6

Unnamed 1900 - 140.0 936.0 4 1900 15 ft

53
(Deadliest US
storm) Galveston,
TX

2. What was the strongest storm in your chart based on wind speed? What was the atmospheric
pressure in mb?
The wind speed of the strongest storm would be considered to be Camille (150.0 mph). The
atmospheric pressure was 900.0 mb.

3. What was the weakest storm in your chart based on wind speed? What was the atmospheric
pressure in mb?
The wind speed of the weakest storm would be Sandy (70.0 mph). The atmospheric pressure
was 945.0 mb.
Name: Brandon Kim Section: PHY-112-099WB Date: 01/31/22

4. Based on your observations above, how are wind speed and atmospheric pressure related?

When the wind speed is higher the atmospheric pressure is lower.

5. The unnamed storm that made landfall on Galveston Island, TX in 1900 is often cited as the
deadliest natural disaster in US history, with the number of dead estimated to be between 8,000
to 12,000, and the number of homeless about 10,000. The total population at the time was
about 38,00. With “Borders and Labels” and “Terrain” turned on to read elevations, run your
mouse over Galveston Island and read the elevations on the lower right-hand corner. What is
the highest elevation you can find on Galveston Island? Why do you think this event was so
deadly?

The highest elevation I could find on the map was 8 ft. I think this was a very deadly event since
it was almost and very near sea level.

6. The storm surge of Hurricane Rita at Gueydan, LA was 10 feet. Explore the elevation of Gueydan
as you did in the last question. Approximately how much of the town was flooded?

The highest elevation I could find is 5 which makes Gueydan nearly fully flooded.

7. What is the percentage of rainfall from Hurricane Georges near landfall compared to the
average annual rainfall of southern Alabama (60 inches)? Please give your answer as a
percentage.

The percentage is 50% since 29.66 near landfall in Bay Minette, Alabama.

Part 2. In the second part of the lab, we will observe the change in temperatures of the Atlantic
Ocean over the last century which is related to the generation of more powerful hurricanes. Load
and turn on the file TemperatureAnomaly.kmz. By pressing the year buttons on the left you can
observe the temperature anomalies in August every five years (from 1910 to 2000) and annually
from (2000 to 2017) relative to the average temperature from 1900 to 1910 file. Note that there is
no scale on this file – warmer colors (yellow, orange, red) indicate anomalies hotter than average
and cooler colors (light blue to dark blue) indicate anomalies colder than average. White indicates
that the anomaly is close to zero (i.e. average).

Center the map over the Atlantic Ocean so you can see Africa as well as North America including
the Gulf of Mexico. As we have learned in the hurricane lecture, the warmer the temperature
the more energy to fuel hurricanes as well as the ability to hold more moisture.

8. Which is the warmest year in the central Atlantic Ocean between 1910 and 1950?
Throughout 1910 and 1950 the warmest year in the central Atlantic Ocean is 1945.
Name: Brandon Kim Section: PHY-112-099WB Date: 01/31/22

9. How would you describe the trend from 1950 to 2000? How does that compare to the trend
from 2000 to 2017?

Throughout 1950 to 2000 it was warmer than the average temperature with a drastic increase.
Throughout 2000 to 2017 the weather became way more hotter but consistent with the
increased temperatures.

10. Which of the following is a year that the Gulf of Mexico had the highest potential to fuel strong
storms based on temperature?

2005

11. Which year would temperatures in the Atlantic have been favorable for hurricane development?

2017

12. Which decade would have been slow for hurricane generation in the Atlantic based on
temperatures?

1970-1980

13. Which storm corresponds to a temperature peak in the Gulf of Mexico?

Harvey 2017