Hurricane - Eric

Dear Uncle Bill,

As you know i live on the eastern side of the USA. You might not always get bad weather when you are on your boat in the Pacific Ocean. We are expected to get a major hurricane. They are going to call it Hurricane Eric. I feel special.

It first starts off as a small tropicl deppersion. A small strom that forms over the ocean. It might just die off and thats the last you hear of it. It can also become as tropical storm. It is stronger than a tropical deppresion but not as strong as a catorgy 1 hurricane. Then it might get up to a hurricane. There are different catogories of hurricanes. 1 being the lowest and 5 being the worst and most damaging.

They just don't come out of no where. There has to special cirrcumstances that have to bet so a hurricane storm can occur. It has to have a low pressure system. If the sea tempetures are cold the storm wont occur. You need warm sea tempetures. It has to have a moist ebviorment. Meaning there will be rain if a hurricane is forming. There has to be special wind patterens over the equator so it will spin and cause it to look like the picture I included in the above paragraph.

If you have any more questions about the storm go to this site to learn a bit more. Hope you guys are having a great time on your boat and hope to see you soon.

Love,

Eric

P.S. Hopefully the storm isn't too bad. :)

Tornado- Anthony

Dear Sarah,

The most incredible thing has happend, there has been a tornado warning for Phoenix, Arizona. Don't worry I'm fine for now until the tornado hits. You probably don't know much about tornado's since you're in Arizona, but ill refresh your memory.

A tornado is a column of air contracting with the ground and happens normally during a thunderstorm. Although mainly super cell thunder storms form a tornado. For a tornado to form air has to rise from the ground and rotate into a vortex. Tornado's normally come from funnel and wall clouds and can reach up to 300mph in speed. Also tornado's come from the front edges of cold moving air masses. If you would like to read more click here. Just don't worry about me I'll be fine.

Be home in a couple of weeks,
Anthony B

Hurricanes - Sarah

Dear Krithika,

You would never believe what is going to happen! Miami is supposed to get hit by a category 4 hurricane this weekend! It is said that there will be winds over 150 miles per hour! The hotel we are staying at may not be able to survive the storm, so we will need to move inland quickly. Don't worry though, we will be fine as long as we are prepared. Wait, you do know what a hurricane is, don't you?

The word "hurricane" came from the West Indians and literally means "big wind." To be considered a hurricane, it has to have winds of AT LEAST 74 mph, and they can even get up to almost 250 mph! They are known for their high winds, severe damage, heavy rain, and coastal flooding. And over 80% of deaths from hurricanes are due to drowning! Hurricanes form out in the open ocean in tropical regions of the world. It must be a very low pressure area, be exposed to a lot of sunlight, and the temperature of the water's surface must be at least 80 degrees fahrenheit to even have the possibility of a forming hurricane. Because of how warm the water is, it condenses into clouds. Warm air rises and when the wind is just right, the air mass begins to spin. It gains speed and more clouds begin to form. And I bet you don't know this: in the eye of the storm, the winds are the calmest, and there aren't any clouds! Most hurricanes have an eyewall of dense cumulonimbus clouds as well as cumulonimbus spiral arms. You can check out the NOAA website to learn more!

This hurricane is coming towards Miami at top speed, so I really have to go. Don't worry, we'll be fine. I'll keep you posted and let you know what is going on soon! Have fun on the rest of your Bahamas vacation! Hope to see you soon and stay safe!

Your Friend,

Sarah

P.S. - Hurricanes sometimes have a tendency to turn around, so watch out :)

Tornado- Joe

Hi Grandma!

There is scheduled for a very severe thunderstorm that is headed our way. This means that there is a very good chance that a tornado is headed our way also. This is because it is the right time of year which is in the winter and early spring when most tornadoes occur. Also the level of moisture in the air is very low. This is because the dew point for a tornado is usually at 40 degrees or above.


A tornado forms when warm humid air collides with a cool and dry air mass. When this occurs they start spinning in a horizontal fashion, and then after this happens the rotating column slowly turns into a vertical rotating column. This happens because the hot air begins to rise and the cool air goes downward and it just keeps spinning and spinning until it is a tornado. When it is a tornado there are many types. The types are classified by wind speed, such as an F0 which wind speed goes between 40 and 72 mph. Then the most severe tornado which we are most likely be seeing because of how severe the storm is suppose to be and that the conditions for one are just right. Those are walled an F5 which winds speeds can reach up to 318 mph! These are very rare severe tornadoes are only 5% of all tornadoes (F5 is not the only class included). Oh I almost forgot to mention, the type of clouds that make these massive storms are called cumulonimbus clouds. These types of clouds are high up in the sky and the larger the clouds the more massive the storm. To learn more about tornadoes click here.


I am very excited and very scared because I have heard what F5's can do to homes, and cars and buildings, and it is very important that we stay safe. Which I will mention more tomorrow for I will tell you what we do when the storm comes around. But I do know what to look for right before the tornado is about to hit. One thing to look out for is looking for dark somewhat greenish tint in the clouds. Low lying clouds also are a sign that a tornado is coming. Before a large tornado there is usually large hail falling from the sky. Well talk to you tomorrow grandma hope for the best!

-Joe

Hurricane- Corey Johnson

Dear Aunt Lisa,
Im sure you've heard of the HUGE hurricane coming our way? Its going to be wild, acctually it already is! People in Delaware are starting to freak out because they have never been through one before, you should see how packed that new Walmart is! Me and my mom cant get on a line that doesnt take 30 mins. to get through! I hope your getting prepared for it too though, I've been researching on this storm and hurricanes in general latley and the weather reports say that its going to get all the way up to New York!

There are somethings i do want you to know about hurricanes though that are farly important. A hurricane is a tropical storm that reach a constant wind speed of 74 miles per hour or more so make sure you dont leave anything outside that is valuable. An you will know when its going to come because a hurricane happens when there are cumulus clouds in the sky so make sure you keep looking at those clouds daily, and another big thing about these storms is humidity, the only way they can form is if the air is hot and moist, and the ocean has to be at least 80◦F. This storm is estimated to be over 345 miles around and the eye is around 30-35 miles around! As i was looking through different reports i frequently found that there wasnt suppose to be any storm sugres which is great, and knowing you , you probably dont know what a storm surge is so ill give the the deffinition, "an abnormal rise in the level of the sea along a coast caused by the onshore winds of a severe cyclone".

But from a young nephew, please listen to me when i tell you to not take this lightly, its a very serious storn an could do many different damages. Check out these links all about hurricanes, there very infromational!

• Facts
• Definition
• Precations

P.S. im sorry it toke such a bad occasion to talk to you, make sure you e-mail me back (:

Love,
Corey

Thunderstorms- Joey

Dear Dad,

Hey guess what? We have a huge thunderstorm moving up the East coast and it is heading right towards us. I know You have been in Iraq for a while and you probably forget what a thunderstorm is. But don't worry; I'll refresh your memory. A thunderstorm is called a thunderstorm because of the lightning that occurs during the storm and the sound the bolts of lightning make. But I bet you are wondering how they are formed? Well here you go.

Well as you know, thunderstorms go through three stages when forming. They are called the cumulus, mature, and dissipating stages. The cumulus stage is when the clouds are first forming. This happens when warm humid air rises into the air, forming clouds called cumulonimbus clouds. And this all happens when the sun warms up the air more in one specific spot. Then we get into the mature stage, which is when the clouds really start to grow. Then the lightning and rain come. But don't worry, these storms usually only last about thirty minutes. Then finally, the dissipating stage comes. This is when the rain is over and the clouds start to evaporate. But I bet you want to learn something new about thunderstorms right? Then listen to this.

Well, did you know that the wind coming off a thunderstorm can be up to one hundred miles an hour? And that The clouds that the storms is formed from are shaped like anvils? Yeah, it's all true. But I'm sure you already know that the air pressure is very unstable during a storm (you said that you can "feel" it in your arm ever since you broke it). This is because of the warm humid air rising and the wet cool air falling (rain). And, as you know, it rains during a thunderstorm and the warm air is rising which makes the beginning and climax of the storm very humid. But afterwards, it all clears up because of the cool air lowering. I bet you knew all of that, but I bet you never discovered what happens in the sky.Well during the thunderstorm, there is a strong upward and downward current (the air rising and falling). Then while in the sky, the cold air and warm air meet. Then I guess you know what happens next. Rain. And Lightning. I still cannot believe that electrical charges cause lightning.

Well I'm sorry Dad but I have to go. I really miss you and I'm sure you really miss me. Well, at least you can quiz your buddies on thunderstorms and laugh when they get stumped. And you can click here if you want to learn more about thunderstorms if you want to. I'll tell you more about the storm when it hits. It really sounds violent, but don't worry. I'll take care of Mom. Talk to you later. Bye.

Sincerely,

Joey

Thunderstorms - Alaina

Hey! Grammi & Pop! I miss you so much! You will not believe the storm that is supposed to hit us. We were looking at the radar and we are supposed to get hit with a huge thunderstorm. I know you probably aren't familiar with them, living out there in Kansas, but they are actually pretty dangerous. You have had tornadoes, right? Well these storms can get winds up to 57 miles, just like the tornado. The only other things are that all the thunderstorms have lightening. Just like the lightening that comes down and burns the fields. We don't get fires like that really because all our thunderstorms come packed with tons of rain. Sometimes it rains so hard we get flash flooding. Which is when we get a lot of water that starts to go down hill really fast, So we get about 1-2 inches of water on the ground sometimes even more.
The storms as big and frightening as they are don't need a lot to actually form all they need are:

• Moisture


• Unstable air (which is just air that could go up and down quickly)


• Lifts (which are breezes that lift the air in order to form the actual storm)

That's only three things, not that much so they could happen pretty often in the summer and the spring. Thunderstorms can happen anytime but they mostly occurring the afternoon.The good thing is that they only last for about 30 minutes and are only about 15 miles in diameter. It's not that bad normally, I just hope this one isn't one of the storms that is very very severe. I'm just waiting it out, It might be one of those storms and I am a little nervous if it ends up that way. I think we will be OK. I can't wait to hear from you guys! Talk to you later, Alaina