Hurricanes, Tornadoes & Monsoons
Explain how hurricanes form and intensify over warm ocean water (latent heat release, low-pressure spiral); describe tornado formation within supercell thunderstorms; explain monsoon mechanics driven by temperature differences between land and sea; introduce attribution science — how scientists use climate models to calculate whether and by how much climate change increased the probability or intensity of a specific extreme weather event
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“When scientists say that climate change made a recent hurricane stronger, can your child explain what they actually mean and how scientists figure that out — what kind of calculation lets them link a specific storm to climate change?”
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- Activity. Explain how hurricanes form and intensify over warm ocean water (latent heat release, low-pressure spiral); describe tornado formation within supercell thunderstorms; explain monsoon mechanics driven by temperature differences between land and sea; introduce attribution science — how scientists use climate models to calculate whether and by how much climate change increased the probability or intensity of a specific extreme weather event
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When scientists say that climate change made a recent hurricane stronger, can your child explain what they actually mean and how scientists figure that out — what kind of calculation lets them link a specific storm to climate change?
Explain how hurricanes form and intensify over warm ocean water (latent heat release, low-pressure spiral); describe tornado formation within supercell thunderstorms; explain monsoon mechanics driven by temperature differences between land and sea; introduce attribution science — how scientists use climate models to calculate whether and by how much climate change increased the probability or intensity of a specific extreme weather event
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“When scientists say that climate change made a recent hurricane stronger, can your child explain what they actually mean and how scientists figure that out — what kind of calculation lets them link a specific storm to climate change?”
Curriculum record
- Type
- Conceptual
- Subject
- Science
- Domain
- Weather & Climate
- Age range
- Ages 12–13