Forecasting storms and earthquakes, and how warnings keep people safe
Grade 6 Science Worksheet - Challenge Me
Circle the best answer.
Forecast cone reaching the coast near Esme's town at day four. The forecast shows a hurricane may reach Esme's coast in about four days. What is the best plan now?
- Wait until the warning is issued, then start a plan
- Check the kit and evacuation plan while it is calm
- Watch just the center line of the cone
- Ignore it if it is a low category
School map with the inside hallway on the lowest floor marked SAFE AREA. The forecast says a tornado watch is likely this afternoon. What should Jun's class do this morning?
- Review where the safe area is and how to get there
- Sit in the safe area for the whole day
- Close the school for the next seven days
- Do nothing until someone actually sees a tornado nearby
USGS-style hazard map with Kira's town in a dark-red, high-chance area. Kira lives where USGS maps a high chance of strong shaking in coming decades, but no date can be given. What is the best plan?
- Plan to leave town the week before it happens
- Secure heavy furniture and practice Drop, Cover, and Hold On
- Do nothing, since no date is known for it yet
- Wait for a forecast that names the day
A post says a town outside the hurricane cone will get no wind or rain. Milo checks it. Which response is best?
- Agree: the cone is the edge of the storm
- Agree: weather follows just the center line
- Disagree: it is towns inside the cone that stay calm and safe instead
- Disagree: the cone tracks the center; effects reach outside it
TORNADO WATCH and TORNADO WARNING. Noah's cousin says a tornado watch means a tornado has already been seen. Which response is best?
- Agree: a watch and a warning mean exactly the same
- Disagree: a watch means the danger has passed
- Agree: a watch means a tornado has already been spotted somewhere nearby
- Disagree: a watch means conditions are right; a warning means act now
6 a.m., 12 ft; 8 a.m., 14 ft; 10 a.m., 16 ft; flood stage, 20 ft. A river gauge reads 12 ft at 6 a.m., 14 ft at 8 a.m. and 16 ft at 10 a.m. Flood stage is 20 ft. At this pace, when does Pia expect flood stage?
- About 2 p.m.
- About 11 a.m.
- About 6 p.m.
- It won't; the rise will stop by itself
Read this first
Table (NHC, Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale), with columns Category and Sustained wind
Category 1, 74–95 mph; Category 2, 96–110 mph; Category 3, 111–129 mph; Category 4, 130–156 mph; Category 5, 157 mph or higher.
A storm's sustained winds are 65 mph on Monday, 80 mph on Tuesday and 105 mph on Wednesday. Using the NHC scale, what change does Ren report?
- It became a hurricane Tuesday and reached Category 2 Wednesday
- It stayed a tropical storm for the whole time, without a category
- It reached Category 5 by Wednesday
- It weakened from Category 3 to Category 1
Why can hurricanes be forecast days ahead while earthquakes cannot, as Zee explains?
- Earthquakes are rarer, so no scientist ever tries to forecast them
- Both can be forecast days ahead
- Hurricanes are smaller than earthquakes
- Hurricanes can be seen and tracked; faults give no reliable sign of when they will slip
Why does a flash flood often give less warning than a slow river flood, by Ari's reasoning?
- Flash floods come from earthquakes shaking the riverbanks loose
- River floods give no warning of any kind
- Flash floods are forecast weeks ahead
- Very heavy rain can fill small streams within hours
Tsunami warning centers watch earthquakes and ocean gauges. Why do people near the shore still move to high ground after strong shaking, without waiting, as Bo learns?
- Warning centers do not exist
- A nearby tsunami can arrive before an official warning
- Strong shaking means the tsunami has already passed by
- It is better to wait and see the wave first