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?
- Ignore it if it is a low category
- Watch just the center line of the cone
- Check the kit and evacuation plan while it is calm
- Wait until the warning is issued, then start a plan
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?
- Do nothing until someone actually sees a tornado nearby
- Close the school for the next seven days
- Review where the safe area is and how to get there
- Sit in the safe area for the whole day
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?
- Do nothing, since no date is known for it yet
- Secure heavy furniture and practice Drop, Cover, and Hold On
- Plan to leave town the week before it happens
- 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: the cone tracks the center; effects reach outside it
- Disagree: it is towns inside the cone that stay calm and safe instead
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 means a tornado has already been spotted somewhere nearby
- Disagree: a watch means the danger has passed
- Agree: a watch and a warning mean exactly the same
- 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 11 a.m.
- It won't; the rise will stop by itself
- About 6 p.m.
- About 2 p.m.
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 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
- It became a hurricane Tuesday and reached Category 2 Wednesday
Week 1, 5, ground steady; week 2, 20, ground steady; week 3, 60, ground swelling. Small earthquakes under a volcano rise from 5 a week to 20, then 60, and the ground starts to swell. What should USGS likely do, by Tala's reasoning?
- Wait until lava appears before saying anything
- Announce the exact day of the eruption
- Raise the alert level and tell nearby people to be ready
- Lower the alert level, since small earthquakes are normal
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 can be seen and tracked; faults give no reliable sign of when they will slip
- Hurricanes are smaller than earthquakes
Why does a flash flood often give less warning than a slow river flood, by Ari's reasoning?
- River floods give no warning of any kind
- Flash floods come from earthquakes shaking the riverbanks loose
- Flash floods are forecast weeks ahead
- Very heavy rain can fill small streams within hours
