Geography 2152F/G Lecture Notes - Hurricane Hunters, Weather Balloon, Flood Wall
Document Summary
Describe the origins of hurricane katrina. starts off as a small storm called a tropical depression. Tropical depression: a center of low atmospheric pressure. In the warm waters of the eastern atlantic, water vapor rises from the ocean then cools, forming clouds and releasing heat energy which fuels the storm. This sucks in more warm air, generating strong winds, which shoot upwards. When this rush of air hits the stratosphere, it flattens out, and, influenced by the earth"s rotation, the storm starts turning counterclockwise. As soon as the winds reach 39 miles per hour, the depression is considered a tropical storm (a day later after katrina starts off as a tropical depression, the hurricane center upgraded it to a tropical storm) Hurricane forecasts are improving due to a greater understanding of atmospheric dynamics and more extensive satellite coverage. Relying very heavily on remote sensing via satellites. To protect the growing population, the state built earthen levees back in 1900s.