Initial Publication Date: August 12, 2008

Earth's Meteorological Monsters

Part A: 2005 Hurricane Season

Click on the picture below to watch a NASA video of the 2005 Atlantic Hurricane Season.


NASA SVS animation of the 27 storms in 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. The video combines satellite imagery, sea surface temperature information, storm track overlays to give a comprehensive look at this record-breaking season of storms. Latitude labels have been added to the image above.

Sea Surface Temperature
Sea surface temperature color bar

 

Questions and Discussion

After everyone has seen the video, you'll hold a class discussion about what you've learned from the visualization and what questions you had about what you saw. To get ready for the discussion, respond to these questions on your Activity Sheet.

Stop and Think

1: Generalizing from the information in this video, describe where most hurricanes form and how they move across the Atlantic Ocean basin. Does there seem to be anything particular about those places that helps hurricanes to form?

2: Come up with four questions about things from the video that you didn't understand.

 

NASA Video of 2005 Hurricane Season

Now, watch the video again. This time, focus on the path that each hurricane follows. Use the image on the right to help you identify latitude ranges.

Checking In

Answer the following questions to check your understanding of the information presented in the video.

  • What direction are most hurricanes traveling between 10° and 20° N latitude?
  • At what latitude do many Atlantic hurricanes generally begin moving eastward?