Unit 4.7: How does climate change affect hurricanes?

Beth Dushman, Howard Community College

Initial Publication Date: September 20, 2024

Summary

Unit 4.7 asks students to make connections between current climate change trends and the amount and types of damage caused by hurricanes. Students will start by investigating some of the factors that control where and how hurricanes form and intensify to create a model of hurricane formation. They will then use an online data portal to graph how some of these factors have changed over time, and predict how those changes will affect hurricane formation. Lastly, they will apply this new knowledge to their models of hurricane damage from Unit 4.6 to explain how climate change affects hurricane damage. This module is meant to follow the previous module on hurricane damage.

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Learning Objectives

At the end of this unit, students will be able to:

  1. Describe the factors that contribute to hurricane formation
  2. Use data and graphs to evaluate the impact of increasing sea surface temperatures on hurricane formation and damage
  3. Predict how climate change will affect hurricane damage in the future

Context for Use

This unit is appropriate for an introductory Earth Science or Oceanography course. It is meant to follow the previous module on hurricane damage.

Description and Teaching Materials

Teaching Materials:

  1. Pre-class homework Questions: Unit 4.7 Pre-class homework (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 2.7MB Aug29 24)
  2. Hurricane Model Template (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 211kB Feb11 24) (same as unit 4.6; students should get new copies)
  3. In-class worksheet for Unit 4.7 (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 1.9MB Sep19 24)
  4. Exit Ticket for Unit 4 (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 368kB Aug29 24)

Pre-class homework:

All students should do some basic background reading about why the climate is warming and about the greenhouse effect: https://climate.nasa.gov/causes/

Then, students can choose to watch the videos below and/or read the articles below (not the exact same information, but similar themes), and answer the questions here: tides_climate_change_coastal_hazards_homework.v3.docx (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 2.7MB Sep18 24)

Readings:

Videos:

In-class:

Students will work in groups of 2-3 to answer the questions on this worksheet (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 3.3MB Aug29 24) (approximately 120 minutes).

The last few questions can be done as a class discussion instead of written responses. If done as a discussion, each group will be given a few minutes to present their argument for or against rebuilding in hurricane-prone areas.  The instructor should moderate the discussion and be prepared to prompt students with follow-up questions, such as: What other factors might play a role in the decision to rebuild or not?  Who should fund rebuilding or relocation?

When students complete their final hurricane damage model, they should include a "zoom in" look at one (or more) specific factors, such as a detailed explanation of how warmer sea surface temperatures make stronger hurricanes, or evidence of higher coastal populations.

Homework: 

The actual link between hurricanes and climate change is very complex, and it is impossible to say that any single storm is the result of climate change. Read these two articles and summarize some of the key points:

The response should be at least one full paragraph.  This could also be included as part of the exit ticket.

Teaching Notes and Tips

Students will need access to computers with internet access in order to run the interactive hurricane models and to create the plots of sea surface temperature changes. Students should have a basic understanding of latitudinal differences in sea surface temperatures.

Instructors should strongly consider reviewing inputs for the surface temperatures graph after students have determined their initial inputs, but before they make a final graph.

Some of the questions could be answered as class discussions instead of written answers. In particular, the question about building/rebuilding in coastal areas can be done as a role play or class debate (groups are assigned a "build" or "don't build" position and present their position to the class).


Assessment

Students submit the worksheet, which can be graded for completeness or in more detail. Worksheet with some suggested answers here:

Students should complete this exit ticket (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 368kB Aug29 24).

References and Resources

American Meteorological Society. (2020, June 4). Intuitive Metric for Deadly Tropical Cyclone Rains. The Front Page. Retrieved September 21, 2022, from https://blog.ametsoc.org/2020/06/04/intuitive-metric-for-deadly-tropical-cyclone-rains/

Berkeley Earth. (2022, January 19). 2021 Global Temperature Changes Since 1850 [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved September 21, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqHKQZGwtw4

Cornell, S., Fitzgerald, D., Frey, N., Georgiou, I., Hanegan, K., Hung, L., Kulp, M., Retchless, D., Yarnell, B., & Bralower, T. (2022). Hurricane Formation | Coastal Processes, Hazards, and Society. Retrieved September 10, 2022, from https://www.e-education.psu.edu/earth107/node/1045

Denchak, M., & Turrentine, J. (2021, September 1). What Is Climate Change? NRDC. Retrieved September 21, 2022, from https://www.nrdc.org/stories/what-climate-change

Earth Science Communications Team at JPL. (2022, September 19). The Causes of Climate Change. Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet. Retrieved September 19, 2022, from https://climate.nasa.gov/causes/

Di Liberto, T. (2017, September 18). Reviewing Hurricane Harvey's catastrophic rain and flooding. NOAA Climate.gov. Retrieved September 21, 2022, from https://www.climate.gov/news-features/event-tracker/reviewing-hurricane-harveys-catastrophic-rain-and-flooding

HHMI Biointeractive. (2021, November 15). The Science of Climate Change | HHMI BioInteractive Video [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved September 21, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raijIFglj6c

NASA Space Place. (2019, December 4). How Do Hurricanes Form? NASA Science Space Place. Retrieved September 10, 2022, from https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/hurricanes/en/

National Weather Service. (2017, September). Hurricane Sandy. Retrieved September 21, 2022, from https://www.weather.gov/okx/HurricaneSandy5Year

NASA climate change dashboard: https://climate.nasa.gov/

Stewart, S. & Berg, R. (2018, September 17). Hurricane Florence. In National Hurricane Center Tropical Cyclone Report (No. AL062018). NOAA.

The Royal Society. (2014, December 11). Climate change in 60 seconds | The Royal Society [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved September 21, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4e5UPu1co0&t=90s

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2015, April 3). Climate Change Basics (OLD) [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved September 21, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScX29WBJI3w#at=81