Week 4 of 32 • Page 4
Week 4 of 32 • Page 1
Across
3. area of the United States where the highest
number of tornadoes occur
4. scientist who studies climate and its many changes
6. our state has a _____ climate
8. a theory that the Earth’s atmosphere is gradually
warming
9. this kills 100-125 people every year
10. the weather that an area has year after year
Down
Vol. 9 Issue 1
1. completely wiped out
2. moisture that falls to Earth—rain, snow, sleet, etc.
5. scientist who studies weather and atmosphere and
makes forecasts
7. made up of temperature, precipitation and wind
First Quarter
Palm Sunday Outbreak
P
Indiana’s Climate
Here are two charts that show the monthly temperature and precipitation for Indiana. Both charts have been started
for you. Use the information below each chart to finish them.
May=63
June=72
July=76
Aug.=74
Sept.=69
Oct.=55
Nov.=43
Dec.=31
Dec.
Nov.
Oct.
Apr.
Jan.=26
Feb.=30
March=42
April=53
Sept.
0.5
Aug.
10
July
1.0
June
20
May
1.5
Apr.
30
Mar.
2.0
Dec.
40
Nov.
2.5
Oct.
50
Sept.
3.0
Aug.
60
July
3.5
June
70
May
4.0
Mar.
80
Feb.
4.5
Jan.
90
Feb.
Average Monthly Precipitation
Jan.
Average Monthly Temperature
Average Temperature in
Indiana by Month
Week 4
Average Precipitation in
Indiana by Month
Jan.=1.9
Feb.=2.2
March=3.5
April=3.4
May=3.7
June=3.3
July=3.6
Aug.=3.0
Sept.=2.5
Oct.=2.1
Nov.=3.0
Dec.=3.0
alm Sunday is meant to be a peaceful day. It is the
end of Lent and the beginning of the Holy
Week in some religions. To most, it marks
the beginning of Eastter. But on this
peaceful day in 1965, it was a bad day for
Indiana—even deadly.
On April 11, 1965, 11 tornadoes hit
20 counties in central and northern
Indiana. The powerful twin tornadoes
that swarmed through Goshen
destroyed almost 100 trailer homes.
In Russiaville, 90 percent of the
buildings were damaged. In the
end, nearly 50 tornadoes in the Great
Lakes region on April 11-12 killed 137
people, injured 1,700 and caused more than $30 million
in damages.
The formation of a tornado is very complex. But to
put it into easier terms, it is described as warm, moist
air being driven east by cooler air. The funnel
starts between the clouds and the ground,
causing air to try and rush up to replace
the air being sucked in. This is what
causes the funnels to form.
There are five different
classifications of a tornado based on
wind speed and damage. The classifications
were developed by Tetsuya Fujita in 1971.
• F-0 Gale Tornado (40-72 mph): Some
damage to chimneys and roofs; breaks
branches off trees
• F-1 Moderate Tornado (73-112
mph): Peels the surface off roofs;
overturns mobile homes; moving cars can be pushed off the road.
THIS WEEK
Weather
• Lightning
• Global Warming
• Karner Blue
Butterfly
• F-2 Significant Tornado (113-157 mph): Roofs
ripped off frame houses; mobile homes
demolished; whole trees uprooted; light
object missiles generated
• F-3 Severe Tornado (158-206
mph): Roof and some walls torn
off well-constructed houses; trains
overturned; most trees in forests
uprooted
• F-4 Devastating Tornado
(207-260 mph): Well-constructed
houses leveled; structures with
weak foundations blown off some
distance; cars thrown and large missiles
generated
• F-5 Incredible Tornado (261-318
mph): Strong frame houses lifted off
foundations and carried considerable
distances to disintegrate; automobile-size
missiles fly through the air in excess of 100
meters; trees debarked; steel-reinforced, concrete
structures badly damaged
• F-6 Inconceivable Tornado (319-379 mph):
These winds are very unlikely. The small area of
damage they might produce would probably not be
recognizable along with the mess produced by F-4 and
F-5 winds that would surround the F-6 winds. Missiles
such as cars and refrigerators would do serious
secondary damage that could not be directly
identified as F-6 damage. If this level is
ever achieved, evidence for it might
only be found in some manner of
ground swirl pattern. It may never be identifiable
through engineering studies.
Snow is the Soil’s Best Friend
The world’s smallest park was made in Portland,
Oregon, to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. The park
is only 452 inches and was made for leprechauns
and snails to race in.
If you’d like to make any editorial comments about
our paper, please write to us at
[email protected].
Indiana farmers love to see a good
snowfall in the winter—not just because of
the great sledding, but because of what the
snow can do for the soil in their fields. Snow
can be a big help to soil, which in turn helps
farmers.
Snowfalls help soil by building up the
supply of ground water. Much of the water
farmers use is pumped out of the ground.
The amount of water stored in the ground
depends on how much snow falls in the
winter.
Another way snow can help soil is by
breaking it up. Each time the soil freezes
after a storm and then thaws out in warmer
weather, it breaks up a bit. If the soil keeps
freezing and thawing, it will get broken
up even more, which makes for good soil
structure. Then, when farmers plant their
crops, it is easier for the plants to send down
roots to get water and nutrients.
During a recent farming season in Indiana,
the weather did not help farmers. A wet
spring kept many farmers from working
in their fields until later than they would
have liked. When the farmers finally drove
tractors and farm equipment over the fields,
they compacted (pressed down) the wet soil.
This made it harder for the plants to send
down roots. The summer was dry, which
caused the already compacted soil to harden.
Then, a wet fall caused farmers to compact
the soil even more with their tractors.
Luckily, the following winter had plenty of
snow with cycles of freezing and thawing,
and that was just what the farmers needed to
help break up the compacted soil. Who knew
that the weather made such a difference in
keeping Indiana farmland rich and healthy?
Week 4 of 32 • Page 3
Week 4 of 32 • Page 2
What is
Weather?
Weather Watch
By scanning the sky for colors and other clues, people
have tried to predict the weather since time began.
Test these bits of ancient meteorology to see if they
are really true.
When you live in Indiana, you should be prepared for possible extreme weather over the horizon. Do you know everything
about lightning and tornadoes? Here’s your chance to test your knowledge!
Hey, Now That’s Enlight(e)ning! Question: How can I tell how far away a
Question: How many thunderstorms are
there each year?
Answer: There are about 2,000
thunderstorms rumbling around on our
planet right this minute. About 16 million
brew around the world each year.
Question: What are the odds of getting
struck by lightning?
Answer: About a million to one—but you
still need to go inside when a storm comes
along.
Question: How many people die each
year as a result of being struck by
lightning?
Answer: 100-125. That makes lightning
the second-most-deadly weather
phenomenon. Flash floods are the worst.
Lightning kills even more people than
hurricanes or tornadoes.
storm is?
Answer: Count the seconds (thousand
one, thousand two, etc.) between the time
you see the flash and the time you hear the
thunder. For every second you count, add
1,000 feet. So, if the time between a flash
of lightning and a crack of thunder is five
seconds, that storm is about a mile away.
Is It Climate or Weather?
You’re lying on your back on your
lawn, watching the clouds above. The
clouds form a horse, then a clown, then
a clown on a horse! What a great way to
spend a lazy summer day. . . .
Suddenly, a brisk wind comes up. The
sky turns dark, and you feel big, warm
drops of water on your face! Help!
The lazy summer day has been taken
over by a cloudburst. What you’ve just
experienced is a sudden change in the
Question: Are people always killed when
they are struck by lightning?
Answer: About 2/3 of people struck by
lightning survive. Even more could be
saved if others would revive them with
CPR instead.
Question: How can I protect myself from
being struck by lightning?
Answer: Don’t stand around wondering
if the storm is going to pass. Take cover
immediately. Lightning strikes without any
warning!
Courage
D
o you know what it means to be courageous? If someone
is courageous, it means they possess the quality or state
of mind or spirit so that they can face danger, fear or other
things—with confidence and bravery.
Have you ever met someone who has been in a tornado? Nobody
ever wants to be stuck in these dangerous weather disasters, but
there are times when people do not have time to get away before a
tornado hits. It is times like these when people show courage.
It would be easy to panic and end up getting hurt, but if you
were to get stuck in a tornado, the best thing to do would be to stay
calm, help your family get everyone safe, and try to keep everyone
calm. Courage does not necessarily mean you are going to go outside
and try to fight the tornado and beat it up. It could just mean that
you are calm and helpful when under a great amount of pressure.
So remember, courage does not only mean you are willing to
look fear in the face and try to fight it back, but it can also mean
that you are the leader when you need to keep everyone safe, and
you do it calmly.
weather. The term weather refers to rain,
snow, heat, cold, ice, etc. It changes from
hour to hour, day to day and month to
month.
The term climate, on the other hand,
describes the kind of weather a particular
area has year after year. Alaska, for
instance, has a much different climate than
Hawaii. We think of Alaska’s climate in
the winter as freezing, snowy and very
cold. We think of Hawaii’s winters as
balmy, sunny and pleasant.
Indiana’s climate is altogether different.
Climatologists call our state temperate.
This means our climate is not terribly hot
(like Nevada) or terribly cold (like North
Dakota.) We live somewhere in the middle
of these two extremes.
I want to be a weather person!
The man or woman who stands by the
weather map on television, pointing to
different areas of the country and telling
you about thunderstorms and heat waves
isn’t just a person off the street with
a pretty face. Generally speaking, the
woman or man is a person with a degree
in meteorology. Here are a couple of good
words for you:
Meteorologist— a scientist who
studies atmosphere, weather and weather
forecasting
Climatologist—a scientist who studies
climate and its many changes
1. A rose red sunset means fair skies
are coming (“Red sky at night, sailor’s
delight,red sky at morning, sailors
take warning!”)
Are You a Tornado Expert?
1. All tornadoes spin in the same direction. True or False?
2. Tornado Alley has always been in the same place. True or
False? (Tornado Alley is the area of the United States where the
highest number of tornadoes occur.)
3. A tornado can strike the same location twice. True or False?
4. Which of the following protects a town from a tornado?
a) hills
b) skyscrapers in the area
c) rivers
d) all of the above
e) none of the above
• A ring around the moon means bad weather. The
number of stars within the ring tells how many
days away the bad weather is.
• If it thunders in February, it will frost on that
same day in May.
• If you hear an owl hoot during the day, it will rain
within 24 hours.
• If the wind is from the east, the fish won’t bite.
• If we have a hot, dry summer, we will have a cold,
snowy winter.
• Rain before 7 a.m. will quit by 11 a.m.
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3. An evening rainbow predicts fair
weather.
5. You should open windows during a tornado. True or False?
4. A morning rainbow
in the west means rain.
6. A tornado WATCH means:
a) A tornado is coming.
b) Conditions are right for tornadoes.
7. A tornado WARNING means:
a) A tornado is possible.
b) A tornado has been spotted—Take cover.
5. A pre-dawn copper colored sky in
the east means rain.
8. The safest way to seek shelter if a tornado approaches while in
a vehicle is to:
a) Get under an overpass.
b) Try to outrun it in the car.
c) Get out of the car and lie on the ground in a ditch or low area.
Weather Legends and Lore
You have probably already heard of many
different weather myths such as, “Red sky in
morning, sailors take warning,” meaning that if the
sky is red in the morning, there is supposed to be a
storm. But the people of the Jordan Presbyterian
Church in Owen County, Indiana, have made a list of
many others you may not have heard.
2. A pale yellow sunset
means rain is on the way.
6. When the moon hangs in
halo, there will be rain,
especially if the halo is far
from the moon.
Karner Blue Butterfly
Is the Earth getting hotter?
It’s getting hot out there and scientists are
worried. Some call it global warming. Others call
it global climate change. The average temperature
on Earth has gone up 1.4 degrees since 1880. That
may not seem like much, but it’s causing other
things to change, too. Arctic ice is melting fast.
Polar bears and other animals could lose their
habitat. Glaciers are disappearing, and coral reefs
are dying. Some scientists blame global warming
for the increase in extreme weather, too. They
believe the changes are causing more storms,
floods, wildfires and heat waves.
Most scientists say it’s our fault the Earth
is getting hotter. Greenhouse gases like carbon
dioxide are trapping heat near the Earth. And
those gases came from our cars and factories.
People have cut down too many trees and caused
too much pollution.
T
his lovely butterfly was extirpated
(completely wiped out) from Indiana
by 1988. It is both a state and federally
endangered species. The wild blue lupine
tree is the only food source for the
Karner blue butterfly. Before 1940,
there were natural fires every 10 or
20 years. After 1940, foresters began
extinguishing natural fires. This made
it possible for bigger trees to grow close
together. That practice was great for the forests, but it choked out
the grassy areas where the blue lupine grew! Many wild blue lupine
areas were bulldozed under for subdivisions as well. The Karner blue
butterfly no longer had a food source and began to disappear.
It’s time to bring back fire! With fires set on purpose and
controlled, the blue lupine should grow and flourish. Our beautiful
friend, the Karner blue butterfly, is sometimes spied at the Gibson
Woods Nature Preserve near Hammond and Gary. We hope they’ll
soon feel “at home” here in Indiana once again.