Hazardous Weather Awareness
Crossword Puzzle
Look through the Hurricane Herald to find the answers to the puzzle.
Sunshine State Standards: LA.A.1.3; LA.A.2.3
1
“Rip”
“Stormy”
2
3
6
5
4
8
7
9
10
11
13
12
14
16
15
17
“Flame”
18
19
20
21
23
22
24
25
“Torry”
26
“Drench”
ACROSS
2. This is a large dome of water that sweeps across the coastline near
where a hurricane makes landfall.
4. When heavy rain occurs, the ground becomes _____, which means it
can no longer hold any more water.
8. Any large body of water is capable of producing this.
9. This type of radiation is one form of energy that comes naturally from
the sun.
10. When a weather forecaster says the air is moist, he or she means the
air contains a lot of this.
13. Many people die from ____ flooding because they try to drive through
water that covers roads.
15. In Florida, this group is more frequently struck by lightning than any
other group.
17. Dangerous tornadoes can occur in this winter month.
19. Afternoon summertime outdoor activities are all dangerous when this
occurs.
20. Thunderstorms are nature’s way of balancing differences in this.
21. This type of fire reduces the hazardous accumulations of brush to lower
the risk of loss to homes, businesses, recreation areas and forests
when wildfires occur.
22. This organization (abbreviation) issues daily UV Index Forecasts.
23. A tornado is a violently rotating _____.
25. This type of water is very powerful.
27. Install and routinely check battery-operated carbon monoxide and
smoke detectors with alarms wherever these are used.
18
27
“Sparky”
“Hurry”
DOWN
1. The word tsunami means this.
3. This is a measure of the amount of moisture in the air.
5. The most common form of skin damage is this.
6. Tornadoes are classified according to the damage that they cause
on this scale.
7. These fires can cause major environmental, social and economic
damages.
8. Most thunderstorms last approximately this many minutes.
11. During a hurricane, the threat from water can come from two
directions.
12. The National Weather Service has a saying, “Turn Around …
Don’t _____.”
14. The combination of heat and humidity is called this.
16. In 1886, an earthquake in this state causes a tsunami in Florida.
18. These can move at speeds of eight feet per second, and it’s hopeless to try and swim directly against them.
24. These are brief bursts of wind that can be considerably stronger
than sustained winds.
26. This is the key to reduce the number of human-caused fires.
Hazardous Weather
Awareness Word Jumble
E T A R U
T
S S R D
H Y Y U O Q T
I
A Q P A V
P
A S E
T
L
T
S O S
A R M V A T
T T O O D S D R W Q Q B
S S D D E
I
E V S
T
K
F
C G S
I
Z
Tsunamis and Florida
U A P B
T
Z
J
Z
J
J
V
F
R
F
S D
T
T
T
E
U M M O R V A A C P
F G D G O S H K M N V A K
L O C Y B S D M Z
E N R C D N A K Y V R E R Y G T
P
I
R Q M
P V R A N A T M A
M G K
L
T
R O T
A R E N E G U R H C S A L H
T
V A
R F N
I
N
T
S
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K
J
G U A Y G
I
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V E S
L
Y B
F
C W F G E
J G O U
L
A P Y V R D E A A A F N O
O L J
Z
X G J
R D
S C J
H M L Q T
I
Y
F
C B P
H N U S Q V
F
T
H
Y E
T Q N Y S
R N R G M U
T
R
L
C A R B O N M O N O X
I
D E C V U
D M F
F
R G T
Y H Q E
P
T
O B T
N Y
Y S
Z
N
S V L
Z
J
J G B
J
I
D
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U D
B
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Z O L N A R
A
L G
F
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Z G A Q X E K D G O S
B R W X O H V
J
E M C B
Y O Q H
L R S K O H O C Y S
P
T
D E B R
I
L R U
P Q V W T
T
Y Q U X
V Q N N R M T
T
S C C
I
T G U W Y Y K Y H O G P B C V A
E R G L
L
P W R Q R A X H
X U P G B
T
A L Q Z
S B
I
T M P A
P O X O D O B G R G O R H Q Q
I
T
D D G N
P
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Y M E H U R D S O Z
A A C B N G
T
S A A N R
S
F
L R R N N H
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T
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A Y S
I
F
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W A F
L H N S X
Z
C O Q N
I
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Y M O U O T
L U X W W M H N P N E
P X J W D B V D E G Y
V M H S
J
E
I
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Z
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F Q
F Q A B R H B S E
V C P W P R E S C R
I
B E A
J
Z
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J
Y U
S V C K E H G M R
Y
F
T
When you study meteorology and weather, you come up against some tough
vocabulary words! Most vocabulary words are learned from context clues or
good old-fashioned dictionary work. While you read the Hurricane Herald, be
sure to highlight or circle words you don’t know. Try to figure out their meanings by looking for clues in the sentences around these unknown words. Write
down your best guess, and then look the words up in a dictionary. As a group
activity, make a list of the words you and your classmates have identified and
see which ones stumped the class.
Here are some words from the Hurricane Herald that you may not know. Find
these words in the word search. Look up these words in a dictionary, write
down the definitions and add them to your list.
Saturate
Stable
Surge
Torrential
Updraft
T
P Q V W T
S V C K E H G M R
A L Q Z
S V L
A A C B N G
I
J
T
Z
I
L R S K O H O C Y S
Z
S C C
L
Meteorologist
Parallel
Permit
Prescribe
Radiation
Y O Q H
V C P W P R E S C R
X U P G B
E R G L
Z
P
T
T
E M C B
I
U D
Y M E H U R D S O Z
L H N S X
I
A Y S
I
T
N
I
Y H Q E
D M F
T
F
N Y
Z
F
T
I
C A R B O N M O N O X
V B A E R S
H M L Q T
R D
X G J
Z
O L J
I
I
T
I
R F N
L
M G K
T
Y
S
Y
F
P
R O T
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F
T
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L
F
T
K
R G T
J
P
H Y Y U O Q T
S S R D
T
J
T
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F
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F Q
F
J
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L G
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I
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L
T Q N Y S
Y E
J G B
L
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B
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A
T M P A
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D
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Y Q U X
P W R Q R A X H
T
D D G N
I
L R R N N H
S B
T
P
A P Y V R D E A A A F N O
C W F G E X E
L
Z
F
K
T
J
S
V A
P V R A N A T M A
P
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R Q M
F G D G O S H K M N V A K
A R M V A T
A S E
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U M M O R V A A C P
C G S V
S O S
F
T
T
E
U A P B
F
T
R
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F
J
S D
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C L O U D
W
A
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R
N
25
M O V I N G
D
L
G
26
I
U
P
27
G
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N
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A
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S A A N R
Y M O U O T
L O C Y B S D M Z
A Q P A V
E T A R U
T
Z
A R E N E G U R H C S A L H
E V S
T T O O D S D R W Q Q B
I
U
Z O L N A R
C O Q N
E N R C D N A K Y V R E R Y G T
S S D D E
F
B R W X O H V
D E C V U
H N U S Q V
J G O U
L
I
V Q N N R M T
R N R G M U
C B P
V E S
G U A Y G
N
S
W A F
L U X W W M H N P N E
S C J
Y
T G U W Y Y K Y H O G P B C V A
P X J W D B V D E G Y
J
J
B E A
Z G A Q X E K D G O S
O B T
Y S
I
F Q A B R H B S E
P O X O D O B G R G O R H Q Q
V M H S
T
Generator
Habitat
Hazardous
Landslide
Lightning
D E B R
J
T
J
Atmosphere
Carbon monoxide
Current
Debris
Forecast
L R U
J
V B A E R S
X
By Al Sandrik, Warning Coordination Meteorologist,
Jacksonville Weather Forecast Office
By now we have seen the videos of the terrible Indian Ocean
tsunami, and the all of us have asked the question, can it happen here?
The answer is yes. A tsunami can happen here because any large body
of water, such as the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico, is capable of
producing a tsunami.
“Tsunami” is a Japanese word which that means “harbor wave,”
and the storm is well named. Tsunami waves may pass easily beneath
a ship at sea without even being noticed; however, when those waves
reach land, they swell up to great heights in coastal areas. Tsunamis
also move very fast, almost as fast as a jet plane, and they can strike
with little or no warning.
A tsunami may be generated whenever a large amount of water
is rapidly moved, and there are many ways this can happen. Some of
the possible causes are volcanoes, large underwater earthquakes, or
underwater landslides, such as large landslides when a portion of an
island breaks off and slides into the water. Even an asteroid striking
the water could trigger a tsunami. Some of these events, such as island
landslides and asteroids, happen in time scales of thousands of years,
but other tsunami- generating events, such as earthquakes, occur more
much more frequently. It is even possible that the release of underwater gas deposits in the Gulf of Mexico could cause a tsunami.
We can think of a tsunami like a rock thrown into a pond. When
the rock enters the pond, it pushes water away from the point of
impact, and several circular ripples begin to move across the water.
These ripples spread out until the wave reaches the edge of the pond,
and then the ripples roll over the edge as breaking waves. This is
what happens with a real tsunami, except instead of being in a pond,
the waves can cross entire oceans, and instead of a being ripples, the
breaking waves can be very tall.
There is a fault in South Carolina that actually has generated a
tsunami in Florida. On Aug. 31, 1886, a strong earthquake shook the
city of Charleston destroying many of the city’s buildings. This earthquake also shook northern Florida and approximately 15 minutes later,
a tsunami hit the beaches near Jacksonville. Floridians were lucky
because not too many people lived there at that time, but if the same
thing occurred today, many people could be hurt or even killed. A
strong earthquake is nature’s tsunami warning, and if you feel a strong
earthquake, or if the water begins to act strangely for no apparent reason, you should get to higher ground quickly.
There are several areas near Puerto Rico and Europe where large
tsunami-generating earthquakes can occur, and these tsunamis can
travel great distances, even crossing the entire Atlantic Ocean. This
type of tsunami is called “tele-tsunami,” and the recent Indian Ocean
tsunami was one. This is why the waves struck beaches far away from
the earthquake with no warning. In the United States, there is equipment scientists use to watch for this threat, and if Florida were to be
threatened by a tele-tsunami, we would have several hours of warning
to get to higher ground.
When a tsunami strikes a coast, it may do so as a series of waves,
and each new wave can be larger than the wave before it. Additionally, there may be some time between waves, so it may not be safe to
assume that the tsunami is over after the first wave hits. It is very important to follow the instructions of emergency managers and public
officials if a Tsunami Warning is issued because you may have only
minutes to take action.
19
A
2
S
T
O
R
M
S
U
R
G
E
B
3
H
O
6
5
4
7
S A T U R A T E D
S
W
U
F
8
9
T S U N A M I
U L T R A V I O L E T
W
10
N
L
J
I
W A T E R V A P O R
H
11
12
B
V
D
I
D
O
D
I
13
14
H
U
F R E S H W A T E R
T
C
R
I
16
15
T
T E E N A G E B O Y S
R
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18
A
A
O
F E B R U A R Y
W
Y
N
N
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T
N
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L I G H T N I N G
A T M O S P H E R E
P
O
H
C
N
R
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U
P R E S C R I B E D
N W S
K
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R
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X
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S
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