WorksheetPremium

Why Hurricanes Curve Toward the Coast

Grade 6 earth science: use a model of wind belts and ocean currents to explain a hurricane's track and why two coasts at the same latitude differ.

Grade 6ScienceInteractive · Printable

Aligned toMS-ESS2-6

Buy this worksheet: $1.50

Or unlock every Premium worksheet with Premium

PrintUnlock to print

Answer keyUnlock to see answers

Assign to classUnlock to assign with a class code

What’s included

Single worksheet
Auto-graded online
1 NGSS standard
Printable answer key
10 questions
Classroom-ready

Details

Format: Interactive · Printable
Grade: Grade 6
Subject: Science
Question types: Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students use a model of uneven heating and Earth's rotation to explain the trade winds and westerlies.
Students analyze hurricane track data to connect a storm's path to global wind belts.
Students explain how ocean currents make coastal climates at the same latitude differ.

How to use

Read the passage together and sketch the wind belts on the board before students answer. A world map helps students picture the hurricane positions in the table.

Curriculum

NGSS standard covered

MS-ESS2-6

Model how uneven heating and Earth's rotation cause patterns of atmospheric and ocean circulation that shape climate.

Preview

OwlSheets.com

Name Date

Why Hurricanes Curve Toward the Coast

Use a model of uneven heating and Earth's rotation to explain storm tracks and ocean temperatures.

Following a storm

Read the passage and study the storm table. Then answer the questions.

Reading the Storm Map

1Harbor Point is a small town on the coast of North Carolina, at about 35° north latitude (35°N). Every June, before hurricane season, the town's youth emergency team helps neighbors make storm plans. This year, team members Rosa Delgado and Amir Haddad wanted to understand why many Atlantic hurricanes curve toward the Carolinas, so they studied a model of how air and water move around Earth.

2The model starts with uneven heating. Sunlight strikes Earth most directly near the equator, so the land, water and air there warm up more than places near the poles. Warm air near the equator rises, spreads toward the poles high in the atmosphere, cools and sinks back to the surface at about 30° latitude. Near the surface, that air flows back toward the equator. Similar loops of rising and sinking air form farther from the equator.

3Earth's rotation changes the direction of these flows. Because Earth spins, air and water that travel long distances follow curved paths. In the Northern Hemisphere they curve to the right of the direction they are moving. This is called the Coriolis effect. Because of it, surface winds between the equator and about 30°N blow mostly from the east toward the west. These are the trade winds. Between about 30°N and 60°N, most surface winds blow from the west toward the east. These are the westerlies.

4Winds blowing across the ocean push on the surface water, so they help drive large ocean currents. Off the East Coast of the United States, a warm current called the Gulf Stream carries water from the tropics toward the north. Off the West Coast, the California Current carries cool water from the north toward the south.

5Hurricanes usually form over tropical ocean water warmer than about 26 °C. Once formed, a hurricane is mostly steered by the large-scale winds around it, a bit like a leaf carried by a stream. The team tracked Delia, a made-up storm based on the paths of real hurricanes. On a map, longitude tells how far west a place is: a larger number of degrees west (°W) means farther west. Harbor Point is at about 76°W.