I’m waiting until the storm passes to discuss Hurricane Irene in more depth with my children–my daughter was obsessing about tornadoes months ago and I wanted her to get some sleep tonight! If we still have power, I plan on using some of these websites to help my children learn a little about hurricanes:
- Weather Wiz Kids: Hurricanes: Excellent graphics showing storm surges, how hurricanes form, and more. Experiments, including showing how cahnges in temperature create enough pressure to suck an egg through a narrow-necked bottle.
- Discovery Education: Lesson plan about how wind speed affects ocean waves.
- NASA: How Do Hurricanes Form: Simple explanation and good images.
- Weather.gov: “Owlie Skywarn” printable book about Hurricane preparedness.
- FEMA for Kids: Hurricanes: The emphasis is on planning and safety but there is a fascinating section on how hurricanes are named and older kids may be motivated to do some hurricane math.
- Hurricane Pictures: National Geographic: High-quality photographs.