Graphical interpretation

2. Predictive tools

Required Resources

• Slides 3 - 7

Delivery

• The next 10 minutes should be spent considering in more detail the predictive tools available to the meteorological offices worldwide, and specifically the need for data in order to do this. Students should appreciate the historical data collated, but also the need to constantly monitor and understand new trends caused by changes in regional climates and sea levels.
• Slide 4-6 includes an excerpt from one of the actual storm warnings issued by the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - US equivalent of the Met Office). Students should discuss how meteorological offices worldwide share data and specifically the key variables that meteorological offices observe when alerted to a hurricane. If you do not have access to a projector you may wish to read extracts from this weather warning transcript yourself.
• Ask students to identify the primary tool that Met Offices use to extrapolate the data gathered, which is graphical analysis. Explain that during the course of this lesson, students will have an opportunity to consider some of the actual data gathered prior to and during Hurricane Katrina and to interpret this data themselves.
• Ask them to begin by brainstorming and identifying three possible graphs to be used by Met Officers. Graph type is not important; instead students should be considering useful variables e.g. sea temperature vs. wind direction; sea temperature vs. air pressure; wind direction vs. air pressure. At this stage it does not matter if inappropriate variables are selected, this is just to help them consider relationships and to understand that the units will differ.
• Slide 7 demonstrates the tracks of all tropical cyclones that hit the North Atlantic Basin in 2005, including Katrina.

Differentiation

Lower Ability:

Provide students with a finite number of variables with which to create their graph axes.
Alternatively draw three graph templates on the white board and invite students to discuss what they are depicting.

Higher Ability:

Invite students to identify two linear and non-linear graph types.