Into The Eye of Ivan

(Hurricane Ivan)
Genre: This story is an informative, non-fiction, news article.
Source: This article came from Time Magazine.
Conflicting Ideas: Some people pay no heed to the warnings that weather forecasters
give and stay in their home. They think that if they have already dealt with a little-damage causing
hurricane, they will last through the upcoming one, too. Others always evacuate and soon realize that
some hurricanes dont damage their !elongings in their house if they are at a level of "ategory # or $.
%ecause of this, they camp out in their houses if a "ategory # hurricane is heading their way. Some
always evacuate &ust to !e safe. Others are unsure of whether to stay or to evacuate. 'urricane (van
gave the answer. )hen it was first supposed to !e heading to land at around a "ategory # or *
hurricane level, forecasters and meteorologists didnt anticipate the fact that there were warm spots
over the +ulf of Me,ico -where the hurricane came from.. Since warm water is fuel for a hurricane, as
(van hit these hot spots, it dialed up ferocity to !ecome a "ategory / hurricane. Soon enough, it hit
land and those not taking the forecasters warnings had to deal with this catastrophic hurricane and
some even died. So no matter how small the hurricane may !e anticipated as, always evacuate in case
the hurricane hits warm spots right !efore it zooms in on land. 0ven though people argue over whether
to stay in their house or to evacuate, these conflicts may still go on !etween some people, !ut they
should understand that a hurricane might not come as e,pected.
Problem: There is a hurricane -(van. heading towards +ulf Shores, 1la!ama, and
meteorologists have to drop dropwindsondes and other forecasting material to measure the intensity,
air pressure, and other characteristics of the hurricane. To do this, they have to fly in a 2igure-3
formation through the hurricane. The scientists have to go against the strong currents of the wind
and have to keep the plane intact the whole way through.
Solution: Three people -Time reporter, pilot, and meteorologist. went on a nine-hour flight
to drop all the forecasting material in the hurricane. The pilot controls the plane in a way so that the
plane remains intact the whole trip.
Topic/Main Ideas: The topic is a!out 'urricane (van and how to track it, and the main
idea is that the hurricane was catastrophic4 meteorologists can use many different items to track a
hurricane such as dropwindsondes and 15%Ts -air-!orne e,penda!le !athythermographs..
New Ideas: Some ways to track hurricanes are:
$. dropwindsondes-)hile the plane -)6-*7 Orion. is flying, it releases this, and it
measures air conditions.
#. 15%Ts-This pro!e is also released while the plane is in flight, and it goes into
the ocean to record water temperatures.
*. There are radar systems on the Orions nose and !elly that measure rainfall
density to determine the level of tur!ulence.
1 hurricane forms when:
$. 1 cluster of thunderstorms form a low-pressure area and draws in air and
generates spin in counterclockwise direction.
#. )arm ocean water fuels the transfer of heat and moisture to generate rising
thunderstorms. Strong winds can !reak it up, !ut if there are none, the
thunderstorms intensify.
*. (t is called a hurricane when wind speeds are 83 M.6.'. or higher and a distinct
eye has formed in the center. (t loses power when moving over cool water or
land.