Unit 5: More Hurricanes & Blizzards in NYC?
Anchor Phenomenon
It has felt like storms are getting worse. Does the data support that feeling — and will it continue?
Unit Driving Question
Will there be more frequent and more intense severe storms in the future?
Unit Overview
In this unit, you investigate the science behind severe weather — blizzards and hurricanes — and use climate data to construct evidence-based arguments about how storms may change in the future. Building on what you learned about climate change in Unit 4, you’ll model how storms form, analyze real weather data, and figure out why storms follow the paths they do.
Performance Expectations
| Standard | Description |
|---|---|
| HS-ESS2-5 | Plan and conduct an investigation of the properties of water and its effects on Earth materials and surface processes |
| HS-ESS2-8 | Analyze geoscience data to make the claim that one change to Earth’s surface can create feedbacks that cause changes to other Earth systems |
| HS-ESS3-5 | Analyze geoscience data and the results from global climate models to make an evidence-based forecast of the current rate of global or regional climate change |
Lesson Sequences
| Chapter | Topic | Days | Standards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening | Anchor phenomenon, unit overview, initial data exploration | 1 | — |
| Moon Phases 5E | Moon phases, tides, spring vs. neap tides, Sandy’s spring tide | 7 | HS-ESS1-7 |
| Blizzards 5E | Wind, pressure, air masses, fronts, mid-latitude cyclones, Winter Storm Jonas | 7–13 | HS-ESS2-8 |
| Storm Paths 5E | Global circulation, Coriolis effect, jet stream, precipitation patterns | 6–11 | HS-ESS2-8 |
| Hurricanes 5E | Warm water energy source, latent heat, hurricane season, ocean temperature trends | 5–6 | HS-ESS2-5 |
| Closing | Oral argument performance task: future storm projections for your region | 0–2 | HS-ESS3-5 |
What You’ll Figure Out
By the end of this unit, you will be able to:
- 🌬️ Explain how wind is caused by pressure differences from uneven heating
- 🌨️ Model how mid-latitude cyclones produce blizzard conditions
- 🗺️ Analyze why storms follow predictable paths driven by global wind patterns
- 🌀 Describe how hurricanes extract energy from warm ocean water
- 📊 Evaluate data on storm trends and climate projections
- 📢 Construct an evidence-based argument about future storm changes