Make a hurricane {extreme weather science}

During our weather unit, we decided to spend some time learning about extreme weather conditions. One type of extreme weather we learned about was hurricanes. We did one activity to learn how hurricanes form. Then we did the activity described below to make our own hurricane using a few supplies from our kitchen.

To understand the rationale behind this activity, it is important to understand that hurricanes form due to warm, wet air rising from the ocean. As the warm, rising air is replaced with cooler air rushing in to take its place, a cycle begins that involves air and moisture swirling in a great big storm. If that storm gets big enough, it becomes a hurricane.

You’ll find more resources for learning about weather on Weather Unit Study page my Weather Activities Pinterest board.

To model the swirling movement of a hurricane, I filled a bowl with water.

I had my kids use a large spoon to stir the water in a clockwise direction.

Once the water was swirling in a clockwise direction, we added a couple of drops of blue liquid water color to the center of the bowl. Then we observed as the swirling of the water carried the liquid water color with it, fanning it out into a larger and larger “hurricane.”