Seventh Grade Research Paper

Here is Kara's research paper on Storms.  The only thing I did was teach her how to find the books she needed from the library, and suggest the theme she wrote in her introduction and conclusion run through her other paragraphs too.  I'm proud of her.  :-) 

  Extreme, powerful, legendary—everybody knows about storms, but even so, a hundred people are killed each year from lightning strikes alone. However, would so many people die each year from other storm-related disasters if they knew how to react? Fascinating to some but dangerous to all, it’s important to know about storms and how to react when caught in one for exactly this reason.

  Often, during storms, there will be lightning, a spectacular but unpredictable thing. It’s very powerful; it can reach 50,000° Fahrenheit and will travel at 60,000 miles per second. 15,000 lightning strikes can occur over a six-hour period. Every year, an average of 350 people are hit by lightning, but only 100 are actually killed; lightning is slightly less insane than some would think. Lightning bolts are usually six to ten miles long, and each bolt is brighter than 10 million 100-watt lightbulbs, but they only last for one millionth of a second.

  There’s an amazing occurrence that goes on inside clouds to create lightning. Inside storm clouds, there are ice crystals and raindrops swirling around. There’s a negative electric charge in the bottom of the cloud and a positive charge in the ground. As ice crystals collide, negatively charged sparks fall from the cloud. The sparks, called streamers, meet with upward-traveling, positively-charged streamers. The streamers then meet to form lightning.

     There are three main kinds of lightning. There is intracloud lightning, which is when the lightning bolt stretches between the oppositely-charged areas within a single cloud. Another type is cloud-to-ground lightning, which is the most commonly known type. The third and final type is intercloud lightning, which is when the lightning goes between two clouds. Most of the time, it’d be safer to steer clear of wide-open, clear areas. A common myth is that the rubber tires on a car makes it impossible for lightning to strike vehicles, but this is not true. Since the car is metal, it does absorb the shock, but this is no excuse to go out in bad storms. Staying inside during thunderstorms leads to safety.

  Another thing that sometimes occurs in storms is a tornado. Tornadoes are fortunately less common than some would think. Scientists approximate that 2,000 thunderstorms occur every moment. Two out of those two thousand are something called supercells. One out of five or six supercells create tornadoes.

  Tornadoes are powerful and dangerous. If a tornado is 65-85 miles per hour, it’s an EF0. If a tornado is 86-110 miles per hour, it’s an EF1. Another size is an EF2, which is 111-135 miles per hour. Even bigger is an EF3, which is 136-165 miles per hour. One of the most destructive is the fearsome EF4, which reaches 166-200 miles per hour. The very biggest is an EF5 tornado, which is anything with wind speeds of over 200 miles per hour. When one strikes your home, go to the basement or the innermost room of your house, and stay away from windows. Try to cover yourself with pillows, a mattress, or even just blankets. For extra safety, maybe also put on a helmet. 

  A famous type of storm that always wreaks havoc are hurricanes. They’re more powerful than some would think; they can use up to the energy of 10,000 nuclear bombs during their lifetime. They usually reach eight miles up in the air and are up to 500 miles across.

  Like tornadoes, hurricanes are classified based on their size. A category one hurricane has wind speeds of 75-95 miles per hour. A category two hurricane reaches 96-110 miles per hour.  Stronger yet, a category three hurricane reaches wind speeds of 111-130 miles per hour. One of the biggest is a category four, which is 131-155 miles per hour. The largest is category five, which is 155 or more miles per hour. These destructive beasts are so dangerous, the only real way to be safe during one is to be somewhere else.

  Something that isn’t quite as destructive to the landscape is the dust storm, known as sandstorms when they occur in desert areas. They start from gusts of strong wind and reach 20,000 feet high. If large amounts of dust or sand are inhaled and then the victim isn’t treated, it could result in lung cancer. If one strikes, go in your car or in your house, close all the windows, and turn off the AC or set it to circulate throughout the car instead of with outside air. If you’re on the road when one strikes, pull over and wait it out—it’ll only last a few hours, and it’s safer than risking a collision.

  When someone says storm, there’s one thing that doesn’t immediately come to mind but certainly deserves to. Blizzards are very dangerous and result in many casualties, as they’re classified as an actual blizzard only when the winds exceed 35 miles per hour. Usually, blizzards last at least three hours long, all while causing visibility to reduce to 0.25 miles or less. They are always 10° Fahrenheit or lower, creating deadly, cold storms that cause many bad things such as power outages. During a blizzard, steer clear of the roads, and if the power goes out, stick to only one room to conserve the heat. Try to avoid going to other rooms entirely, and have plenty of water, food, blankets, and candles or fuel for a fire in a fireplace.

     Many casualties occur because of these deadly occurrences, which are often underestimated. Because of humans’ natural ignorance, they don’t want to hear about how dangerous storms are and how humans can’t handle everything. Though some are destined to lose loved ones in storms, proper knowledge of what they’re facing and how to handle it can decrease the number of casualties.