• A cyclonic storm making its way to the coast.furacao image by god85 from Fotolia.com
  
  Hurricanes are cyclonic storms that form over warm waters and commonly impact Central and North America. They start out as tropical depressions which rotate around a central area of low pressure. When winds in these storms reach sustained speeds greater than 74 miles per hour, meteorologists classify them as hurricanes. There are several activities that can help third graders learn more about hurricanes and how they behave.
  
  

Hurricane in a Bowl

• For this activity, students will need large round containers, such as large buckets or bowls, along with spoons and some food coloring. According to the Tennessee School-Age Care Alliance, the students should stir the water until it is swirling around, just like the winds in a cyclonic system. Once there is a strong, circular current, the students can squeeze a few drops of food coloring into the center of their containers. If done correctly, the food coloring will swirl outwards in bands, similar to how clouds behave in actual hurricanes. In addition, you may notice that a clear space develops in the center of your colored bands. This is similar to how hurricanes form eyes, or central cloudless areas characterized by calm conditions.
  
  

Hurricanes and Wind Speed

• You can use the same set up for this activity as the previous one. However, instead of food coloring, give all of your students paper clips attached to the ends of strings. According to Julian T. Rubin, students should stir around the water in their containers with spoons until it is swirling continuously. Then drop in their paper clips at a series of different points in the hurricane, making sure they hold on to the strings so that the clips stay in one specific ring of the storm. Students should observe which areas, or rings, make the paper clips move the fastest. Are they closer to the eye of their hurricane or the outer perimeters?
  
  

Hurricane in a Bottle

• Third grade students can replicate the cyclonic effects of a hurricane in a three-dimensional way by using 20-ounce soda bottles, water, food coloring and plastic connection pieces that you can find online or at novelty or science supply stores, such as the Tornado Tube. Have students take the caps off of two bottles. Fill one about half way with water and then squeeze in a few drops of food coloring, which will help students see the vortex better. They can then screw connection pieces on to the mouth of the water-filled bottle and screw the mouth of the empty bottle in place so it stands vertically on top of the filled one. When the students flip over their bottles, and swirl them around, mini-hurricanes should form and continue spinning until all of the water drains through the plastic connector and into the bottom bottle.