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Teach-Out™
Extreme Weather: Tornado Season Teach-Out

10 Lessons
178 Minutes
Rating
Archived

This Teach-Out has been archived from the original teach-out event, which concluded on Sept. 17, 2018. While you may browse and skip between units, we recommend completing lessons in the order they’re presented.

About This Teach-Out

Approximately 1,200 tornadoes hit the United States per year and because of their unpredictable and violent nature, tornadoes remain a focal point in extreme weather conversations. In this Teach-Out, you will learn about the frequency of tornadic events both in the United States and globally, the methods used to assess the strength of tornadoes, what research tells us about their origins and structure, and tornado preparedness and response strategies. You will also explore to what degree scientists believe the frequency and/or intensity of tornadic storms are affected by climate change.

The Teach-Out will address the following questions:
- What is a thunderstorm and how do some become severe?
- Where are tornadic thunderstorms likely to form?
- What are the combination of conditions needed to create a tornadic thunderstorm?
- How can you best prepare for a tornado in your community?
- Is there any reason to believe that the frequency or intensity of tornadoes is likely to increase in the future due to climate change?

This Teach-Out is part of the Extreme Weather Series, a multi-part examination of the causes of various extreme weather events and to what degree climate change impacts the frequency or intensity of these events. We will also provide participants with strategies and resources to better prepare or respond to extreme weather in their own context.

Format
Self-Paced
Language
English
Subject
  • Physical Science and Engineering
Platform
Coursera

Instructor

Portrait of Perry Samson
Perry Samson

Arthur F Thurnau Professor, Professor of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, College of Engineering and Professor of Information, School of Information

Course content developed by U-M faculty and managed by the university. Faculty titles and affiliations are updated periodically.

Lessons

Tornadoes: Background 40 minutes 2 lessons
  1. What We'll cover
    Reading, Video
  2. Dr. Kishor Mehta Biography
    Reading, Video
Tornadoes: Formation 41 minutes 2 lessons
  1. Tornado Formation
    Video
  2. Dr. Leigh Orf Biography
    Reading, Video
Tornadoes: Outbreaks 16 minutes 2 lessons
  1. Video: Tornado Outbreaks
    Video
  2. Dr. Greg Mann
    Reading, Video
Tornadoes: Chasing 81 minutes 4 lessons
  1. Chasing Tornadoes
    Video
  2. Hank Schyma Biography
    Reading, Video
  3. Dr. Chris Weiss Biography
    Reading, Video
  4. Dr. Jeff Masters Biography
    Reading, Video

Reviews and Ratings

4.8

11 Ratings from Coursera

Most Recent Reviews

This was a highly informative and interesting course.
This was a very informative teach-out. It talked about how a tornado forms, what conditions are necessary and there were interviews with individuals that study tornadoes from many different aspects. Any time lingo used in the field was said, the instructor went over the definition of the topic to help keep it accessible to the general audience. If you want to learn more about tornadoes, this is a good place to start.
Super Teach-Out.Thanks

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