Weather Academy: Hurricane Proof House Experiment

MONROE, La. (KNOE) - Last week, we learned all about the Saffir-Simpson Scale and the different categories of hurricanes. This week we are challenging you to build a house out of items you can find around the house that is capable of withstanding a hurricane (or at least our handy box fan).

What you’ll need:

- Pipe cleaners, to act as our walls

- Construction Paper, to be our roof

- Scissors

- Play-Doh, to act as cement

- Tape

- Foil Baking Tin

- Water, to represent the storm surge

- A Fan, to be our hurricane

Steps:

1. Plan your design. Hurricanes can bring strong winds and heavy rains as well as flooding. What kind of structure do you think would hold up best against the elements?
2. Time to build! Put together your structure in the foil baking tin using the supplies listed above. Sheena went with a cross beam strategy to help support the walls and roof of her structure. Lucy made sure that her structure was cemented to the ground firmly. What other ideas do you have to make your house more secure?
3. For this step, we are going to pour water into our baking tin. This will simulate the storm surge areas along the coast can experience during a hurricane. Storm surge can reach miles inland, flooding the bottom floors of homes and other buildings.
4. Now we crank up the wind. Hurricanes can produce powerful winds gusting over 100 mph. This can cause serious structural damages to homes.

Did your structure withstand the hurricane? We want to know what worked for you and what didn’t! And if you do try this at home, remember we want to see your photos and videos. You can upload those here. Make sure to tune in to the Weather Academy next week when we talk about the Cone of Uncertainty.

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