Hurricane Science Projects (Great for Florida Students)

Hurricanes are part of life in Florida, which makes them a natural and meaningful topic for a science project. Middle schoolers can model how hurricanes spin, test which house designs survive strong wind, build simple weather instruments, and track real storms using official data. This guide gives you several project ideas, each with a clear question and a safe way to test it at home.

How Hurricanes Work, Briefly

Your teen should be able to explain the basics in their own words before starting any project.

Hurricanes form over warm ocean water. Warm, moist air rises, cools and forms clouds and rain. As that air rises, more air rushes in at the surface to replace it. Because Earth rotates, that incoming air starts to spin. In the Northern Hemisphere, hurricanes spin counterclockwise.

At the center is the eye, a calm area with light winds. Around it is the eyewall, where the strongest winds and heaviest rain usually are. Hurricanes are classified by wind speed using a category scale from 1 to 5.

The biggest dangers include wind, storm surge (ocean water pushed onto land), flooding rain and tornadoes. A strong project often connects the science to how families in Florida prepare.

Safety and Honesty First

• Never go outside to test, photograph or measure during a hurricane, tropical storm or any severe weather. Follow official instructions and stay indoors.
• Use a household fan to simulate wind. An adult should set the fan up, keep fingers and loose items away from the blades, and keep cords away from water.
• Hot glue guns need adult supervision. Low-temperature glue guns are a safer choice for students.
• Keep water away from electrical cords and outlets in any project that uses both a fan and water.
• Use real data from official sources, and cite them. Do not make up wind speeds or storm facts.

Four Hurricane Project Ideas

Pick the one idea that best fits your teen and the assignment. Each has a clear question and a safe way to test it indoors.

Project 1: Which Roof Survives the Wind?

This is the most popular hurricane project because it has a clear variable and real engineering.

Question

Which roof shape stays on best in strong wind: flat, gable (triangle), or hip (sloped on all four sides)?

Build

1. Build three small identical houses from foam board or a shoe box cut down to size. Same size walls, same base.
2. Make three roofs from the same material (cardstock or thin foam board): flat, gable and hip.
3. Attach each roof with exactly the same method, for example two small pieces of tape on each side, or the same number of glue dots. This is your controlled variable.

Test

1. Place a house on a table a measured distance from a box fan.
2. Start the fan on low for 30 seconds. Record what happens.
3. Move to medium, then high. Record the setting where the roof lifts or blows off.
4. Repeat three times for each roof, using a fresh attachment each time.
5. Move the house closer to the fan in measured steps if all roofs survive.

Your teen can also test other variables later, like adding hurricane straps (small craft stick braces or paper clips connecting the roof to walls) or comparing house shapes.

Project 2: Hurricane in a Bottle

This model shows how a vortex forms and how the spinning center works.

1. Fill a clear two-liter bottle about two-thirds with water.
2. Add a drop of dish soap and a pinch of glitter to make the swirl easier to see.
3. Attach an empty bottle on top with a tornado tube connector, or tape the mouths together tightly with duct tape. An adult should check the seal.
4. Flip the bottles so the full one is on top, and swirl in a circle.
5. Watch the vortex form as the water drains down.

Make the experiment measurable: time how long it takes to drain with swirling and without. Your teen can explain that this is a model of a spinning vortex, not an actual hurricane, since real hurricanes are powered by warm ocean water and rising air.

Project 3: Build an Anemometer

An anemometer measures wind speed. A simple one uses four paper cups, two craft sticks or straws crossed in an X, a pencil with an eraser and a pushpin.

1. Tape or glue the cups to the ends of the crossed sticks, all facing the same direction around the circle.
2. Mark one cup with a marker so you can count its turns.
3. An adult pushes the pin through the center of the X into the pencil eraser so it spins freely.
4. Hold the pencil upright in front of a fan, or outside on a normal breezy day.
5. Count how many times the marked cup passes in 30 seconds.

Test it at different fan speeds and make a graph. This shows how wind speed is measured, which connects directly to the hurricane category scale. Only test outdoors on ordinary days, never in storms.

Parent tip: Before your teen starts testing, sit together and write the question, prediction and variables on one page. It takes ten minutes and keeps the whole project focused. It also gives your teen a ready-made first section for the board.

Project 4: Track a Real Storm

This research project is great for teens who like maps and data.

1. Pick a past Atlantic hurricane that affected Florida, or one that is active during hurricane season.
2. Find its track and wind data from official forecast and storm archive sources.
3. Plot its path on a printed tracking map using latitude and longitude.
4. Record wind speed and category at each point.
5. Graph how the wind speed changed over time and describe when it strengthened or weakened.
6. Explain possible reasons, such as moving over land or cooler water.

Cite every source. If your teen is unsure of a fact, they should check it rather than guess.

Connect It to Florida Families

A strong conclusion connects the science to real life. Your teen might explain why some building codes require roof straps, why families put up shutters, or what goes in a hurricane supply kit. Interviewing a family member about preparing for a past storm adds a personal touch. For contest-specific requirements, such as display size or whether interviews count as research, check your official rulebook or teacher.

Quick Checklist

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• Read the project rules with a parent
• Learn how hurricanes form
• Pick one project idea
• Write your question and prediction
• Build models the same way
• Have an adult set up the fan
• Never test outside in a storm
• Test three times and write it down
• Use real data and list your sources
• Make a graph of your results
• Explain how families can prepare

Time and Cost Estimate

Most of these projects use a box fan, cardboard, cups and bottles you already have. Choose the idea that fits your teen's interests, keep the testing safe and indoors, and you will have a project that is both good science and useful knowledge for any Florida family.