El Nino is a disruption of the ocean-atmosphere system in the tropical Pacific with important climatic consequences around the globe. This NOAA theme page features links to widely distributed information. Includes data, graphics, forecasts, historical perspectives, and in-depth analysis. It is intended to be useful to scientists, administrators, students and the general public. Links include sites ... Full description.

Joint US and France project, the TOPEX-Poseidon satellites continuously measures sea surface height. Oceans store and transport solar heat, helping to keep Earth's climate in balance. The overall shape of the oceans' "hills" and "valleys" is called ocean surface topography, or OST. Precise knowledge of OST is essential to predict the effects of catastrophic storms. Educational resources available ... Full description.

Learn the basics about hurricane features including hurricane basics, structure and tracking. This site gives a nice overview of hurricanes and includes animations of some hurricane processes. Full description.

The BBC's weather center sketches out basic background information about hurricanes, providing terms and definitions, describing hurricane formation areas and energy, and explaining hurricane predictions and warnings. Full description.

If one 10 year old girl could save a hundred lives during the 2004 tsunami, think about how many more lives could have been saved if the residents and tourists were more informed about tsunamis. NOAA has collected these educational resources on tsunamis for use in K-12 classrooms. These brochures, websites, hands-on activities, and visualizations can supplement an existing curricula. A tsunameter ... Full description.

Hurricane Floyd's record rainfall in fall of l999 caused massive flooding in North Carolina; sediment and waste washed into rivers of the Atlantic causing major ecological changes. This NASA website provides Landsat 7 & SeaWiFS satellite images of the flooding and the massive flows of sediment and waste runoff into rivers and the Pamlico Sound. Also provides description of Landsat and SEAWiFS ... Full description.

With the explicit mission of saving lives and improving economic efficiency by issuing the best watches, warnings, forecasts and analyses of hazardous tropical weather, this site features continuous watch on tropical cyclones from 15 May in the eastern Pacific and 1 June in the Atlantic through November 30. The Center issues forecasts, watches and warnings within text advisories and graphical products. ... Full description.

The Hurricane Education site from NOAA provides teachers with curriculum materials, multimeda visual information, an archive of previous hurricane seasons and several posters. By knowing what actions students can take, they can reduce the effects of hurricane disaster. Full description.

FEMA newsletters packed with information about flood, hurricane, winter storm, wildfire and El Nino impacts and preparedness, in downloadable PDF format. Issues cover risks of the particular emergency and define terms or explain specific hazards. They outline emergency guidelines for both homes and businesses, with plans for planning, safety and conduct before, during and after the disaster. Each ... Full description.

Lesson plan on floods provides background information, compares the roles of wetlands and flood plains in a river's natural flood control with the pros and cons of engineered flood control. Includes glossary, resources and additional sources of information, discussion questions. Student activity demonstrates water movement on a wide flood plain and narrow channel. Full description.