Curt Witthoff, Secondary Math/Science Specialist for Collier County Public Schools in Naples, FL, recorded this data as Hurricane Charley pounded the coastline near his house. He used Vernier sensors with a LabPro and TI graphing calculator. The equipment was placed in a box with the sensors exposed, and left on his patio.

The times on the x-axis correspond to the 24-hour clock on August 13, 2004. The pressure data tells us that the eye of the hurricane passed closest to Naples around 3 pm. The temperature decreased as the storm approached and continued to drop until 6 pm. Relative humidity changed inversely with temperature, as expected. The relative humidity readings exceeding 100% were most likely caused by condensation on the electronics. When the temperature increased and the condensation evaporated, the readings came back into range. Light levels dropped as Charley approached and stayed fairly dark until the sun set around 8 pm.

Thanks for the interesting data, Curt. We are very glad you and your equipment survived the storm!