Final answer:
Before modern satellite technology, meteorologists used tools like Doppler radar, ship reports, and data from weather balloons along with physical observations and animal behavior changes to predict hurricanes.
Step-by-step explanation:
Before the 1990s and the widespread availability of advanced technology like satellite imagery, meteorologists relied on a variety of methods to predict hurricanes. Tools like ship reports, Doppler radar, aerial reconnaissance, and data from weather balloons contributed to their understanding of developing storms.
- The Doppler radar provided an advantage by allowing forecasters to observe the velocity and movement patterns of rain droplets within storms, which was particularly helpful in identifying rotation in thunderstorms that could develop into hurricanes.
- Historical patterns and physical indications, such as changes in ocean behavior or drastic atmospheric pressure drops, also served as important cues.
- Additionally, animals such as sharks and rodents displayed behaviors that were noticed by observers to change in anticipation of severe weather, hinting at an approaching hurricane. All this information was combined with knowledge of atmospheric physics to predict the path and intensity of hurricanes.