Climatograph Extension Activity
1. What is the difference between weather and climate?
2. Name 3 things that affect climate.
Next you are going to hypothesize what the climatograph of Cleveland, OH would
look like. Make a sketch of the possible climatograph without finding actual data. You
should think about the shape of the temperature and precipitation curves, and how
they should reflect weather patterns. Make your sketch below:
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Now you will construct the actual climatograph for Cleveland, OH. You can do this
using degrees Celsius and millimeters. You will be constructing this graph by using
graph paper and colored pencils. Be sure to include all of the necessary parts of a
graph (title, legend, labels and units for axis, etc.) Use one color for the precipitation
and one color for the temperature. Once you are finished constructing your graph,
answer the questions below.
Precipitation
Jan
mm
Feb
64.2
58.3
Mar
75.6
Apr
May
88.0
87.2
Jun
Jul
Aug
88.9
91.3
Sep
86.2
80.6
Oct
67.0
Nov
81.4
Dec
72.9
Temperature
Jan
°C
0.0
Feb
1.6
Mar
7.9
Apr
14.3
May
20.3
Jun
25.7
Jul
28.0
Aug
26.9
Sep
23.1
Oct
16.7
Nov
10.0
Dec
3.0
Questions
1. How does your sketch compare to the actual climatograph for Cleveland?
2. What is the warmest month?
3. What is the average temperature of the coldest month?
4. Remembering that temperatures vary a great deal during the day, do you think the
temperature goes below 0oC at any time in April at your location? Why or why not?
5. What is the driest month?
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6. Do they sell many snowmobiles in winter?
7. What months would be the growing season for Cleveland? What kind of crops could
grow at this location during the growing season?
8. Do you think flooding is a serious risk at this location? Why?
9. Read through the following Köppen Classification System categories. What type of
classification would you give Cleveland? _____________
A: Tropical moist climates: Average temperature of every month is above 64.4oF. These
climates have no winter season. Annual rainfall is high and exceeds evaporation.
Af: Tropical rain forest climate: Rainfall of the driest month is 2.4 inches or more.
Am: Monsoon variety of Af: Short dry season. Rainfall of the driest month is less
than 2.4 inches.
Aw: Tropical savanna climate: Pronounced dry season. At least one month has
less than 2.4 inches of rain.
B: Dry climates: Evaporation exceeds precipitation on the average throughout the
year. No water surplus.
BS: Steppe climate: A semiarid climate characterized by grasslands. Mean
annual precipitation varies according to mean annual temperature, but roughly
between 15 and 30 inches of rain per year.
BW: Desert climate: An arid climate with annual precipitation usually less than 15
inches.
C: Moist midlatitude climates with mild winters: Coldest month has an average
temperature under 64.4oF. The C climates have distinct summer/winter seasonality.
Cs: Mediterranean climate: Mild humid climate with a dry summer and wet
winter.
D: Moist mid-latitude climates with cold winters
E: Polar climates
Source: Köppen Climate Classification<http://www.geofictie.nl/ctkoppen.htm>
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