Climate & Weather
What is
climate?
What factors
affect climate?
(on a global
scale)
 Climate= avg. weather over a
large area on Earth
 Microclimate= “small area
climate” like the mtns, the beach,
a grove of trees
 Temp. & precip. determines
climate of an area
1) latitude= how far away from
the Equator--determines
temperature
 close to the E. is hotter,
farther from the E. is colder
b/c of the angle of the sun’s
radiation
 3 climate zones based on
latitude-Polar, Tropical,
Temperate
2) altitude/elevation= how far up
you are from sea level
 higher up you go, the colder it
gets
 Alpine climate/mountain
climate w/short, cool summers
& long cold, snowy winters
What did I
learn from the
video,
“Geography
Basics:
Climate” ?
 Regardless of latitude! So can
have snowy mtns in the tropics
 Mtns. Block rainfall from
deserts…called a rain shadow
3) Distance from lrg body of H2O
 Keeps climate not too hot &
not too cold
 Beach is always cooler than
inland regardless of latitude
 Marine climates close to H2O
4) Ocean currents
 Moves heat from the tropics to
the poles creating a convection
current in the ocean
5)
 Latitude, altitude, surface
features, oceans, winds affect
climate
 Sun activity affects climate
(sun spots, solar flares, etc.)
 23.5o axis tilt from true North
 Wind flows in patterns-global
wind belts
 Cold water is pushed by trade
winds, called La Nina
 Volcanoes can cause short term
climate change
 Temp drops 3.5o for every 1000
ft elevation
Geog. Factors 4) ocean currents
continued…
 Releases heat n2 the atmo. as the
H2O moves
5) winds
 move air masses over land
 Air masses are dry or wet
depending on water vapor
What is
 Weather= conditions in the atmo.
weather?
(troposphere) @ a specific time
and place
 Air, H2O & heat= “ingredients”
for weather
 Wind, storm, rain, sunny, foggy,
snow, outdoors, blizzard,
tornadoes, hail, muggy/humid,
icy, dewy, hurricane, clouds,
sleet, lightning & thunder storms
 Powered by the sun! sun’s
radiation heats up the Earth’s
land & water
What is wind?  Wind=air moving b/c of pressure
differences caused by heat
 Convection current happens
when warm air rises & cool air
falls
(diagram)
 2 categories of wind:
1) local winds= winds that blow
over a short distance/locally
 land heats up and cools down
faster than H2O
 sea breeze= wind that comes
from the ocean toward land
(onshore wind) during the
day
 land breeze= opposite of sea
breeze
 wind chill factor= wind
making it feel colder than it
really is
2) global winds= winds on a LRG
scale/ blow over the entire
Earth… “wind belts”
 trade winds, prevailing
westerlies & the polar
easterlies
 prevailing Westerlies have a
huge effect on weather in the
temperate zone
 doldrums & horse latitudes=
global areas of little to no wind
 jet stream= high speed, high
altitude wavy-pathed wind belt
inside the prevailing westerlies
What is an air
mass?
 Air mass= a ginormous volume
of air that has the same temp.,
press. & humidity, but is
different from any other air mass
near it
 The “highs” & “lows” of our
song
 4 diff. air masses: polar(cold/H)
continental (dry), polar maritime
(wet), tropical (warm/L)
continental, tropical maritime
 Prevailing westerlies & jet
stream move air masses across
NA
What is a
weather
front?
What did I
learn from the
video:
Exploring
Weatheratmo. in
motion
What is
Humidity?
What is a
cloud?
 Weather front= when a low
pressure & high pressure air
mass bump into e@ other
 Changes the weather
 4 fronts:
(glue-ins)
 Humidity= water vapor in the air
around us
 Result of evaporation caused by
the sun’s heat
 Warm air is more humid than
cold
 “hot & humid factor”=humidity
making it feel hotter than it
really is
 Cloud= big, white puffy thing in
the sky…visible water vapor in
the atmosphere (a mix of liquid
(How do they
form?)
& vapor)
 Form when humid air cools &
vapor clings to schtuff in the
atmo.
 Dew point= temperature @
which a cloud forms…water
vapor condenses
 Clouds are categorized by shape,
altitude & weather they bring
1) cirrus= HIGH altitude, thin,
wispy, feathery, icy, “ghost
clouds”…ICE CRYSTALS
2) cumulus= MID altitude, puffycotton candyish, “perfect”
cloud
 cumulonimbus= tall, puffy,
grayish, “atomic bomb
mushroom”
cloud…Thunderheads b/c
produce thunderstorms/rain
 altocumulus= higher altitude
than plain cumulus…
 cirrocumulus= tiny, puffy,
wispy cumulus clouds @ high
altitude… “fish scales like”
3) stratus= LOW altitude, spread
out, pancakeish, cat-in-the-hat
clouds, thin, flat, skycovering… “overcast”
 nimbostratus=grey/black rain
cloud
 altostratus= higher altitude
stratus cloud
 keeps Earth warmer @ night
during the winter like a
blanket
 overcast burns off from the
ground up
4) fog= cloud that forms on the
ground during a cool night
after a warm day