Download Climate - geogashton

Climate
What is the difference between Climate
and Weather
• Weather-day-to-day state of the atmosphere
in a region
• Climate-how the atmosphere "behaves" over
relatively long periods of time.
What makes up a climate?
• Events occuring in the:
• Cryosphere
• Atmosphere
• Hydrosphere
• Lithosphere
• Biosphere
Atmosphere
Cryosphere
Hydrosphere
Lithosphere
What are the main parts of the Atmosphere that we will
look at in terms of climate and weather?
–Precipitation
–Temperature
Where in Canada is this?
What weather do you see?
Whistler BC. Foggy
Where in Canada is this?
What weather do you see?
Alert, NT. Clear (and frozen!)
Where in Canada is this?
What weather do you see?
Calgary, AB.
Chinook Winds (20c in January!)
Where in Canada is this?
What weather do you see?
Calgary, AB. Snowing (in May!)
Where in Canada is this?
What weather do you see?
Montreal, QC. Freezing Rain
(ice storm of 1998)
Where in Canada is this?
What weather do you see?
Yellow Knife, YT. Snowing
(Sept 21)
Where in Canada is this?
What weather do you see?
Langley, BC. Rain
Where in Canada is this?
What weather do you see?
Toronto, ON. Hazy
Where in Canada is this?
What weather do you see?
The North Pole. Summer
Factors That Effect Climate
LOWERN
L atitude
Latitude
Temperature- the further from the equator (north or
south), the cooler it gets
Precipitation- the closer to the poles, the lower the
precipitation
Why? Cooler air holds less moisture
O cean Currents
Ocean Currents
• Temperature- if they are warm it will raise the
temperature along the coast and if they are cold,
they will lower the temperature.
• Precipitation- if they are warm, the climate will be
wetter and if they are cold, the climate will be drier
W ind (Prevailing)
In Canada, our prevailing winds are the Westerlies, which means
our weather patterns travel from west to east.
Winds
• Temperature
– Off water- moderate temperature s( make it more even)
– Off land- more extreme temperatures
• Precipitation
– Off water- brings more moisture (makes wetter)
– Off land- brings drier conditions
E levation
Elevation
• Temperature- the higher you go the colder it gets
• Precipitation- the higher you go the more
precipitation you are likely to get
R elief
Relief
• Temperature- moderate on ocean side and extreme
on land side
• Precipitation- side facing water(windward side) is
wetter than the side facing away from the water
(leeward side)
• Why?- as the air rises up the mountain it cools and since cool air
•
cannot hold much moisture, it releases it as it rises
N ear Water
Near Water
• Temperature- moderated by the ocean (especially if
moving inland off the ocean) so far inland areas
experience more extreme temperatures
• Precipitation- higher next to oceans, lower in areas
located far inland
LOWERN Explained by Bill Nye
• Elevation- why is it colder at higher elevations? Are
you not closer to the sun?
• Wind- how is wind created?
• Ocean Currents- what keeps ocean currents
moving?
SO ALL THIS CREATES
SOME VERY DISTINCT
CLIMATE ZONES WITHIN
CANADA
CANADA’S CLIMATE
REGIONS
Arctic
Characteristics
Temperature
 Cold winters, cool summers
Precipitation
-low amount(less than 50 cm)
- snow
What else?
High winds
Coastal areas are warmer and
have heavier snow falls
West Coast
Characteristics
Temperature
 Cool summers, mild winters
Precipitation
 Very wet (60- 400cm precipitation)
Mountain
Characteristics
 Very different because of the 2 mountain ranges
Temperature
 Temperatures tend to drop the higher you get in elevation
Precipitation
Summers tend to be dry, with wetter winters
Boreal
Characteristics
Temperature
 Temperature range is large because zone covers
large area latitudinal
Precipitation
 Precipitation is generally low, with higher amounts in
the eastern coastal areas
Prairie
Characteristics
Temperature
 Extreme temperature range
Precipitation
 Generally very dry
What else?
Very windy
Southeastern
Characteristics
Temperature
 Cool winters, warm to hot summers
Precipitation
 Moderate precipitation- various forms
What else?
One of the major storm tracks of North
America
Prone to highly changeable weather