Download Climate & Weather WEATHER vs. CLIMATE Weather

Climate & Weather
WEATHER vs. CLIMATE
 Weather – the short-term changes in the air
for a given place and time.
 Climate – a region’s average weather
conditions over a long period of time.
WIND
 Wind – differences in temperature create
wind
– Cold air is heavier and sinks
– Warm air is lighter and rises
 When warm air rises cool air rushes into the empty
space and creates wind.
FRONT
 The place where two air masses of different
temperatures or moisture content meet is a
front.
– Fronts can produce rain or snow as well as
severe weather.
AFFECTS ON CLIMATE
Latitude
 Low Latitude Zones = hot/warm year round
– Equator – 30 degrees N/S
 Middle Latitude Zones = cool/cold winters,
hot/warm summers
– 30 degrees N/S – 60 degrees N/S
 High Latitudes Zones = cool/cold year round
– 60 degrees N/S - Poles
AFFECTS ON CLIMATE
BODIES OF WATER
 In the summer, water warms more slowly than land.
The cool breezes off the water causes the summer
climate to be cooler near the coast than it is inland.
 In the winter, water cools more slowly than land.
The warm breezes off the water cause the winter
climate near the coast to be milder than it is inland.
 So… Places near the ocean or large lakes are not
as hot in the summer or cold in the winter as places
with the same elevation and latitude that are not
near the water.
AFFECTS ON CLIMATE
ELEVATION
 The higher above sea level a place is, the cooler
its climate.
 The closer to sea level a place is, the warmer its
climate.
 For every 1,000 feet above sea level, the
temperature changes approximately 3.5 degrees.
AFFECTS ON CLIMATE
OTHER FACTORS
 Moisture – determined by amounts of vegetation
and how close an area is to bodies of water.
 Wind – from polar or tropical regions can carry
varying temperatures that normal climate is
disrupted.
 Ocean Currents – warm or cold, tend to make the
land near to where they travel warmer or cooler
than expected at certain times.