Climate

1. Climate

2. What is climate? • It is the general conditions of temperature and precipitation for an area over a long period of time • Example: In Flint, we expect to get about 30 inches of snow each winter and the temperatures will usually be above zero and lower than 35

3. How is climate different from weather? • Climate is an average weather over a long period of time and weather is what to expect today or for the next week

4. What determines the climate of a region? • Temperature and precipitation

5. What affects temperature? • Latitude: This is the distance north and south of the equator. Areas close to the equator get direct ray’s of the sun, areas near the poles get less direct ray’s of the sun. • Elevation: This is the distance above sea level. Greater elevations have less dense air and less dense air cannot hold as much heat. • Ocean Currents: Warm water warms air and cold water cools air. Land near warm currents have warm temperatures, land near cold currents have cool temperatures. Currents coming from the equator are warm, currents going toward the equator are cold.

6. What affects precipitation? • Prevailing Winds: A wind that most often blows from one direction. Warm air holds more moisture than cold air. Winds that form by rising warm air usually bring precipitation. Winds that from sinking cold air usually bring less precipitation. • Mountain Ranges: Air rises to go over a mountain. As it rises, it cools. This causes the moisture to fall as precipitation. This is the windward side of the mountain. After going over the mountain, most of the moisture is gone so little precipitation falls. This is the leeward side of the mountain.