What is climate?

• ClimateClimate is the average weather patterns in an area over many years.

• It includes temperaturetemperature (Hot/Cold) and precipitationprecipitation (Wet/Dry)– Deserts are dry– Rainforests are wet– North Pole is cold– Equator is hot

What effects temperature?

• LatitudeLatitude: The higher your latitude (Going to the north or south pole), the colder you are

• The closer you are to the equator (Latitude zero), the warmer your temperature will be.

• ElevationElevation: The higher your elevation (Like going up a mountain), the colder you are

• The closer you are to sea level, the warmer your temperature will be

Which will be warmer: St. Louis or Chicago?Which will be warmer: St. Louis or Chicago?

St. Louis-lower latitude

Which will be warmer: Seattle or Los Which will be warmer: Seattle or Los Angeles?Angeles?

Los Angeles: Lower Latitude

Which will be warmer: Denver or New Which will be warmer: Denver or New Orleans?Orleans?

New Orleans: Lower Latitude AND Lower Elevation (No Mountains)

Which will be warmer:

“D” or “E”?

Which will be warmer:

“B” or “C”?

E: Lower Latitude

B: Lower Latitude AND Lower Altitude

Which will be warmer:

“A” or “C”?

Which will be warmer:

“F” or “B”?

A: Lower Latitude AND Lower Altitude

B: Lower Altitude

(They have the same latitude)

Moderate Temperatures:

• Being by the ocean will moderatemoderate that cities temperatures.– A bit cooler in the day/summer, a bit warmer

at night/winter

• Water needs lots of energy to change temperature, so it does not get extremely hot or cold. The land around the water also does not change as much.

Which will be warmer in the winter: Chicago Which will be warmer in the winter: Chicago or Newark?or Newark?

Newark: By ocean, slightly lower latitude

Why are California and Florida so popular to Why are California and Florida so popular to visit in the winter time?visit in the winter time?

Warm, mild temperatures

Why is the beach so popular to visit in the Why is the beach so popular to visit in the summer time?summer time?

Cooler than the mainland because of the ocean nearby

Which city will be cooler in the summer:

“D” or “C”?

Which city will be cooler in the winter: “D” or “C”?

D: By ocean

C: Not by ocean

Which city will be warmer in the winter: “A” or “B”?

Which city will be cooler in the winter: “A” or “B”?

B: Closer to Ocean

A: Further From Ocean

Rainfall

• Cities by the coastcoast tend to have more rainfall– Wind blows moist air over land, get storms.

• Cities betweenbetween the ocean and ocean and mountainsmountains gets lots of rain, because the rain falls out of the clouds as the air goes up and over the mountains.

Rainfall

• Cities with mountains blocking the ocean air tend to be very dryvery dry.

• Cities in the center of the continent, away from the ocean, tend to be drydry.

• Cities that are warm get more precipitationprecipitation.

***Check the wind direction off the ocean-don’t be fooled!

What city would get more rain: Seattle or What city would get more rain: Seattle or Denver?Denver?

Seattle: Closer to Ocean

What city would get more rain: New Orleans What city would get more rain: New Orleans or Newark?or Newark?

New Orleans: Warm and close to ocean

Why is city “B” dry, even though it is by the ocean?Wind by “B” is not coming from the ocean, so “B” has dry air.

Which city would get more rain: “D” or “C”?

What city would get more rain:

“E” or “F”?

D: Between ocean and mountains

E: By Equator, between ocean and mountains

Ocean currents also affect climate.

Warm currents bring warm, damp weather. Cool currents bring cooler, dryer weather.

Warm currents come from the low latitudes, and bring warm air and water to other places.

Cool currents come from polar areas and bring cool weather to areas.