• Weather —atmospheric conditions at a particular location and time Weather and Climate • Weather —atmospheric conditions at a particular location and time • Climate —weather conditions at one location over long a period Rain Shadow • Rain shadow —land on opposite side of air movement when it hits hills and mountains (A – wet, B – Desert) NEXT

• Huge storms called hurricanes, or typhoons: - form over warm, tropical ocean waters - hit land with heavy rain, high winds, storm surge 1 Tornadoes • Tornado a powerful, funnel-shaped column of spiraling air: - born from strong thunderstorms NEXT

• Blizzard —heavy snowstorm with strong winds, reduced visibility Weather Extremes Blizzards • Blizzard —heavy snowstorm with strong winds, reduced visibility Droughts • Drought: long period of time with either no or minimal rainfall Floods • Water spreads out over normally dry land NEXT

Factors Affecting Climate Wind and Ocean Current Zones of Latitude Elevation Global Warming • Gradual warming of the earth’s atmosphere Continued . . . NEXT

Climate Regions Tropical Tropical Wet (Hawaii) • Hot; daily rainfall adds up to more than 80” annually Tropical Wet and Dry (Bahamas) • Warm, wet summer season; cooler, dry winter season Semiarid (Texas) • Hot summers; mild to cold winters; little precipitation Desert (Sahara Desert) • Less than 10” rain per year Middle Latitudes Mediterranean (Italy, Greece, Los Angeles) • Summers dry and hot; winters cool and rainy Marine West Coast (Seattle, Eastern China) • Moderate temperatures; frequently cloudy, foggy, Humid Subtropical (Georgia) • Long periods of summer heat and humidity; winters mild to cool NEXT

High Latitudes (Cold) Humid Continental (New York, Chicago) • Great variety of temperature, precipitation; four distinct seasons High Latitudes (Cold) Subarctic (Southern Canada, Alaska) • Summers are short and cool; winters are long and very cold Tundra (Nothern Canada, Alaska) • Tundra—flat, treeless ring of lands around the Arctic Ocean • Very little precipitation; summer temperatures around 40°F. • Permafrost is the constantly frozen subsoil found in this region Ice Cap (Antarctica) • Snow, ice, permanently freezing temperatures Highlands (Appalachian, Rocky Mountains) • Climate varies with latitude, elevation, topography, location NEXT

• Deciduous —broadleaf trees: maple, oak, birch Vegetation Regions Forestlands • Deciduous —broadleaf trees: maple, oak, birch • Rain forest —tropical forest with broadleaf trees • Coniferous —needle leaf trees; cone bearing: pine, fir 4 NEXT