Location, location, location How global location affects weather patterns

GLOBAL Location affects weather The equator is an imaginary line that divides the earth in half horizontally. Latitude is the distance north and south of the equator. A place’s latitude helps determine its weather.

CLIMATE ZONES Climate is the average weather of a place over a long period of time. There are 3 types of climate zones: POLAR- farthest from the equator TEMPERATE- mid latitudes TROPICAL- closest to equator

Polar climate zones POLAR- stays cold all year long. Where most continental polar and maritime polar air masses form.

Temperate climate zones Temperate- temperatures change throughout the year, cold in the winter, warm/hot in the summer. Most noticeable seasonal changes of all the climate zones. North Carolina is in the temperate climate zones.

Tropical climate zones Tropical – temperature stays consistently hot to warm all year long. Receives the same amount of sunlight throughout the year, and the most sunlight of any of the climate zones.

The equator Since the equator has the warmer conditions and more sunlight, this leads to more evaporation. More evaporation leads to more water in the atmosphere, more water in the air leads to more condensation, which leads to more precipitation. Increased evaporation leads to a decrease in pressure.

THE EQUATOR This is why more LOW pressure systems form near the equator. This is also why hurricanes form over the Atlantic ocean, near the equator.

Hemispheres Each half of the earth is a hemisphere. Northern hemisphere is north of (above) the equator. Southern hemisphere is south of (below) the equator.

Hemispheres The seasons are opposites in each hemisphere. When it is fall in NC in the northern hemisphere it is spring in the southern hemisphere.