1. Köppen Classification System

2. 90 60 30 30 60 90

3. Climate Classification Looks At…
Atmosphere
Hydrosphere
Geosphere
Biosphere
Cryosphere

4. In your groups, read about your assigned climate and present the following to the rest of the class:
Name and Letter of your climate
Description of the main climate type
Atmosphere
Hydrosphere
Geosphere
Biosphere
Cryosphere (if applicable)
Any subgroups of your climate, including descriptions
General latitudes where this climate is found
Relationship to high or low pressure

5. Humid Tropical - A Temperatures average around 25 C or more each month
Very small temperature range
Yearly precipitation is high – usually more than 200 cm
All months are wet – if there is a dry season, it is very short
Found along equator

6. Humid Tropical - A Wet Tropics
Af – every month has 6 cm or more of precipitation
Am – Short dry season
Tropical Wet and Dry
Aw – Well-defined winter dry season
As – Well-defined summer dry season

7. Dry - B Potential evaporation exceeds precipitation
Very little, if any, precipitation each year
Found between N and S
Steppe – BS – Semi-arid – slightly more humid
Desert – BW - Arid

8. Humid Middle-Latitude with
Mild Winters - C
Average temperature of coldest month is under 18C and above -3C
Typically in sub-tropical regions – N and S

9. Humid Middle-Latitude with
Mild Winters - C
Dry-Summer Subtropics – Csa, Csb
West sides of Continents
Dry summers
Also called Mediterranean Climate

10. Humid Middle-Latitude with
Mild Winters - C
Humid Subtropical – Cfa
Southeastern US
Hot, humid summers
Afternoon and evening thunderstorms likely
Winters are drier, frost possible

11. Humid Middle-Latitude with
Mild Winters - C
Marine West Coast – Cfb
Western side of continents
Dominated by onshore flow of oceanic air
Mild winters, cool sumers
Ample rainfall year round

12. Humid Middle-Latitude with
Severe Winters - D
Characterized by extreme winters
Land-controlled climates
Absent in the Southern Hemisphere

13. Humid Middle-Latitude with
Severe Winters - D
Humid Continental – Dfa, Dwa
Central and eastern portions of North America
Winter and summer temperatures considered severe
Generally more precipitation in the summer

14. Humid Middle-Latitude with
Severe Winters - D
Subarctic – Dfc
Often referred to as the taiga
Winter is considered dominant
Warm, short summers
Produce the highest annual temperature ranges
Low annual precipitation

15. Polar - E Mean temperature of the warmest month is below 10°C (50°F)
Temperatures in the summer are still cool
Low water vapor in the air
Low precipitation
Low evaporation

16. Polar - E Tundra Climate – ET Treeless climate
Almost exclusively found in Northern Hemisphere
Winters are severe, summers are cool
High annual temperature ranges
Low precipitation

17. Polar - E Ice Cap Climate– EF
Does not have a single monthly mean above 0°C
No vegetation growth
Permanent ice and snow
Confined to the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica

18. Highland - H
Cooler and wetter than nearby places because of higher altitude
Seasonal temperature cycles are similar to the surrounding areas
Slope and orientation to the sun also affect temperature and moisture