1. The 7 major factors that affect climate…
LEMPOSA
The 7 major factors that affect climate…

2. 7 major factors that affect climate…P O S A

3. LATITUDE High Latitudes: N.of the Arctic circle & also
(You can refer back to map on p. 52
when studying!)
High Latitudes:
N.of the Arctic circle & also
S. of the Antarctic circle
They have ONE Season - Cold (ex:Antarctica)

4. LATITUDE Mid Latitudes: Between T. of Cancer & Arctic Circle
Also between T. of Capricorn & Antarctic circle.
4 Seasons – Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall (ex:USA)

5. LATITUDE Low Latitudes: Between T. of Cancer & T. of Capricorn
Tropical, near the equator.
2 seasons - Wet & Dry (ex: Mexico, much of Africa) – in most places

6. ELEVATION The higher you go, the colder it gets.
As you go up in elevation, the air gets thinner and does not trap heat.
Are there glaciers on the equator??

7. MOUNTAIN BARRIERS & the Orographic Effect
As winds blow across the ocean, they push moisture inland.
When the moisture cloud reaches the mountains it gets “popped” by the mountain top and rains on the coastal side (ex: California & the Sierra Nevada Mtns.)
By the time this cloud reaches the other side of the mountains, the air is dry.
What very dry state do you find
East of the Sierra Nevada Mts.??

8. MOUNTAIN BARRIERS & the Orographic Effect

9. PROXIMITY TO WATER
Why is there so little difference between summer and winter along the coast of California?
It takes the ocean a long time to heat & cool!
Wind blowing off of the water moderates
the coastal areas.
What is the difference between summer
& winter in Kansas?
BIG difference in seasons…why?
Land heats & cools quickly!!
So… The closer an area is to a large body of water, the smaller the difference in temperature, the farther away from water, the greater.

10. OCEAN CURRENTS
The UK & Europe are on the same line of latitude as Canada.
Do they experience the same climate?
A warm current called the North Atlantic Drift flows up from the equator and blows across the water and keeps Europe warmer than it should be at that latitude
What about the Atacama Desert in Chile? Located on the coast, but one of the driest places on earth…
La Nina & El Nino – brings flood to the US & effects hurricane season.

11. Storms Do not necessarily affect climate, but they do occur regularly in certain parts of the world & are associated with certain climates.

12. ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE
When the weather person refers to a high pressure system, usually it means that moisture is high in the atmosphere and it signifies a pattern of fair weather.
A low pressure system usually brings rain.

13. L – Latitude:
Areas closer to the poles (arctic) receive less direct sunlight than areas closer to the equator (Tropics)
E – Elevation
Air become less dense at higher elevations and cannot retain as much heat or moisture.
The temperature decreases 3.5 degrees for every 1000 ft. above sea level.
M –Mountain Barriers
As airmasses cross over mtn. ranges, they lose their water vapor through condensation.
Rain Shadows form on the leeward side of mtn. ranges.
P – Proximity to Large Bodies of Water
Large bodies of water are slower to heat and cool than the air on land and this lessens extremes of hot or cold temperature.
Cool winds in summer, warm winds in winter.
O – Ocean currents
Warm currents circulate from the equator, cold currents from the poles.
Cold currents cool nearby coasts, and warm currents…examples: S. California, Western Europe.
S – Storms
Temporary and severe changes in weather.
Changes follow a typical pattern in a climate region.
Same types of storms get different regional name.
A – Atmospheric Pressure
Effect of lingering HIGH and LOW pressure systems creates certain types of weather patterns