1. Factors that influence the weather
Climate
Factors that influence the weather

2. Weather and Climate
Climate is the long-term trend of temperature and precipitation (rain, snow). Weather is the day-to-day variation in temperature and precipitation.

3. Mountain Barriers/topography Elevation Continental Location
TEKS Obj. 4a - Explain the distribution of different types of climate in terms of patterns of temperature, wind, and precipitation.
The climate where you live is called regional climate. It is the average weather in a place over more than thirty years. The acronym LAMECOWS helps you to remember the factors influencing climate including:
Latitude
Air Pressure
Mountain Barriers/topography
Elevation
Continental Location
Ocean currents
prevailing Wind direction
Storms

4. solar radiation One unit of solar energy strikes the Earth most
directly at the
equator and
is spread over
a given area.
The same unit of energy that strikes the pole is spread over a larger area. Consequently, the equator heats up more than the poles.

5. The chief factor that determines climate is the distance a place is from the equator in terms of Latitude. The closer a place is to the equator, the warmer it will be.

6. permanent low pressure belt
heat transfer
Heat in the
atmosphere is
transferred via
greater
heating of the
atmosphere over
the equator
which causes air
to expand,
become less dense and rise; as it rises it releases its water vapor -- this is a
permanent low pressure belt

7. the tropics
Because of the earth’s 23 ½ ° tilt, four more imaginary lines delineate the polar and tropical regions: the Arctic and Antarctic Circles, and the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, each at 23 ½° from their respective poles and the Equator.
The Antarctic Circle (not shown) is at 23 ½° from the South Pole or 66 ½° South latitude.

8. “Highs” descend “Lows” ascend
In a cyclone (low-pressure cell) air converges and rises. In an anticyclone cell, (high pressure cell) air descends and diverges.

9. low, middle, high latitudes
This diagram shows one way the Earth's surface can be divided into regions according to latitude. It is helpful to refer to
a place as being
in the low, middle,
or high latitudes.
Heated air that
rises from the
tropics descends
at latitudes 30°,
60°, and at the
poles.

11. Coriolis Effect
Figure 1: In the inertial frame of reference (upper part of the picture), the black object moves in a straight line. However, the observer (red dot) who is standing in the rotating frame of reference (lower part of the picture) sees the object as following a curved path.

12. prevailing winds
Text pg. 54
The Coriolis effect means that winds caused by atmospheric highs and lows do not move straight north-south, but appear to bend relative to the earth’s rotation.

13. Climactic Zones

14. Hadley cells

15. wind belts
The currents in the high, middle, and low latitudes produce predictable wind currents that ancient sailors knew well.

16. topography – the shape of the earth’s surface
If not for landforms and topography, the Coriolis Effect would appear as in the diagram at left. The actual wind directions are shown on the right side globe.

17. surface ocean currents
This illustration shows the circulation of the ocean's surface water. Names of the major ocean currents are noted with warm currents are red and cold currents blue.

19. North Atlantic Drift
The weather in this otherwise cold climate zone, is moderated by the effects of The North Atlantic Drift which originates from the Gulf Stream along North America and from the northern Sargasso Sea.

20. Gulf Stream Its effect is sufficient to cause
False-color image of the temperature of the Gulf Stream
Its effect is sufficient to cause
certain parts of the west of Britain and Ireland to be an average of several degrees warmer than most other parts of those countries.

21. Prevailing winds
push air from ocean
currents over land

22. What factors contribute to the patterns of heavy and light rainfall on this map?
Consider Wind and Ocean currents, Mountain barriers and Continental Location

23. Climate Zones

24. Compare this map with the previous one showing rainfall
Compare this map with the previous one showing rainfall. What physical feature most obviously affects rainfall patterns?

25. Comparing marine climates
The significant difference between climate characteristics of Vancouver and London, both Marine West Coast climates, arises from location, local topography, and ocean current influence.
The dry summer in Vancouver is due in part to subsiding, subtropical high pressure lying to the south. Precipitation is nearly double that of London due to local orographic uplift of air.

26. Orographic Effect text pg. 50
Mountain ranges force moisture-laden clouds to release precipitation as they rise up the windward side.

27. mapping precipitation
Average annual
precipitation for the
state of Washington
shows that within a
distance of 250
miles, annual
precipitation totals
change from more
than 180”/yr. (deep purple) to less than 10”/yr. (bright red). This distribution is a direct result of the topography of the land.
The high precipitation totals are located on the western side of the Cascade mountains, while the extremely low precipitation totals are on the eastern, or lee side of the mountain range.

28. ocean currents direct rainfall
Like directors on a globular stage, the ocean currents determine where heavy rains will fall spreading the equator’s heat to all corners of the earth.

30. Winds
Winds begin with differences in air pressures. Pressure that's higher at one place than another sets up a force pushing from the high toward the low pressure. The greater the difference in pressures, the stronger the force.
The distance between the area of high pressure and the area of low pressure also determines how fast the moving air is accelerated.

31. Links http://www-class.unl.edu/geol101i/15a_climate.htm
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