Climateandweather.net Website Review

PEOPLE OFTEN CONFUSE CLIMATE AND WEATHER – THE TWO REALLY ARE QUITE DIFFERENT. Weather describes the condition of the atmosphere over a short period of time e.g. from day to day or week to week, while climate describes average conditions over a longer period of time. Step outside and you experience many facets of weather. Humidity, air temperature and pressure, wind speed and direction, cloud cover and type, and the amount and form of precipitation are all atmospheric characteristics The sun is ultimately responsible for the weather. Its rays are absorbed differently by land and water surfaces (equal amounts of solar radiation heat the ground more quickly than they do water). Differential warming, in turn, causes variations in the temperature As an air mas* warms, it becomes lighter and rises higher into the atmosphere. As an air mas* cools, it becomes heavier and sinks. Pressure differences between mas*es of air generate winds, which tend to blow from high-pressure areas to areas of low pressure. Fast-moving, upper atmosphere winds known as jet streams help move weather systems around the world. Large weather systems called cyclones rotate counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere (clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere); they are also called “lows,” because their centers are low-pressure areas. Clouds and precipitation are usually as*ociated with these systems. Anticyclones, or “highs,” rotate in the opposite direction and are high-pressure areas - usually bringing clearer skies and more settled The boundary between two air mas*es is called a weather front. Here, wind, temperature, and humidity change abruptly, producing atmospheric instability. When things get “out of balance” in the atmosphere, storms develop, bringing rain or snow and sometimes thunder and The weather you experience is influenced by many factors, including your location’s latitude, elevation, and proximity to water bodies. Even the degree of urban development, which creates “heat islands,” and the amount of snow cover, which chills an overlying