“CLIMATE IS WHAT WE EXPECT, AND WEATHER IS WHAT WE GET”- MARK TWAIN

Climate is the long term average of weather patterns over a period of time

Weather is the present conditions of the atmosphere, and can change from year to year.

CLIMATE & WEATHER

…WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

Warm Up: What Climate do you prefer? Why?

WARM UP:

In your journals, write down some ways that the weather has affected your life in the past week.

How would you define Austin’s climate?

Basics of Geography: Weather and Climate

Highs reach 90 degrees Fahrenheit on 116 days per year and 100 degrees Fahrenheit on 18 days

Is there anything surprising about this chart?

Austin’s Climate

Austin has a humid subtropical climate

Characterized by hot, usually humid summer and mild to cool winters

88 days below 45 F and 19 days when the minimum temperature falls at or below freezing

What is freezing temperature?

Humid Subtropical Climates on Earth

WHAT FACTORS INFLUENCE CLIMATE AND WEATHER?

Latitude Wind and Ocean currents Elevation Landforms and bodies of water

These factors are connected to temperature, precipitation, and distribution of climate regions.

LATITUDE The distance from the equator determines what parts of the earth receive direct sunlight

Temperatures are typically warmer near the equator and tend to decrease towards higher latitudes

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Three Most Important Lines of Latitude:

Because of the earth’s tilt and movement around the sun, we have our seasons.

Due to the fact that earth spins on it’s axis, we have day and night.

WIND CURRENTS

Climate and weather are also responding to the earth’s spin

Depending on the location, wind may bring moist air or leave an area dry.

OCEAN CURRENTS

Ocean currents move large masses of warm and cold water which then act to regulate energy received by the sun and create moisture in the air.

ELEVATION

Elevation is the height above sea level

Temperatures tend to be cooler at higher elevations such as mountains or plateaus

Elevation Review

Ex: Grand Canyon

What altitude do you think the highest point of the mountain is at?

View of Lake Austin From Mt. Bonnel

Rain Shadow

Air cools as it rises over a mountain barrier and therefore the ocean side often has heavy rainfall

The air loses moisture and is drier when it reaches the other side of the mountain.

Rain Shadow: Tibetan Plateau

a dry area on the mountains facing away from the direction of the wind

Rain doesn’t make it past the Himalayas- leads to arid weather

Monsoons in India

THINK ALOUD, WITH A PARTNER:

How do precipitation (rain, snow, sleet) and temperature affect human survival?

How do climate and weather affect where people choose to settle?

Cold Front

When a warm moist air mass hits a cold one, storms break out.

Climate RegionsHow does prolonged exposure to weather create a climate zone?

Earth has three main climate zones: tropical, temperate and polar. They are can be further divided.

Climate Regions