1. SS Level 4: WEATHER AND CLIMATE

WEATHER and CLIMATE

https://elhpedroduquelevel4.blogspot.com/

index

3. Precipitation

1. Introduction

4. Clouds

4.1 Stages of development

2. Weather

2.1 Temperature

5. Predicting the weather

2.2 Humidity

5.1 Weather forecast

2.3 Precipitation

6. Climate

2.4 Wind

6.1 Climates in Spain

introduction

Weather and climates shape our lives, from the clothes we wear to our everyday activities.

Weather describes all the atmospheric conditions present in a specific place and time.Water, air and heat from the Sun work together to form weather.There are four different factors: • Temperature • Humidity • Precipitation • Wind

weather

temperature

Temperature measures how hot or cold the air is.We use a thermometer to gauge this.Thermometers can have two different types of scales:

• The Celsius or Centigrade (ºC) temperature scale, where freezing is at 0ºC.
• The Fahrenheit (ºF) scale, where freezing is at 32ºF.

humidity

• Humidity describes how much water vapour is present in the air.
• When it is very humid, fog and mist can form.
• We use a hygrometer to measure humidity.

precipitation

• Precipitation is water that falls to the ground from the atmosphere.
• It can be liquid (rain) or solid (snow or hail).
• We use a rain gauge to measure precipitation.

wind

• Wind is moving air that can move at many different speeds.
• Beaufort created the first international standard for measuring air. Categories include: breeze, gale or hurricane.
• We use an anemometer to measure wind speed.

+ info

precipitation

• The conditions inside the cloud and the temperature outside it, determine the form of precipitation: • Rain • Drizzle • Sleet • Hail • Snow

Wea

precipitation

Sleet

Rain

Drizzle

Wea

Mixture of rain and snow.The air is a little cooler and some of frozen crystals form.

Water droplets that measure more than 0.5 mm across.

Water droplets that measure more than 0.5 mm across.

Light rain with smaller rain droplets.

Snow

Hail

When the cloud is low and the air around it is dry and cold, the little droplets inside form ice crystals.

Water droplets are pushed up and freeze in the clouds and then start to fall again.

CLOUDS

Clouds form when warm air rises and then cools down.

Cirrus Clouds

Stratus Clouds

Cumulus Clouds

These clouds are thinner and are located higher up in the sky. They usually mean that bad weather is coming.

These clouds form in layers and are located low in the sky. They often bring drizzle and fog.

These are fat, fluffy clouds and are a sign of good weather.

CLOUDS

STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT

• Warm air rises from the ground. As it expands and cools, condensation begins.
• This condensation releases heat, which warms the air. This air expands and rises, resulting in more condensation.
• Different clouds systems occur at different altitudes. This is because condensation occurs at different heights.

PREDICTING THE WEATHER

Professional meteorologists predict weather using measuring devices to collect information about: • Rainfall • Temperature • Sunshine • Wind speed

PREDICTING THE WEATHER

The weather stations send reports to weather forecast centres to pass on data about wind speed, temperature and more.

Weather satellites orbit the Earth taking pictures of weather patterns, monitor temperatures and measure the height of waves.

Weather balloons carry instruments high into the atmosphere to measure temperature, air pressure and humidity. They send the information to a weather station on the ground.

weather forecast

• The data collected help us predict weather patterns for the near future.
• We can see weather forecasts on TV, the Internet, in newspapers, or hear about them on the radio.
• We use weather maps with symbols.

Weather can affect all aspects of our lives –factors such as the economy (if a hail storm destroys crops, the price of food increases) and health (if there is little rain, there are more droughts and more pollution).

CLIMATE

CLIMATE describes the main weather characteristics of a place.There are three main climate categories depending on:

• The size and location of landmasses
• The presence of mountains and plains
• Atmospheric wind systems
• Ocean currents

CLIMATE

Polar Climates

Tropical Climates

Temperate Climates

Polar climates are cold all year. In winter temperatures are as low as - 50ºC. In summer it is still cold because the Sun lies low in the sky and its rays hit the land at a weak angle.

Tropical climates are warm all year and have rainy seasons. Countries with this climate lie between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. There, we can find tropical rainforests

Temperate climates have mild weather with hot summers and cold winters. This climate is in the most densely populated parts of the world..

CLIMATES IN SPAIN

There are five types of climates in Spain:

• Oceanic
• Mediterranean
• Mediterranean-Continental
• Mountain
• Subtropical

CLIMATES IN SPAIN

OCEANIC CLIMATES: They are mild and rainy. Examples: Galicia, Cantabria and the western Pyrenees. MEDITERRANEAN CLIMATES: The temperature is high in summer and mild during other seasons. It doesn’t rain much. Examples: The Mediterranean coast, Islas Baleares and most of Andalucía. MEDITERRANEAN-CONTINENTAL CLIMATES: The temperature is very high in summer and very low in winter. It rains little, and mostly in spring and autumn. Examples: the Meseta Central, the Delta del Ebro and parts of Andalucía and Cataluña. MOUNTAIN CLIMATES: It’s mild in summer and the temperature is very low in winter. There is a lot of precipitation all year (snow in winter). Examples: Areas at 1200 metres or above. SUBTROPICAL CLIMATES: The temperature is mild all year. It doesn’t rain very much but it may rain more in mountainous areas. Example: The Canary Islands.