Climate and

Weather
Priya Krishnan
Haasini Yelugoti
 Climate
The average weather
conditions of a region or
the weather patterns that
occur over many years.
Koppen Classification

Uses Mean monthly and Annual Values of Temperature and

Precipitation!

A-Humid Tropical,B-Dry, C-Humid Middle-Latitude with mild

Winters, D-Humid middle latitude with severe winters,
E-Polar

Note that ACDE groups are based

on temperature and B is based on
precipitation
 Now let’s talk about
The person who
the Weather! forecasts
weather is
● The prevailing condition of the called ….

atmosphere at a given point

in time in a given geographic
area

● The study of weather is

called meteorology
So what affects the weather?
The water
The Sun!
cycle
Weather

The The ocean

atmosphere
 So how does the sun affect
weather? Creates
Heats up the
Climate
atmosphere
Sun
zones
Affects the Causes
Water Cycle Seasons
 Sun and Weather
● Solar energy is not evenly distributed over the land sea
surface because of the tilt of the earth
● Unequal Heating causes winds and these winds drive
ocean currents
● These movement transport heat to the poles

What would happen if the sun was “turned

off”?
 Earth!
- Rotation and Revolution are the
main movements of the Earth-
- Rotation causes Day and Night
- Revolution causes seasons
- Tilt of 23.5 deg causes a change
in the length of day and night
 How does the atmosphere
affect the climate?

Atmosphere temperature

humidity
What is atmospheric
pressure?
An atmosphere (atm) is a unit of measurement
equal to the average air pressure at sea level at a
temperature of 15 degrees Celsius (59 degrees
Fahrenheit). One atmosphere is 1,013 millibars, or 760
millimeters (29.92 inches) of mercury.

Atmospheric pressure drops as altitude increases.

Heat and temperature-
Heat is the total kinetic energy of all
atoms and molecules.

Temperature is a measure of the total

heat contained within a mass.
Mechanisms of Heat Transfer
- Three methods of heat transfer are convection, conduction, and radiation
- Convection is when heat transfers due to differences in density
- Conduction is when heat transfers between two objects touching due to
differences in temperature.
- Radiation is when heat transfers through electromagnetic waves.

- These are all ways that heat transfers in the air.

 Atmospheric Pressure
Near the surface of the
Earth, atmospheric
pressure decreases
almost linearly with
increasing altitude.
At higher altitudes the
relationship is exponential
How is weather measured?
- Air temperature, humidity, cloud cover, precipitation, air pressure, wind speed,
and wind direction can all be measured with different scientific
tools/instruments/equipment.

- Thermometer - measures temperature

- Hygrometer - measures humidity
- Anemometer - measures wind speed
- Barometer - measures changes in air pressure
- Rain gauge - measures amount of precipitation
- Wind vane - measures wind direction
Ozone Layer
- The ozone layer exists within the stratosphere of the
Earth, between 15km and 30km above the Earth.
- The ozone layer is so important because it absorbs
most of the harmful UV light emitted by the sun.
- This UV light can harm organisms, by damaging DNA
molecules within them.
- However, the ozone layer is thinning due to harmful
chemicals released in the air.
- Recently, initiatives have been taken to reduce these
chemical emissions, and they have been working.
What controls temperature?
- All of the following:
- Solar radiation
- Unequal heating and cooling in water
- Altitude
- Geographic position
- Cloud cover
- Albedo
Albedo Effect
- Albedo is the measure of how well a surface can reflect light.
- The albedo effect describes a cycle, or a feedback loop.

- Video: https://youtu.be/lhSoivYvhhQ
The
Water
Cycle
Relative Humidity
- Relative humidity is a measure of
the amount of water vapor in the
air.
- Relative humidity is measured with
a hygrometer.
How do Clouds form?
- Water evaporates, and becomes water
vapor into the air.
- More and more water vapor begins
forming in the air, but the air can only hold
a certain amount of water vapor.
- When this maximum is reached, it is called
“saturaton .” Deposition occurs.
Deposition is when gas becomes solid.
Condensation also occurs.
 Types of fog
- Fog is the formation of a cloud closer to the Earth’s surface.
- We will discuss 5 types of fog:
- Radiation Fog:
- Advection Fog
- Mountain/Valley Fog
- Freezing Fog
- Evaporation Fog
 Radiation Fog
- A very common type of fog
- Forms due to radiative cooling
- Once saturation occurs in the air, the water vapor cools and forms fog.
 Advection Fog
- Horizontal winds cause this type of fog to occur.
- Warm air moves over cold surfaces, and fog is formed.
- Advection fog moves horizontally.
 Mountain/Valley Fog
- Mountain fog is a type of radiation fog.
- Cold air sinks into the valleys, and saturation occurs.
- Fog is formed.
 Freezing Fog
- Freezing fog forms the same way as radiation fog, but the temperature is
a lot lower.
- The droplets stay as liquid until they touch a surface.
- Once they make contact with a surface, they freeze into small crystals.
 Evaporation Fog
- Saturation in the air occurs, due to evaporation.
- Warm and cool air mixes.
- This causes fog to form.
Types of Clouds
There are 4 primary ways that air gets lifted in the atmosphere

A Hot
Spot
 Orographic lifting of
2
air on mountain
ranges
 3
Convergence of Air

This Happens in
the Equator
 4 Lifting along the
Front

When warm air

and cold air
meet the warm
air gets Lifted
Types of Precipitation

- Rain
- Sleet (ice pellets)
- Hail
- Snow
HOW dOes Precipitation occur?

● To get precipitation, you first must cool the

air to the dew point:
● RECC: Rising Air Expands Cools,
Condenses
● So…..to get the air to the Dew Point it has to
rise up
 Hail
Hail is formed when drops of
water freeze together in the cold
upper regions of thunderstorm
clouds. These chunks of ice are
called hailstones. Most hailstones
measure between 5 millimeters
and 15 centimeters in diameter,
and can be round or jagged.
Hailstones are not frozen
raindrops
Fun Activity

The Weather Service says that the next three

days each have a 30% chance of rain. What are
the chances it’ll rain sometime, anytime, in the
next three days, if each day has just a 30%
chance?
 Answer

1. Step One: Convert the situation into the chances that it won’t rain. In
this case, if there’s a 30% chance it will rain each day, then there’s a
70% chance it’ll be dry.
2. Step Two: Multiply each day’s chances. In this case, with three days
with 70% dry-chances each day, you’d multiple 0.7 times 0.7 times 0.7
and arrive at a 21% chance it’ll be dry throughout the period.
3. Step Three: Finally, subtract this from one (1 – 0.21 = 0.79) and
you’ve got your answer: There’s a 79% chance it’ll rain sometime
during the next three days. It’s quite likely
Global Circulation
- This is the system winds across the globe.

Watch: https://youtu.be/7fd03fBRsuU
Air Mass
- An air mass is a giant collection of air that has the same temperature and
humidity throughout.
- There are 4 different categories for air masses: arctic, topical, polar, and
equatorial.
- Arctic air mass: Very cold, form in Arctic area
- Tropical air mass: Form in low-latitude areas, warm
- Polar air mass: Form in high-latitude areas, cold
- Equatorial air mass: Warm, form near the equator.

- Maritime air mass: Forms over water

- Continental air mass: Forms over land.
Fronts
- A front is the area that separates two different masses of air.
 Types of
Thunderstorms
Single Cell Thunderstorms

● Often called “popcorn” convection, small, brief, weak storms that

grow and die within an hour or so, driven by heating on a summer
afternoon.
● Single-cell storms may produce brief heavy rain and lightning
 Types of
Thunderstorms
multi-cell storm
● Updrafts form along the leading edge of rain-cooled air (the gust
front).
● Individual cells usually last 30 to 60 minutes, while the system as a
whole may last for many hours.
● Multicell storms may produce hail, strong winds, brief tornadoes,
and/or flooding.
 Types of
Thunderstorms
Squall Line
● A group of storms arranged in a line, often accompanied by
“squalls” of high wind and heavy rain.
● Squall lines tend to pass quickly and are less prone to
produce tornadoes than are supercells. T
● hey can be hundreds of miles long but are typically only 10
or 20 miles wide.
 Types of
Thunderstorms
Super Cell

● A highly organized storm feeding off an updraft (a rising current of air)

that is tilted and rotating.
● This rotating updraft - as large as 10 miles in diameter and up to
50,000 feet tall - can be present as much as 20 to 60 minutes before a
tornado forms.
● Scientists call this rotation a mesocyclone when it is detected by
Doppler radar. The tornado is a very small extension of this larger
rotation. Most large and violent tornadoes come from supercells.
 Types of
Thunderstorms
Bow Echo

● A “bow echo” is a radar signature of a squall line that “bows out” as

winds fall behind the line and circulations develop on either end.
● A strongly bowed echo may indicate high winds in the middle of
the line, where the storms are moving forward most quickly.
● Tornadoes may occur on the leading edge of a bow echo. Often the
north side of a bow echo becomes dominant over time, gradually
evolving into a comma-shaped storm complex.
 Types of
Thunderstorms
● A Mesoscale Convective System (MCS) is a collection of thunderstorms that act as a

system. An MCS can spread across an entire state and last more than 12 hours. On
radar one of these monsters might appear as a solid line, a broken line, or a cluster of
cells. This all-encompassing term can include any of the following storm types:

● Mesoscale convective complex (MCC)—A particular type of MCS, an MCC is a large,

circular, long-lived cluster of showers and thunderstorms identified by satellite. It

often emerges out of other storm types during the late-night and early-morning hours.
MCCs can cover an entire state.
 Types of
Thunderstorms
● Mesoscale convective vortex (MCV)—A low-pressure center within an MCS that pulls

winds into a circling pattern, or vortex. With a core only 30 to 60 miles wide and 1 to 3
miles deep, an MCV is often overlooked in standard weather analyses. But an MCV can
take on a life of its own, persisting for up to 12 hours after its parent MCS has
dissipated. This orphaned MCV will sometimes then become the seed of the next
thunderstorm outbreak. An MCV that moves into tropical waters, such as the Gulf of
Mexico, can serve as the nucleus for a tropical storm or hurricane.

●
●
 Derecho
● a widespread, long-lived wind storm that is associated with a
band of rapidly moving showers or thunderstorms.
● Straight line Wind Damage is used to describe Derecho
related destruction
● If Wind Damage is greater than 40 miles and wind gusts 58
mph or greater then the event is classified as a Derecho

Read about the June 13,14 2022

Great Lakes Derecho
 Tornadoes
The updraft of warm air causes the vortex to swell with water vapor,
creating a spiraling funnel cloud at its center—

The cool downdraft of air then battles the funnel cloud’s upward spiral,
focusing the cloud into a smaller area and increasing its spee d.

With enough pressure and weight from the downdraft of cool air, the
quickening funnel cloud is forced to touch down on the ground, and a
tornado is officially born.
 The Fujita Scale

Fujita Scale (or F Scale) of tornado damage intensity. The F

Tornadoes Scale was developed based on damage intensity and not
wind speed; wind speed ranges given are estimated, based
on the extent of observed damage.
 Hurricanes
- Hurricanes form above the sea,
and circle around an area of low
pressure.
- If the winds in a hurricane are
less than 39 mph, it’s a tropical
depression.
- If the winds are from 39-74 mph,
it’s a tropical storm.
- If the winds are higher than 74
mph, it’s a hurricane .
- The center of the hurricane is
known as the eye.
Sources
- https://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Albedo
- https://www.nssl.noaa.gov/education/svrwx101/thunderstorms/types/
- Earth Science Lutgens Prentice Hall
- https://slidetodoc.com/prentice-hall-earth-science-tarbuck-lutgens-chapter-18
- https://www.almanac.com/how-clouds-form
- https://www.britannica.com/science/temperature
- https://byjus.com/physics/difference-between-conduction-convection-and-radiation/
- https://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/weather-and-climate/weather-instr
uments.htm
- https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/ozone-layer
- https://climatekids.nasa.gov/cloud-formation/
- https://www.wmdt.com/2021/01/different-types-of-fog/
- https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/air-mass
- https://www.rmets.org/metmatters/what-hurricane