Weather

 Temporary behavior of atmosphere

(what’s going on at any certain time)

 Small geographic area

 Can change rapidly

Weather
--The study of weather is
meteorology

--Someone who studies weather

is called a meteorologist
Climate
 Long-term behavior of atmosphere
(100+ years)
 Large geographic area
 Very slow to change
 POLAR
90o -60o latitude
Cool summers, cold year-round
Dry
 TEMPERATE
60o-30o latitude
True Seasons
Variety of climate patterns
Moderate precipitation (rain/snow)
 TROPICAL
30o - equator
No winter, warm year-round
High temp, rainfall, humidity
What Factors Affect Weather
& Climate?
1. The Sun
2. The Water Cycle
3. The Atmosphere
4. The Ocean
How Does the Sun
Affect Weather?
It warms the atmosphere &
oceans
It creates climate zones
It keeps the water cycle
going
It affects weather patterns
The Water Cycle
All the water on the planet is recycled in
this manner!
Parts of the Cycle
Evaporation—Water going
from a liquid to a gas (gains
energy from the sun)
Parts of the Cycle
*Transpiration—evaporation of water
from/out of plants. Locate this on the
diagram!

transpiration
Parts of the Cycle
Condensation—Water going from a gas to a
liquid (cools or loses energy)
 When this happens in the atmosphere,

CLOUDS form.
Clouds by Brainpop
Parts of the Cycle
Precipitation—when water falls out the
atmosphere. Forms when the water
droplets in clouds become too heavy to
stay up.
Precipitation
Liquid water = rain

Rain Clip

Frozen water = snow

or sleet or hail
The Water Cycle

Water Cycle by Brainpop

Water Cycle Advanced by Brainpop
How does the atmosphere
affect weather?
The atmosphere is a mixture of gases
that surrounds the Earth
Has five different layers; each has
different properties
We’ll label them in just a minute…
Air Temperature and Pressure change
with altitude
Weather occurs in the layer closest to
Earth (troposphere)
 Write in the
labels!

Exosphere

Thermosphere

Ionosphere

Mesosphere
Ozone layer
Stratosphere
Troposphere
Air Masses

= body of air with a certain

temperature and moisture
level
Can be warm or cold
Can contain a lot of moisture
or not a lot of moisture
Fronts
= places where
air masses
meet
4 Types: Warm,
Cold, Occluded,
Stationary
Each kind can
bring different
Occluded Front: Stationary Front:
Science Saurus 221/222
& Reading a Weather
Map Worksheet
How does Air Pressure
affect weather?
How much the earth’s atmosphere is
pressing down on us

Measured with a BAROMETER

If it CHANGES, then new weather is on

the way:
Falling Air Pressure = stormy weather
coming
Rising Air Pressure = fair weather coming
Winds = created from
differences in air pressure

Moves from areas of HIGH to LOW

pressure
Greater the difference in pressure, the
FASTER the wind blows
Measured with wind vanes and
anemometers or you can estimate with
the Beaufort Wind Scale
ScienceSaurus 224/225
Beaufort Wind
Scale
Global Winds
Thousands of kilometers long;
can cause weather to move in
different directions
Jet stream, prevailing westerlies,
doldrums, horse latitudes, trade
winds
Global Winds
Caused by the temperature
difference in different regions

 Hot Tropical Regions—causes air

to rise
 Cold polar Regions—causes air to
sink
Global Winds
Also affected by Earth’s Spin

 Coriolis Effect = causes winds to

curve to the right in the N.
Hemisphere; to the left in the S.
Hemisphere
Big Winds Blowin’ Worksheet
Relative Humidity
 Measure of the amount of
moisture in the air compared to
what the air could hold
 How “full” of water the air is
 Expressed as %
 100% relative humidity =
saturated air
Relative Humidity Test Applet
http://itg1.meteor.wisc.edu/wxwise/relhum/rhac.html
Relative Humidity
Controlled by temperature
1. Warm air holds more moisture than
cool air (more space for water vapor
between air molecules)
2. As air warms, relative humidity
decreases
3. As air cools, relative humidity
increases
Dew Point
 =Temperature at which the air is
saturated (100% relative humidity)

Several events can occur when the dew

point temp. is reached:
1. If dew point temp. is above
freezing:
a. water vapor condenses as liquid
b. dew will form on surfaces
Dew Point
c. cloud droplets will form in air

2. If dew point temp. is below freezing:

a. water vapor condenses as a solid
b. frost on surfaces
c. snow (or hail) in the air
Rainbows
 Caused by sunshine on raindrops
 White light (all colors) is refracted (bent) into
colors as it enters and exits the drop
 To see a rainbow you must have the sun
behind you and raindrops in the air
 Diagram:
Rainbow by Brainpop
How does the Ocean
affect weather?
Ocean currents affect the temperature
of the land they pass by
Cold ocean currents = cooling effect
Warm ocean currents = warming effect
Temperature changes affect pressure –
which then creates WINDS
Winds blow this cooling or warming
effect over the land
http://www.wunderground.com/MAR/
Science Saurus Sections 203-204-205-206
Thunderstorms
Requires a mature
cumulonimbus cloud

Signs
a. Sudden reversal of wind direction
b. Noticeable increase in wind speed
c. Sudden drop in temperature
 Thunderstorms
Possible weather:
a. heavy rains (flash floods)
b. lightning (forest fires)
c. thunder (frightens animals)
d. hail (crop damage)
e. tornadoes
f. strong, gusty winds
Lightning Storm
Cumulonimbus cloud becomes
electrically charged and ground below
has opposite charge
Lightning stroke: flow of current thru air
(a poor conductor) from the – to the +
Lightning can flow from cloud to ground,
cloud to cloud, and from ground to cloud
Bright light is caused by glowing air
molecules heated by the current
Lightning follows the path of least
resistance (easiest way to positive)
Lightning rod offers lightning an easy,
safe path to the ground (+)
Thunder is the shock wave caused by the
explosive expansion of heated air
Sound travels @ about 1100 ft/sec in air
5,280 ft in one mile
Distance from you to lightning = number
of seconds between seeing the flash and
hearing the thunder divided by 5.
(5,280 ft / 1100 ft/sec = 5 seconds)
Types of Lightning
Streak or bolt
a. Single or branched lines of light
b. Common in Puget Sound area
Sheet
a. shapeless flash over wide area
b. is cloud-to-cloud bolt hidden by the
clouds
c. common in Puget Sound area
Safety rules for lightning storms
 Stay indoors
 Stay away from anything that conducts electricity
(stove, sink, telephone, TV)
 Get out of the water and off of small boats
 Stay away from open doors, windows, fireplaces
 Stay in your car (very safe place to be)
 Don’t stand under lone trees or in open places
 Avoid hilltops
 If your hair stands on end, or your skin tingles, drop
to the ground but try to keep as little contact with
the ground as possible
Tornado (a.k.a twister,
cyclone)
 Counterclockwise column of rotating air
extending from cumulonimbus cloud
 Per square foot, is the most destructive
atmospheric event
 Rated by wind speed (F1 to F5)
 “Tornado season” = April, May, June
 Tornadoes that form over water are called
“waterspouts”
 Behavior of a tornado is unpredictable
Typical tornado will:
1. Occur between 3-7 pm
2. Travel 4 miles
3. Be 300-400 m wide
4. Travel 25-40 mi/hour
5. Have wind speeds up to 300 mi/hr
6. Produce extremely low pressure
7. Be dark due to debris picked up
Lie flat in nearest ditch, etc.
At home
a. open windows, doors
b. seek shelter in basement or under
heavy table in middle of house

On the trail of a tornado

Tropical Cyclone
Nicknames
1. Atlantic: hurricane
2. SE Asia, Japan: typhoon
3. Australia: willy-willy
4. Indian Ocean: cyclone
Tropical Cyclone
Rated by wind speed (category 1 to 5)
Starts and grows over warm ocean
water
Composed of bands of thunderstorms
spiraling counterclockwise around a low
pressure center
Characteristics
 Several hundred miles wide
 Last many days (even weeks)
 Winds from 74-200 mi/hr
 Contains an “eye”
a. Small region of low pressure
b. Surrounded by highest winds
c. Calm, peaceful, sunny weather
d. Last for about 1 hour as hurricane passes by