1. Weather & Climate

2. What is the Difference? Weather: the daily atmospheric conditions
Ex: It’s chilly and cloudy today.
Climate: the average weather patterns in a place
Ex: This place usually has pretty mild winters.

3. The 6 factors That Affect Climate
Just remember the acronym *LOWER-N*
The 6 factors That Affect Climate

4. 1) Latitude Temperature decreases as you approach the poles
The further away from the equator you get, the sun’s rays are less direct

5. 2) Ocean Currents
The temperature of the ocean affects the temperature of the air that passes over it
The warm current off the west coast makes BC warmer there than it should be
The cold Labrador current meets the warm Gulf Stream current and makes a lot of fog off of Newfoundland

6. Ocean Currents

7. 3) Wind and Air Masses
Prevailing Winds: winds that blow mostly from a single general direction
Westerlies: the prevailing winds in Canada, they blow from west to east
That’s why Mississauga gets our weather before we do, and we get it before Oshawa

8. Air Mass: large amount of air that takes on the climatic conditions of the area where it was formed
Polar Front: the boundary between the cold, dry polar air and the warm, wet tropical air

9. 4) Elevation As you climb a mountain, the temperature drops
As air rises, it expands and cools
As it cools, it will become saturated: it is holding as much vapour as it can at that temperature
If the temperature continues to drop, that saturated air won’t be able to hold any more moisture and precipitation will occur

10. Condensation: when water vapour turns to liquid
Dewpoint: the temperature at which air is saturated, anything colder and precipitation will occur

11. 5) Relief
As air rises up a mountain, it cools and condenses into precipitation
Windward side: the wet, rainy side of the mountain
Leeward side: the dry side of the mountain, away from the wind

12. Windward Side
Leeward Side
The rainy, lush, green coast of BC
The dry interior Okanagan Valley

13. Rainshadow Effect
Rainshadow: a dry area on the leeward side of a mountain range (away from the wind).
Where does this happen: the Rockies, the Himalayan, California, the Andes, etc

14. Rainshadow on Hawaiian mountains
Rainshadow on the northern side of the Himalayas

15. Look at where the deserts are here in South America relative to where the Andes mountains are, and the direction of the wind

16. 6) Near Water
Areas that are far from oceans/large lakes have a Continental Climate
Areas on the coast have a Maritime Climate

17. Moderating Effect
Water has a Moderating Effect on surrounding areas (it takes away the extremes)
Oceans heat up and cool down much more slowly than land
In winter, the water retains more of the heat and warms up the surrounding area

18. Difference Between Climates
Continental Climate
Maritime Climate
Wide range between the coldest and warmest temperatures
Less precipitation
More precipitation in the summer
Generally colder
Smaller range between the highest and lowest
Lots of precipitation
More precipitation in the winter
Generally more mild

19. Climate Map Arctic: cold & dry Subarctic: cold & wet
Humid Continental: cool & wet
Humid Subtropical: warm & wet
Montane: varies with elevation
West Coast Marine: cool & wet
Steppe/Prairie: cool & semi-dry
Mediterranean: warm, has a dry season
Tropical: hot, has a dry season
Desert: hot & dry

20. Simplified World Climate Map