Vocabulary: Weather vs. Climate
What is weather
The condition of Earth's atmosphere at a particular time and place.
What is air pressure?
the pressure caused by the weight of a column of air pushing down on an area
What is a front?
A boundary between two air masses
What causes the 4 seasons?
Earth's tilt
How does humidity affect air pressure?
as humidity increases (more water vapor in the air), air pressure decreases, and as humidity decreases, air pressure increases.
What is climate?
The average weather conditions in an area over a long period of time; Seasonal pattern of weather conditions in an area over many years; does not change rapidly
What is wind
The horizontal movement of air from an area of higher pressure to an area of lower pressure
What is a cold front?
forms when cold air moves under warm air which is less dense and pushes air up quickly (produces thunderstorms, heavy rain, or snow followed by cold weather)
How do different latitudes and hemispheres affect seasonal weather patterns?
The tilt is the primary reason that different latitudes experience different weather patterns or climates.
How does air pressure affect wind?
A change in air pressure can create wind. The wind will become stronger as the pressure difference increases.
What is atmosphere?
Layers of air surrounding the earth.
What is high pressure system?
air is heavy, lower/cooler temperatures, clear skies, little or no precipitation
What is stationary front?
when a warm air mass and a cold air mass meet and no movement occurs (brings light rain, clouds, and several days of precipitation)
What is the difference between weather and climate?
Weather refers to short term atmospheric conditions while climate is the weather of a specific region averaged over a long period of time. Climate change refers to long-term changes.
How are air masses categorized?
Based on temperature: tropical (warm), polar (cold), arctic (extremely cold).
What is equator?
An imaginary line around the middle of the Earth forming a circle that is equidistant from the north and south poles
What is low pressure system
air is light, brings warmer temperatures, high cloud cover, high winds, much precipitation
Low pressure - lousy weather
What is occluded front?
Forms when a warm air mass is caught between two colder air masses (brings cool temperatures and large amounts of rain and snow)
How is weather and climate the same?
Weather and climate describe the same thing—the state of the atmosphere—but at different time scales.
What are the different types of fronts?
There are four different types of weather fronts: cold fronts, warm fronts, stationary fronts, and occluded fronts
What is hemisphere
half of the earth
What is humidity?
A measure of the amount of water vapor in the ai
What is air mass?
a body of air that has about the same temperature and moisture throughout
What factors affect weather conditions?
Weather conditions are determined by six major factors: air temperature, air pressure, humidity of the air, amount and kind of cloud cover, amount and kind of precipitation, and speed and direction of the wind.
What weather will come from the different fronts?
a cold front, there may be dramatic thunderstorms. At a warm front, there may be low stratus clouds.