WEATHER OR CLIMATE

Weather is the short-term changes in the atmosphere. Weather includes changes in temperature, humidity, precipitation, and winds. Weather can be difficult to predict and it changes daily.

Climate is the long-term or average weather conditions for an area. Climate is predictable. It is established using data collected for at least 30 years for a location. Climate includes expected weather extremes, as well. For example, if you live in Florida and a hurricane hits, it is a weather extreme you can expect for that region.

OBJECTIVES

Distinguish between weather and climate conditions.
Directions
For each of the following statements, indicate if it describes weather or climate, and briefly explain why. If you think a statement could describe both weather or climate, explain why that could be. An example is provided for you.

Example:
It rained all night, last night.

Answer: Weather. It was a recent change in precipitation over a short period.

It has not snowed yet today.
In October, temperatures begin to drop.
This summer should be hotter than normal.
The humidity dropped overnight.
A thunderstorm cancelled our softball game.
It has never gone below 32°F in the month of December.
The high temperature yesterday was 10 degrees above normal.
The clouds are rolling in.
One of the strongest blizzards hit New York in February 2007, leaving about 6 feet of snow.
Texas is hot and humid and Arizona is hot and dry during the summer.
The skies were clear until an hour ago.
The air pressure dropped.
We had a lot more rain last year than this year.
Another tornado hit Kansas City.
Winds blew at 35 mph today.

Solution Preview

Weather is the state of atmosphere regarded as short-term changes in the heat, dryness, sunshine, precipitation and wind. It is constant to change and tends to be difficult to predict…

(423 Words)