Guiding Questions: Climate Notes

Section 14.1- What is Climate?

1. Define climatology.
The study of Earths climate and the factors that affect the past, present, and
future climatic changes.
2. What factors does climate include in addition to average weather

conditions?
Climate also describes annual variations of temperature, precipitation, wind, and
other weather variables.

3. Give two examples of how climatic data can be used.

Climatic data shows extreme fluctuations of these variables over time. It
can indicate the warmest and coldest temperatures recorded for a location.
4. Why must we exercise caution when using normals to predict

weather?
Because weather conditions on any given day might differ widely than
normals.
5. What factors cause climate?
Latitude, topography, closeness of lakes and oceans, availability of moisture,
global wind patterns, ocean currents, and air masses.
6. Why are coastal areas cooler in the summer than inland areas?
Water has a very high heat capacity, so living next to a body of water has a
cooler temperature because the water absorbs most of the heat.
7. Describe the relationship between temperature and altitude.
The higher you go in the atmosphere, the colder the temperature is.
8. Figure 14-3 depicts what effect of orographic lifting that we discussed

last Friday? (HINT: return to those notes!)

Mountain thunderstorms.

Section 14.2 Climate Classification

1. Name the system used to classify climates. What factors does it
consider?
The Koeppen Classification System. The average monthly values of
temperature and precipitation and the distinct vegetation found.

2. List the six main climate types.

Tropical, dry, mild, continental, polar and high elevation.

3. What climate type do we live in? List its characteristics.

Mild, humid subtropical. Humid subtropical climates are influenced by the
subtropical high-pressure systems that are normally found over oceans in the
summer.

4. What is a microclimate? Give an example.

A localized climate that differs from the main regional climate; top of a
mountain.

5. What is the heat island effect and where does it occur?

The presence of concrete buildings and large expanses of asphalt, large cities.