Guiding Questions: Climate Notes

Section 14.1 What is Climate?

1.Define climatology. The study of Earths
Climate and the factors that affect past,
present, and future climatic changes.
2.What factors does climate include in
addition to average weather conditions?
Annual vibrations of temperature,
precipitation, wind, and other weather
variables
3.Give two examples of how climatic data
can be used. It indicates the warmest and
coldest temperatures ever recorded for a
location. It also can determine the location
of new facility for people who have
medical conditions
4.Why must we exercise caution when using
normals to predict weather? It doesnt
always predict the exact weather and it
really can be a whole different
temperature
5.What factors cause climate? The factors
for climate are Latitude, Topographic
Effects, and Air masses
6.Why are coastal areas cooler in the
summer than inland areas? It is because
water heats up and cools down slower
than land.

7.Describe the relationship between

temperature and altitude. The
temperature in higher areas are colder
and the warmer air is near the surface
8.Figure 14-3 depicts what effect of
orographic lifting that we discussed last
Friday? (HINT: return to those notes!)The
moist are rises over the windward and dry
air over there leeward
Section 14.2 Climate Classification
1.Name the system used to classify climates.
What factors does it consider? Koeppen
classification system. The factors for it are
the average monthly values of
temperatures and precipitation. It also
takes into account the distinct vegetation
found in different climates
2.List the six main climate types. Tropical,
Dry, Mild, Continental, Polar, Microclimate
3.What climate type do we live in? List its
characteristics. We live in a mild climate
and the characteristics are warm and
muggy weather prevails during the warmer
months and cool dry conditions during the
colder months.
4.What is a microclimate? Give an example.
A localized climate that differs from the
main regional climate.

5.What is the heat island effect and where

does it occur? The heat island effect is
where is a climate is warmer than the
surrounding areas and it occurs where
places have large areas of asphalt and they
radiate more heat.