WHAT DRIVES THE WEATHER?

WEATHER

 describes conditions in the atmosphere that are happening right now

 it is the short term occurrence, or daily measurement, of fair or inclement
weather
 daily temperature, precipitation, and severe weather are all a part of
everyday weather
 the state of the atmosphere at a place and time as regards heat, dryness,
sunshine, wind, rain, etc.
BLOWING IN THE WIND

 Weather is ultimately caused by temperature differences due to variations in

solar energy input.
 These temperature differences cause pressure variations in the atmosphere.
 The wind blows to try and correct these imbalances in pressure.
 Regions of low and high pressure moving through an area cause changes in
weather as different air masses pass by.
• The rotation of the earth does have an effect on the direction of the wind,
but it does not create it.
• Wind is primarily driven by differences in air pressure.
• These variations in air pressure are due to temperature differences caused by
variations in solar energy received at the surface of the earth.

• The sunlight absorbed by the ground depends on the latitude of the location, the
slope and the underlying surface.
The air pressure on Earth is not the same everywhere. There are areas of high and low
pressure.

The wind blows from higher pressure to lower pressure in an attempt to make the
pressure in the two areas equal.

Coriolis Effect - The Coriolis Effect describes the turn of the wind to the right in the
Northern Hemisphere caused by earth's rotation.
- A phenomenon that causes fluids, like water and air, to curve as they travel across
or above Earth’s surface.

• The Earth rotates at a high speed counter-clockwise as viewed from the North
Pole. If an object starts at the North Pole and moves toward the equator in a
straight-line path, for example, the object will appear to deflect to the right of
its intended path because the earth is rotating under it as it moves.

• If the earth did not rotate, an object

would continue on a straight-line
path without appearing to deflect at
all. The amount of deflection varies
with latitude, the speed of the object
and the rotation of the earth. The
deflection is greatest at the poles and
decreases to zero at the equator.
• The Coriolis Effect does not impact the wind speed, only the wind direction. The
Coriolis force is what causes low pressure systems to rotate counterclockwise.

• The Coriolis Effect impacts objects on a large scale and does not generally have a big
influence on small scale objects at the earth’s surface.
Friction -slows the wind and causes it to turn slightly toward lower pressure. This
causes the wind to blow in toward the center of a low pressure system.

• It always acts opposite the direction of motion as a result of resistance

between rough surfaces, although friction can also act between regions of the
atmosphere that are moving at different speeds.

• Friction slows the wind down at the surface or in areas with winds of different
speeds (wind shear). When the wind is blowing near the surface, the ground
creates friction that makes the wind blow slower. Friction doesn’t just slow the
wind down, it breaks up the flow of the wind, making it blow in different
directions at different speeds. This creates turbulence.
 * Turbulence is created when the smooth flow of the wind is broken up and
changed by the ground, buildings or other objects.

*Turbulence causes eddies, which are swirling areas of the air. These eddies are
responsible for wind gusts and mixing of the air in the atmosphere. You can sometimes
see these eddies when dust or leaves get mixed into the air and follow the swirling winds
around.

• Because all the wind flows towards the center of the low pressure area, we say it is
converging. In the center, since the air cannot go down, it rises, which leads to
clouds and precipitation.
• The same rules apply to a high pressure system. The high pressure center is
surrounded by lower pressure on all sides, so the wind blows directly out from the
center at first

Then, the Coriolis force turns the wind toward its right, causing clockwise
rotation around a high pressure system

Friction makes the wind turn slightly toward lower pressure, which in this case is
out away from the center of the high pressure area.

This makes the wind blow slightly outward from the center of a high pressure.

Diverging air in the center of the high pressure leads to clear skies and no rain.