weather

• Weather is the temporary state of the atmosphere
• climate is the long term atmospheric characteristics of a specified area.
• low atmospheric pressure brings cyclones, rainy and stormy weather
• High atmospheric/air pressure brings an anticyclone(fair weather, blue skies, heat)
• Stratus clouds are formed in layers
• stratus clouds are low altitude layered clouds
• Fair weather, blue skies and heat are associated with?

  anticyclones/ high pressure systems
• clouds with nimbus in their name means bad weather
• cumulonimbus clouds are dark, puffy and produce torrential rain
• updraughts in lower atmosphere form cumulus clouds.
• cirrus clouds are wispy, thin and are formed in the upper atmosphere
• a rising current of air is called an updraught
• in areas with low atmospheric pressure updraughts are common
• clouds are formed from condensation
• an anemometer measures wind speed.
• wind speeds are measured in revolutions.
• the wind sock tells wind direction.
• humidity is the amount of moisture in the air.
• absolute humidity measures the amount of water in the air.
• relative humidity compares humidity with what the air can hold at a given temperature
• the difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures is known as the diurnal temperature range.
• The annual temperature range is the difference between the warmest month temperature and coldest month temperature
• In meteorological terms an isobar is a line that connects places with same air pressure.
• precipitation are what falls from clouds.
• types of precipitation are

  • hail
  • snow
  • sleet
  • rain
  • acid rain
• acid rain is contaminated rain.
• orographic rain is the type of rain that is formed between sea and mountains.
• convectional rain is described as rain formed over a flat surface.
• frontal rain is described as rain formed between fronts(warm & cold)
• causes of acid rain are burning fossil (man-made) and volcanic eruptions (natural)
• There are five Caribbean weather systems:

  • hurricanes
  • cold fronts
  • Inter tropical convergent zones
  • high pressure systems
  • easterly waves.
• A front is an area where two masses of air of different temperatures meet.
• cold fronts affect the Caribbean's greater antilles
• Hurricanes are very strong low pressure systems that blow in anti clockwise directions.
• Conditions that make it possible form hurricanes to form are:

  • coriolis effect
  • trade winds
  • warm waters
• bodies of water where hurricanes form:

  • Caribbean Sea
  • Gulf of Mexico
  • Pacific Ocean
  • Atlantic ocean
• An ITCZ is an elongated area of low pressure lying east to west across the equator.
• ITCZ affects Guyana & Trinidad
• Easterly waves are weak low pressure systems with no closed centers
• Easterly waves affect most of the Caribbean except for Guyana and Trinidad.