Weather KO

• Weather


  describes the day to day conditions (right here, right now)
• Climate


  The average weather conditions within a particular area or region in general, for a longer period of time (30yrs)
• How places get warm

  1. Solar Radiation from the sun

  2. The Earth heats up

  3. It also heats the air above it
• What happens as the air rises

  1. It cools

  2. Water Vapour condenses

  3. Clouds form

  4. Precipitation occurs
• How wind is formed


  1. Warm air rises

  2. More air rushes in to replace it
• Precipitation


  Rain, snow, sleet, or hail that falls to or condenses on the ground
• Climate graph


  • Line graph showing monthly temperature and a bar graph showing monthly winds and rain
• Low pressure system


  Strong winds and rain
• Tropical storm


  Strong winds and rain
• Evaporation


  The process of turning from liquid into vapour (gas)
• Relief rainfall


  1. Warm, moist air rises up over mountains

  2. Warm air rises, it cools and condenses to form clouds, which brings rain

  3. Once the air has passed over the mountains, it descends and warms, creating drier conditions known as a rain shadow
• Convectional rainfall


  1. Sun heats the land, creating rising warm air (convection currents)

  2. Warm air rises, cools and condenses to form clouds (cumulonimbus)

  3. Clouds produce heavy rainfall and thunderstorms, creating drier conditions known as a rain shadow
• Frontal rainfall


  1. Warm front meets a cold front

  2. Heavier cold air sinks to the ground and the warm air rises above it

  3. The air rises, cools and condenses to form clouds

  4. The clouds bring heavy rain
• Beaufort scale


  Measures wind speed and direction
• Wind vane


  Measures wind direction
• Anemometer


  Device for measuring wind speed
• Prevailing wind


  A wind that blows predominantly from a single direction
• Altitude


  The height above sea level of a location
• Latitude


  Coordinate that specifies the north–south position of a point on the Earth's surface
• Barometer


  • Measures air pressure
  • A rising barometer means stormy and dry conditions, while a falling barometer means sunny and wet conditions
• High-Level Clouds [20,000-45,000ft]

  • Cirrus (Ci)
  • Cirrostratus (Cs)
  • Cirrocumulus (Cc)
  • Cumulonimbus (Cb)
• Mid-Level Clouds [6,500-20,000ft]

  • Altocumulus (Ac)
  • Altostratus (As)
  • Nimbostratus (Ns)
• Low-Level Clouds [0-6,500ft]

  • Cumulus (Cu)
  • Stratus (St)
  • Stratocumulus (Sc)
• Polar Maritime Air Mass

  • originates from Greenland
  • has wet, cold air brings cold showery weather
• Arctic Maritime Air Mass

  • Originates from Arctic
  • Wet, cold air brings snow in winter
• Polar Continental Air Mass

  • Originates from Central Europe
  • Hot air brings dry summers
  • Cold air brings snow in winter
• Tropical Continental Air Mass

  • Originates from North Africa
  • Hot, dry air brings hot weather in summer
• Tropical Maritime Air Mass

  • Originates from The Atlantic
  • Warm, moist air brings cloud, rain and mild weather
• Returning Polar Maritime

  • Originates from Greenland/Arctic and North Atlantic
  • Moist, mild and unstable air bringing cloud and showers
• Water Cycle


  1. Evaporation

  2. Condensation

  3. Sublimation

  4. Precipitation

  5. Transpiration

  6. Runoff

  7. Infiltration
• Evaporation


  Water at the surface turns into water vapors. Water absorbs heat energy from the sun and turns into vapors. Water bodies like oceans, seas, lakes and rivers are the main source of evaporation. Through evaporation, water moves from hydrosphere to atmosphere. As water evaporates it reduces the temperature of those water bodies.
• Condensation


  As water vaporizes into water vapor, it rises up in the atmosphere. At high altitudes the water vapor changes into very tiny particles of ice /water droplets because of low temperature. These particles come close together and form clouds and fogs in the sky.
• Sublimation


  Ice directly converts into water vapors without converting into liquid water. This phenomenon accelerates when the temperature is low or pressure is high. The main sources of water from sublimation are the ice sheets of the North Pole and the South Pole and the ice caps on the mountains. Sublimation is a rather slower process than evaporation.
• Precipitation


  The clouds (condensed water vapors) then pour down as precipitation due to wind or temperature change. At high altitudes the temperature is low and hence the droplets lose their heat energy. These water droplets fall down as rain, snow, drizzle, sleet and hail. Water enters lithosphere by landing upon the earth.
• Transpiration


  Water absorbed by the soil enters the process of transpiration. Transpiration is a process similar to evaporation where liquid water is turned into water vapor by the plants. The roots of the plants absorb the water and push it toward leaves where it is used for photosynthesis. The extra water is moved out of leaves through stomata (very tiny openings on leaves) as water vapor. Thus water enters the biosphere (plants and animals) and exits into a gaseous phase.
• Runoff


  As the water pours down (in whatever form), it leads to runoff. Runoff is the process where water runs over the surface of earth. When the snow melts into water it also leads to runoff. As water runs over the ground it displaces the top soil with it and moves the minerals along with the stream. This runoff combines to form channels, rivers and ends up into lakes, seas and oceans. Here the water enters the hydrosphere.
• Infiltration


  Any water that doesn't run directly to bodies of water or get quickly evaporated, will be absorbed by plants and soil, where it may be driven deeper to the earth. The water seeps down and increases the level of the ground water table. Underground water tables typically provide pure clean water that is safe to drink. The infiltration is measured as inches of water-soaked by the soil per hour.