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 variations of temperature,
precipitation, wind, and other weather
variables
3.Give two examples of how climatic data
can be used.
-It can indicate the coldest and warmest
temperatures ever recorded in a location
-It is also used to determine if a certain
location is suitable to occupy whether it
be by companies and or people
4.Why must we exercise caution when using
normals to predict weather?
Normals arent meant to determine exact
weather over a big area but an average
over time in a specific area so the weather
normals predict can be drastically
different than what it actually is
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?
Land takes longer to cool than the ocean
so places that are closest to the ocean
tend to be cooler
7.Describe the relationship between
temperature and altitude.
The higher you go in altitude and which
layer youre in, depends on if the
temperatures increase or decrease
8.Figure 14-3 depicts what effect of
orographic lifting that we discussed last
Friday? (HINT: return to those notes!)
As moist air rises on one side of a
mountain when its raining, on the other
side itll be dry descending air
Section 14.2 Climate Classification
1.Name the system used to classify climates.
What factors does it consider?
Koeppen Classification System- average
monthly values of temperature and
precipitation as well as distinct vegetation
found in different climates
2.List the six main climate types.
Tropical, Dry, Mild, Continental, Polar

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

characteristics.
Mild Climates- warm, muggy summers, and
dry cool winters
4.What is a microclimate? Give an example.
A localized climate that differs from the
main regional climate. Ex.) climbing to the
top of a mountain
5.What is the heat island effect and where
does it occur?
Where concrete and asphalt make areas
warmer in the city than that of rural areas