EUROPES WEATHER AND CLIMATE

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What is weather?
Weather consists of four elements:
-temperature
-precipitation (e.g. rainfall, snow, hail)
-cloud
-wind
There are some instruments to measure the weather accurately:
-Anemometer: measures wind speed
-Weather vane: measures wind direction

Often together in one instrument

-Thermometer: measures shade temperature

-Hygrometer: measures humidity

Together in Stevenson Screen

-Sunshine recorder: measures the hours the sun shines

-Barometer: measures air pressure in millibars
-Rain gauge: measures rainfall in millimetres

How and why does the sky change?

There are different types of rain:

Relief rainfall:
Winds blow over sea pick up moisture air reaches high land and rises
the water vapour condenses, forming clouds and rain
Convectional rainfall:
Sun heats ground which heats air above warm air rises and cools
moisture condenses, forming clouds and rain
Frontal rainfall:
Warm front and cold front meet cold front pushes warm front up warm air
cools moisture condenses, forming clouds and rain

Feeling the pressure?

Air presses down on Earths surface, creating air pressure.
Low pressure = warm air rising brings clouds and rain
High pressure = cool air sinking brings clear skies and dry weather
Anticyclones are areas of high pressure with light wind, clear skies, heatwaves in
summer and cold/frosty weather in winter

Why does the weather change?

Maritime = from the sea
The atmosphere is made up of blocks of air
Continental = from the land
There are five types of blocks of air:
-Arctic Maritime: very cold, brings rain/hail
-Polar Maritime: cold air, rain
-Polar Continental: very cold (in winter) but mostly dry
-Tropical Maritime: warm moist air
-Tropical Continental: Hot, dry, dusty in summer
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Satellites help forecast the weather

Satellites float in space make picture of earth weather aspects are visible
Infrared image = black areas no clouds
the whiter the area, the denser the cloud

Europes climates
(learn map in book pg. 42)
Three are five climates in Europe:
-

West Coast Maritime

mild winters/cool summers/rain all year
Mediterranean
mild wet winters/hot dry summers
Alpine mountain
cold winters with snow/warm summers with showers
Continental
cold dry winters/hot damp summers
Tundra
cold all year/little rain

Different climates excist because:

Latitude: the further from the equator, the colder

The effect of land and sea: in summer, sea cools land/in winter, sea warms
land
Altitude: the higher, the colder
Wind: winds that have blown over land = dry
winds that have blown over sea = wet
Sea currents: currents from warm seas warm land,
currents from cold seas cool land

How does the climate affect us?

The climate can affect e.g.:

The clothing we wear

The food we eat
Where we go on holiday
Etc.