Climate

What is climate?• Climate is the weather pattern over a period

of many years

• Climate is NOT weather. Weather is the condition of the air for a brief amount of time

What kind of weather makes the climate?

There are 5 important conditions of the air….

Temperature

The degree of hotness or coldness of a body or environment

Wind

• :moving air

Sunshine

• :the rays of the sun

Humidity

• :wetness in the atmosphere

Precipitation(rain, hail, sleet, snow)

• :the quantity of water falling to earth at a specific place within a specified period of time

What factors change the climate?

• 1)Latitude: or how far north of the equator the state is located.– Why?!– a) the height of the noonday sun– b) the length of the dayThese two factors determine the

amount of heat received from the sun

Places closer to the equator are hotter.

• 2) Elevation: or how high the land is above sea level– Why?!• Air is usually colder at higher elevations• So high mountains are colder than low deserts

• 3)Distances from the ocean– Why?!– Large bodies of water hold

their temperature longer than land does

– The warm air above a warm ocean drifts over nearby land and warms it!

• Look outside– What would you describe the weather like today?

• What is Utah temperate like?• Is it windy?• How much sunshine does it get?• Is it humid?• How much precipitation year round does it

get?