1 Climate and Climate Patterns Free Online FlashCards

What does weather describe?

Weather is the condition of the atmosphere at a particular time and place, described by variables such as temperature, precipitation, humidity, air pressure, and wind.

What does climate describe?

Climate describes the long-term statistical patterns of weather in a place or region, including typical conditions, variation, and the frequency of unusual conditions.

Why can’t one day establish a climate pattern?

Weather can change over minutes, hours, or days. One cold or hot day alone does not establish a place’s climate or a long-term warming trend.

What is a climate normal?

A climate normal is a standard reference calculated from 30 years of weather observations.

What time scales can climate normals describe?

Climate normals can describe daily, monthly, seasonal, or annual conditions, such as an average January low or usual annual precipitation.

What important difference can equal annual averages hide?

Two places can have the same average annual temperature but different seasonal temperature ranges.

Why is a single average an incomplete climate description?

An average does not describe every day or year and can hide unusual wet or dry periods. Climate descriptions may also use ranges, variability, and how often conditions occur.

What is a climate anomaly?

An anomaly is how far an observation differs from a chosen reference average.

What can an anomaly not establish on its own?

An anomaly shows a difference from a reference average; by itself, it does not explain the cause or establish a long-term trend.

What is a climate record?

A climate record is a measured value, such as a highest temperature or greatest daily rainfall, compared with observations in a defined record.

What factors affect a climate record?

A record depends on the location, the length and quality of the observations, and the variable being measured.

Why doesn’t a station record describe a region’s usual climate?

A record from one station or one year should not be treated as a description of an entire region’s usual climate.