Climatology Flashcards
What is the name for the latitudes 30 degrees north and south?
The horse latitudes
What is the name for the ITCZ latitude?
The doldrums
What is the name for the 40 and 50 degree latitudes?
Roaring forties
Furious fifties
Where do you find the tropical rain climate?
Between the equator and 20 degree latitude
Where do you find the dry climate?
Between 20 and 40 degrees latitude
Where do you find the mid latitude climate?
40 to 70 degrees latitude
Where do you find the sub arctic climate?
50 to 70 degrees latitude
Where do you find the snow climate?
70 to 90 degrees latitude
What are the characteristics of the tropical rain climate?
- Highest annual rainfall of any area on earth
- Where tropical rainforests are found
- 2 sub zones - rainforest (0-10 degrees) and savannah (10-20 degrees)
What are the characteristics of the tropical rain forest climate?
- 2 rainy seasons (March and September)
- Temps 25-30 degrees and high humidity
- Convective clouds and heavy rain
- Light surface winds (Doldrums)
What are the characteristics of the savannah climate?
- Equatorial rains in summer
- Dry trade wind conditions
- Average temp above 18 degrees
- Dry and wet seasons
What are the characteristics of the dry climate?
- Little cloud with little or no precipitation
- Huge diurnal temp range with frequent inversions
- 2 sub zones - desert and steppe
What is the difference between the desert and steppe climates?
- Desert has less rain, can go several years without precipitation
- Steppe has slightly more rainfall and produces low growing vegetation
What are the characteristics of the warm temperate zone?
Winter - generally mild and wet (colder inland)
Summer - hot and dry, high pressure systems over the Atlantic predominate
What are the characteristics of the cool temperate zone?
Winter - mild and wet
Summer - cool and dryer
Weather - westerly winds with frequent passage of frontal depression, interspersed with warm temporary anti-cyclones
What are the characteristics of the sub arctic climate?
- Dominated by tundra and permafrost
- Long, dry, cold winter (-20 - -40 degrees)
- Hot summer (temp variations up to 60 degrees)
- Average temperature below 0 degrees for most of the year
What are the characteristics of the snow climate?
- Extreme seasonal variation
- Extremely cold winters
- Periods of constant light and dark
- Little or no precipitation
What’s the monthly rainfall in the tropical rain forest climate?
Between 60mm and 2000mm a month
What’s the annual rainfall for the tropical monsoon climate?
1000mm a year
What is the rainfall for the tropical wet and dry savannah?
Less than 60mm a month, less than 1000mm a year
What are the characteristics of the Hadley cell?
- Air ascends at the equator
- Rising air spreads polewards
- Sinks at about 30 degrees latitude creating sub-tropical highs
- Surface wind moves towards equator
What is the weather at the ITCZ?
Erratic, tropical showers and thunderstorms
What are tropical squall lines?
Groups or clusters of Cu/Cb developments, sometimes part of the equatorial trough
Where would you find the worst weather on an easterly wave?
Convective activity more likely at the rear, eastern side
What triggers a monsoon?
Large land masses heat up during summer causing intense instability - leads to wet monsoon
Opposite occurs in winter to form dry monsoon
What is the Harmattan?
Dry, sand laden wind with severe impact on visibility over north east Africa
What are the characteristics of the wet monsoon in India?
- Starts in June moving up through the country til mid October
- Humid climate and torrential rainfall
What are the characteristics of the dry monsoon in India?
- Between October and April
- Cool dry air with little weather
- Asia around Mongolia and the Himalayas experiences intense cooling
- Are of high pressure in northern India, dry and poor visibility
What is a cold air drop?
- Develops after a cold front has passed
- Cold air aloft (10000-30000ft)
- If cold air lies of warm air, very unstable conditions can develop
- A parcel of cold air sinks into the warm air
