Weather Flashcards
What is weather?
Weather is local and it appears over a short period of time
What is climate?
Climate is over a large area and it appears over a long period of time
Explain a rain gauge
Measures rain, sleet and snow (mm)
Explain a thermometer
Measures temperature (degrees Celsius)
Explain a Cambell-Stokes sunshine recorder
Measures sunshine
Explain a wind vane
Shows wind direction
How is the weather forecast created?
Satellites gather information and transmit it to weather stations, weather stations around the country (Dublin Airport) gather information, ships and oil rigs gather information at sea and transmit it
What is the Beaufort scale?
It’s a scale where the strength of wind is found by observation
What is relative humidity?
The percentage of moisture held by the air
What factors influence climate?
Latitude, distance from the sea/ocean, prevailing winds and air masses
What is latitude?
Latitude is the angular distance north or south of the equator
Why is the area colder the further away from the equator?
Closer to the poles, rays have a longer distance to pass through the atmosphere. The heat is also distributed over a larger area due to the curved shape of the earth.
At the equator, the sun is high in the sky. It’s rays travel through the atmosphere for a shorter distance and they are concentrated on a smaller surface area of the earth
How does the distance from the sea/ ocean effect climate?
Sea water absorbs heat slowly in the summer and lets it out in the winter.
It therefore moderates the climate of land closer to the sea, cooling it in the summer and warming it in the winter
How do prevailing winds and air masses effect climate?
Winds and air masses can make an area colder, warmer, wetter or drier depending on their origin
How do northerly winds effect climate?
It’s cold because they come from colder, higher altitudes. Generally dry because they move into warmer, lower altitudes
