Weather and Climate

Question 1

What is weather?

Answer 1

The day-to-day changes in the conditions of the atmosphere - the elements of weather.

Question 2

What is climate?

Answer 2

The average conditions of the weather taken over a long period of time, usually 35 years.

Question 3

Measuring elements of weather.

Answer 3

Temperature - Digital thermometer (degrees centigrade, oC)
Precipitation - Rain gauge (millimetres, mm)
Wind speed - Anemometer (knots or kilometres per hour, kph or km/h)
Wind direction - Wind vane (8 compass points)
Pressure - Barometer (millibars, mb)

Question 4

How do you measure precipitation?

Answer 4

Rain gauge placed in open. Read level of water in measuring cylinder at same time each day. Then empty and reposition to record rainfall over next 24 hours.

Question 5

How do you measure temperature?

Answer 5

Read bottom of each marker of max and min thermometer, the use magnet to reset markers to top of mercury. Keep in Stevenson Screen so it is shaded but air can reach it.

Digital thermometer uses simple temp sensor and displays temp digitally.

Question 6

How do you measure wind speed?

Answer 6

Anemometer has small cups which spin round as they catch the wind. Most have digital readouts which tell wind speed. Kept high up so nothing can shelter it from wind.

Question 7

How do you measure wind direction?

Answer 7

On wind vane, arrow points to where wind is coming from. Kept up high, shush as on high roof, so nothing can shelter it from wind.

Question 8

How do you measure cloud cover?

Answer 8

Look at sky and estimate how many eights (oktas) of sky are covered in cloud.

Question 9

How do you measure cloud type?

Answer 9

Look at sky and identify those of cloud - you should be able to recognise cumulus, cumulonimbus, cirrus and stratus.

Question 10

How do you measure atmospheric pressure?

Answer 10

Read needle on barometer. There may be a second needle - this can be set to show what pressure was at what time, and main needle shows how pressure has changed.

Question 11

What are the 4 types of clouds?

Answer 11

Cirrus, cumulus, cumulonimbus and stratus.

Question 12

Characteristics of cirrus clouds.

Answer 12

Whitest, highest, tiny white crystals, wispy.

Question 13

Characteristics of cumulus clouds.

Answer 13

Low, cotton wool or like cauliflower, flat base, white, small.

Question 14

Characteristics of cumulonimbus clouds.

Answer 14

Thunder and lightning, ‘the kings of the clouds’, base often low but may be as high as 10km.

Question 15

Characteristics of stratus clouds.

Answer 15

Light grey, sheets, cover all or part of sky, fine water droplets, become larger, very low.

Question 16

What are the 4 sources of data for weather forecasting?

Answer 16

Weather buoys, satellites, rainfall radar and land-based weather stations.

Question 17

How do weather buoys collect data?

Answer 17

Fixed or drifting in sea, use digital instruments to record weather and transmit information to a computer.

Question 18

How do satellites collect data?

Answer 18

Monitor the Earth from space and record data such as pictures of clouds, and wind speed and direction.

Geostationary satellites stay above one place over Earth at all times.

Polar satellites travel around Earth about 14 times a day.

Question 19

How do rainfall radars collect data?

Answer 19

Uses electromagnetic waves to measure where rain is happening and how heavy it is at that time and it is then shown on a map.

Question 20

How do land-based weather stations collect data?

Answer 20

Every 3 hours record all elements of weather discussed in last section. Over 10,000 across the world.

Question 21

How do Doppler Radars collect data?

Answer 21

Quantity of reflected energy is related to some properties of precipitation, such as particle shape and size and their amount per unit volume. The intenser that the reflected wave is, the stronger the precipitation.

Question 22

Name the 4 factors that affect climate?

Answer 22

Latitude, prevailing winds, distance from sea and altitude.

Question 23

What is latitude?

Answer 23

How far north or south of equator a place is.

Question 24

How does latitude affect climate?

Answer 24

The further from the equator you the same amount of solar radiation is spread out over a larger area and is less concentrated, so does not heat up as much.

Also it has more chance of being absorbed or reflected by gas, water vapour, dust or ash, etc. It has less chance of reaching surface.

Question 25

What are prevailing winds?

Answer 25

The most common direction the wind blows from.

Question 26

How does prevailing winds affect climate?

Answer 26

Warm place - If wind blows from warm place, it brings warm air.
Cold place - If wind blows from cold place, it brings cold air.
Sea - Picks up water and brings rain.
Land - Will be dry.

Question 27

What is distance from sea?

Answer 27

How far a place is from the sea.

Question 28

How does distance from sea affect climate?

Answer 28

Winter - Land loses heat faster than sea, so close to sea is kept warmer while far from sea can get very cold.
Summer - Land heats up faster than sea, so close to sea is kept cool, while far from sea can get very hot.

Question 29

What is altitude.

Answer 29

How high the land is above sea level.

Question 30

How does altitude affect climate?

Answer 30

Higher up a mountain it gets colder (1oC every 100m). As sun heats ground which heats air. Less ground higher to heat air and air is lower pressure, so spreads out more and loses heat.

Question 31

What is an air mass?

Answer 31

A large body of air with similar temp and moisture characteristics way through it.

Question 32

Name 4 types of air masses

Answer 32

Polar maritime, polar continental, tropical maritime and tropical continental.

Question 33

Describe the characteristics of a tropical maritime air mass.

Answer 33

South-westerly.
Picks up moisture from sea and so brings wet weather.
Mild and wet in winter, warm and rainy in summer.

Question 34

Describe the characteristics of a tropical continental air mass.

Answer 34

South-easterly.
Dry because it forms over land surfaces.
Mild and dry in winter, hot and dry in summer. More common in summer, can create heatwave conditions.

Question 35

Describe the characteristics of a polar maritime air mass.

Answer 35

North-westerly.
Wet because it picks up moisture as it travels over Arctic or North Atlantic Ocean.
Cold and wet in winter, cool and damp in summer,p. Rarely experienced outside winter months.

Question 36

Describe the characteristics of a polar continental air mass.

Answer 36

North-easterly.
Dry as comes over Northern Asia, a landmass.
Cold and dry in winter, hot and dry in summer. Mainly affects British Isles during winter half of year.

Question 37

Describe a depression.

Answer 37

As warm front approaches, temp drops due to polar maritime air moving in. Close to the warm there will be rain and drizzle as warm air is being forced to rise due to fall in pressure.

As warm front passes over, temp increases in warm tropical air from tropical maritime air in warm sector. Drizzle replaced by steady rain as cold front causes air to rise.

At cold front, temp falls as polar maritime winds blow in. Cold air from air mass undercut warm air and force it quickly upwards, potentially causing heavy thunderstorms and rain showers.

Question 38

What are anticyclones?

Answer 38

Systems of high pressure.

Question 39

Describe an anticyclone.

Answer 39

In centre air is sinking slowly and swirls in clockwise direction and spreads out at surface. Sinking air is compressed and warms up as it nears ground; air can hold more water vapour without condensation taking place and so clouds do not form and less likely to rain. Associated with dry, bright weather.

Question 40

Describe the characteristics of an anticyclone.

Answer 40

Slow wind speeds as isobars spaced well apart so pressure gradient is gentle. Even calm conditions with no wind in centre of high pressure.

Has no fronts and loves very slowly so weather conditions do not change much as it passes over.

Question 41

Describe summer anticyclones.

Answer 41

Long summer days and high sun in sky.
High temp over 25oC.
Under blocking anticyclone, May produce heatwave.

Question 42

What are synoptic charts?

Answer 42

Maps which summarise the weather conditions at a particular point in time for an area.
Record weather using set of symbols.
Show fronts of depression and variation in pressure of air using isobars.

Question 43

What is the range of a weather forecast?

Answer 43

How far ahead the weather predictions are in time.
Accuracy is how successful/reliable weather predictions prove to be.

Question 44

Who are the people who use weather forecasts?

Answer 44

Transport operators.
Farmers.
Cyclists.
Sport players.
Sailors.
Hospital managers.
Event organisers.

Question 45

Describe the facts of Typhoon Haiyan.

Answer 45

Locally called Typhoon Yolanda.
Reached the Philippines on 8 November 2013.
Category 5 hurricane - the strongest - winds of 147mph.
Storm surge 25m high.

Question 46

What are the impacts on people of Typhoon Haiyan?

Answer 46

6,190 people killed.
1,785 people missing.
Seed stocks destroyed, food shortages for 2.5 million people.
Loss of life due to cholera and dysentery spreading through contaminated water supplies.
Electricity cut off - city of Bogo no electricity for several weeks.
371,000 people in evacuation camps, couldn’t withstand strong winds.

Question 47

What are the impacts on property of Typhoon Haiyan?

Answer 47

5 million people lost homes.
90% buildings destroyed over 800km radius.
10,390 schools destroyed.
Main terminal at Tacloban airport destroyed by 5.2 storm surge.
New town hall in Bogo lost roof, windows broken and some walls collapsed.
Stadium in Tacloban withstood strong winds but was flooded and people sheltering in it were killed.