Weather/Climate

Question 1

What six instruments can be used to record the weather?

Answer 1

• Thermometer
• Sling psychrometer
• Barometer
• Rain gauge
• Wind vane
• Anemometer

Question 2

What is the name given to a person who measures the weather?

Answer 2

Meteorologist

Question 3

What is used measure rain and what is it measured in

Answer 3

Rain gauge
mm

Question 4

What is used measure air temperature and what is it measured in

Answer 4

Thermometer
Degrees Celius oC
Kelvin

Question 5

What is used to measure moisture in the air (relative humidity) and what is it measured in?

Answer 5

Sling psychrometer
Relative Humidity (%)
Dew point (°C or °F)

Question 6

What is used to measure air pressure and what is it measured in?

Answer 6

Barometer
Millibars (mB)

Question 7

What is used to measure wind direction and what is it measured in?

Answer 7

Wind vane
Compass direction e.g. North

Question 8

What is used measure wind speed and what is it measured in

Answer 8

Anemometer
kilometers per hour or knotts

Question 9

What is the difference between weather and climate?

Answer 9

Weather is the conditions at a particular point in time e.g. sunny, raining.
It is only temporary.
Climate describes the typical weather conditions in a region over a long time, it can be over 30 years or more.

Question 10

How is rain formed?

Answer 10

Sun heats the ground and water evaporates (evaporation)
Water vapour rises
As it rises air gets cooler and condenses forming clouds (condensation)
Water vapour droplets bump into each other forming bigger droplets
When these get too heavy they fall as rain.

Question 11

What is precipitation

Answer 11

Falling water
Rain
Snow
Hail

Question 12

What is a weather front?

Answer 12

Boundary between two air masses which have different temperature and humidity

Question 13

What are the 3 most common weather fronts

Answer 13

Warm Front (red circles)
Cold Front (blue triangles)
Occluded Front (purple circles & triangles

Question 14

What is an anticyclone

Answer 14

High pressure
A large zone of air that flows clockwise (in the Northern Hemisphere) and descends

Question 15

What are the 3 types of rain?

Answer 15

Frontal Rain
Relief Rain
Conventional Rain

Question 16

What are the features of an anticyclone

Answer 16

High pressure (cool air is sinking)
 Few clouds due to a lack of condensation
 Nice weather
 Light winds or calm
 Winds blow clockwise around the central high pressure
 Affects the whole country
 Can last up to 5-7 days in summer and 2-3 days in winter
 Summers: hot, sunny, calm, clear skies (heatwave)
 Winters: low temperatures, clear skies, calm, frost or fog

Question 17

What is a depression and how does it develop?

Answer 17

Areas of LOW
pressure
Develop where warm air
meets cold air.

Question 18

What is used measure cloud cover and what is it measured in?

Answer 18

Eyes
Oktas (eights)

Question 19

What are the most common clouds in the UK

Answer 19

Stratus, cumulo-nimbus and cirrus.

Question 20

How is sunshine measured and what is it measured in?

Answer 20

Sunshine recorder
Hours

Question 21

What is visibility a measure of and what is it measured in

Answer 21

A measure of how far we can see.
Metres

Question 22

What is a Microclimate

Answer 22

Microclimate: When a small area has different special climate
conditions to the general surroundings.

Question 23

Name 5 causes of microclimates

Answer 23

Shelter: Places sheltered from the cold winds will be warmer. Wind speed may be reduced and its direction changed.

Surface: Dark surfaces such as tarmac will become warmer than light surfaces like grass.

Physical features: Trees provide shade, while large areas of water (lakes) have a cooling effect. Hilltops are cooler.

Buildings: Buildings give off heat and warm the surrounding environment. This creates a ‘heat island’ around large cities. The buildings also break up the wind or cause it to increase.

Aspect: This is the direction the place is facing. In Britain south facing aspects are warmer and have longer hours of sunshine. This is because the sun rises in the east, passes through the south and sets in the west.

Question 24

Give 5 reasons for temperature differences in the UK

Answer 24

Wind direction: If the wind comes from the north it will be cold coming from polar regions
and if it comes from the south it will be milder/warmer, coming from the tropics. If it comes
from the sea it will be moist.

Ocean Currents: The North Atlantic Drift moves towards Britain and warms the temperature
in the west of the country.

Latitude: in summer the sun warms the south of the country more than the north. Closer to
the equator.

Height: Temperatures are lower in hills and mountains by around 1-degree C for every
100m you increase in height.

Distance from the sea: (continentality) The sea keeps its heat longer than land. Therefore,
in the summer the sea keeps coastal locations cooler and in winter they are milder.

Question 25

Explain Relief Rain

Answer 25

 Warm moist air from the sea moves towards the land
 As the land rises (high ground) the air is forced to rise and cool
 As the air cools, it condenses and forms cloud
 The cloud then rains (Relief rain!)
 As the air passes the mountain it will descend (fall)
 As the air falls the air warms and can hold more moisture
 This will stop the rain
 This area is called the RAIN SHADOW.
Relief rain is quite common in Britain, especially in the west where most of the high land is located.

Question 26

Explain how it rains

Answer 26

The warm sea heats the air above it and this warm
air evaporates moisture from the sea.
 The warm moist air rises and as it does it cools.
 As the air cools it condenses into extremely small
drops of moisture called cloud droplets.
 As more droplets form they can be seen as clouds
in the sky. (it takes billions crowded together to
form a cloud.
 Eventually there are so many droplets in the cloud
that they fall as rain!!

Question 27

Describe Convectional Rain

Answer 27

The sun heats the ground, which then heats the air
above it. This warm moist air rises and cools. When
DEW POINT is reached the condensation happens and
clouds form. These clouds are large and called cumulo-
nimbus. They produce heavy downpours of rain. We
get this type of rain in Britain in the summer.

Question 28

Describe frontal rain

Answer 28

A mass of warm moist air meets a mass of cold air. The
warm air is forced to rise over the cold air and as it
rises it cools. The cool air will condense to form clouds
(nimbo-stratus) and it will rain. The rain is steady and
prolonged. Where two air masses meet is called a
FRONT.