Climate

Factors that affect our Climate

Weather

• The

day-to-day characteristics

of temperature, rain, cloud cover and wind • Why is it important to know/inquire about weather?

Short term plans (cottage, Canada’s Wonderland, camping)

Climate

• Long-term patterns of weather – e.g. Cool/rainy summers – Mild & dry winters • Why is it important to know about the climate of an area?

– Long term plans (travelling) – Determines where we live, what we wear, what we grow

Factors that affect climate in Canada

• Canada extends for a great distance from north to south • Different elevations produce different climate conditions • Coastal regions have different climate from inland regions • Wind and pressure systems move weather from one part of the country to another

Oct 15 th , 2010

Canada’s Climate

• Canada has 8 climate regions Arctic Taiga Cordilleran Pacific Maritime Boreal Prairie Southeastern Atlantic Maritime

LOWERN

L = Latitude O = Ocean Currents W = Wind E = Elevation R = Relief N = Nearness to Water

L = Latitude:

LOWERN • The distance (north and south) from the equator (0 o ).

• Regions close to the equator are warmer since direct sun’s rays produce more heat. • Latitude determines if a region is hot or cold

O = Ocean Currents

• Ocean currents bring warm or cold water to new places • If the ocean current is warm then it will heat the air above it.

• If the ocean current is cold then it will cool the air above it.

W = Wind:

• Wind moves hot and cold “air masses” to other parts of the world.

•Prevailing winds establish a pattern of weather •Weather moves from West to East across Canada (easterly direction) • If there is no wind, our weather wouldn’t change very much!

LOWERN

W = Wind

• Air pressure – High Pressure = Good Weather – Low Pressure = Bad weather • Jet Stream air found in the atmosphere is a fast flowing, river of

LOWERN

E = Elevation:

• Elevation: refers to the height above sea level.

• The higher up you are the colder it gets

LOWERN

R = Relief:

• Relief: refers to physical features such as mountain ranges (i.e. big difference in elevation).

• Mountains act like a barrier to air masses

N = Nearness to Water:

LOWERN • Region that are close to oceans and large lakes have different climates. • In the summer land and when wind blows, it brings cool air over the land.

 water remains cooler then the •In the winter  water keeps its heat and when wind blows, it bring warm air over the land.

LOWERN Continental and Maritime Climate.

Climates • A region that is close to a large body of water (ocean or large lakes) has a Maritime • A region that is NOT close to a large body of water has a Continental Climate.

LOWERN Continental and Maritime Climates Continental Climate Maritime Climate

Canada’s Weather

October 15, 2010

So, Canada has different Climates because of….

L

= Latitude

O

= Ocean Currents

W

= Wind

E

= Elevation

R

=

N

= Relief Nearness to water

Climate Graphs

A Climate Graph shows the average temperatures and precipitation (rainfall), for each month for a region or city.

A Climate Graph should have…

1. Title of region or city 2. Temperature ( o C) in a red line 3. Precipitation (mm) drawn in blue blocks 4. Months at the bottom 5. Average Annual temperature ( o C) & Total annual precipitation (mm)