Climate and Weather Weather: The day-to-day characteristics of temperature, rain, cloud cover and wind Climate: Long-term patterns of weather Canada’s Weather … Canada’s Climate • Canada has 8 climate regions Arctic Taiga Cordilleran Pacific Maritime Boreal Prairie Southeastern Atlantic Maritime Canada’s Climate • There are 6 factors that cause Canada’s climate to be diverse (i.e. not the same everywhere). LOWERN L = Latitude O = Ocean Currents W = Wind E = Elevation R = Relief (topography) N = Nearness to Water video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf_aUB byuts video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf_aUB byuts L = Latitude: LOWERN • The distance (north and south) from the equator • Regions close to the equator are warmer since the sun’s direct rays produce more heat. • Latitude determines if a region is hot or cold Without touching the cup or the liquid, where would you place your hand to get some warmth? If the cup slowly moved in the direction of the arrow, what would you need to do with your hand to in order to continue to get some warmth? World Ocean Currents O = Ocean Currents • Ocean currents bring warm or cold water to new places • If the ocean current is warm then it will warm the air above it. • If the ocean current is cold then it will cool the air above it. Have you ever experienced this? Why does this happen? W = Wind: • Wind moves hot and cold “air masses” from one place in the world to another. • If there is no wind, our weather wouldn’t change very much! LOWERN Located very near the equator So why is snow here in Africa? E = Elevation: LOWERN • 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). Vancouver • Mountains act like a barrier to air masses Calgary N = Nearness to Water: LOWERN • Region that are close to Large bodies of water have different climates. • In the spring water remains cooler than the surrounding land and when wind blows, it brings cool air over the land. •In the fall water keeps its heat and when wind blows, it bring warm air over the land. LOWER Continental and Maritime Climates • A region that is close to a large body of water (ocean or large lakes) has a Maritime Climate. • 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 So, Canada has different Climates because of…. L = Latitude O = Ocean Currents W = Wind E = Elevation R = Relief (topography) N = Nearness to water watch this video to review these factors How does climate affect us? 1. A Drought (no rain, very dry period) can destroy crops and soil. 2. Major snow/rain storms can cause major transportation problems 3. Climate affects the vegetation, soil, rocks and wildlife. 4. Climate also affects certain industries in Canada like farming and mining. Climate Graphs A Climate Graph shows the average temperatures and total precipitation for each month for a location. A Climate Graph should have… 1. Title 2. Temperature (oc) in a red line 3. Precipitation (mm) shown in blue bars with 25mm increments 5. Average Annual temperature (oc) & Total annual precipitation (mm) 4. Months at the bottom
