Professional Documents
Culture Documents
I) Seasons
A) Earth’s tilt
a) earth is tilted at 23.5 degrees in relation to the sun
(i) this results in some areas getting more direct sun than others at certain times of
the year
b) Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn
(i) these mark the points farthest north and south that the sun hits directly
1 on either side of the equator at 23.5 degrees N and S
II) Weather
A) Difference between weather and climate
a) weather is the condition of the atmosphere in a location at a particular time
b) climate is the pattern of weather in a location over a long period of time
B) Causes
a) daily weather is complex
(i) the sun, for instance, puts out more radiation some days than others
(ii) also
1 water vapor, whether humidity or precipitation
2 cloud cover
3 landforms or bodies of water
4 elevation
5 air movement (wind)
C) Precipitation
a) easily the most recognizable form of weather
b) temperature determines type
(i) warm weather = rain; cold = snow/hail
c) rain shadow effect
(i) when mountains stop clouds from continuing, rain ends up only on one side
1 creates many deserts on one side of the mountains, but lush green lands on the
other
III) Weather Extremes
A) Hurricanes
a) large scale storms that form over warm tropical waters
(i) aka typhoons or cyclones in Asia
b) winds can hit up to 200 mph
c) storm can cover up to 500 miles wide
B) Tornadoes
a) form quickly, and while we know why, we can’t yet predict them
b) small tunnels of wind that reach up to 300 mph
c) typically only last a few minutes and travel a mile or less
C) Blizzards
a) heavy snowstorms with 35 mph wind
b) endanger livestock and anyone caught in it
c) easy to predict, so typically less deadly than tornadoes
D) Droughts
a) long period of time without sufficient rainfall
(i) worst for US was in 1930s in the Great Plains, which were also followed by dust
storms that wiped away the dry soil
(ii) Texas only recently (2014) was considered out of a drought that stretched back to
1998
2- Climate