Climate and Weather

Types of Weather

People commonly discuss weather as a topic while making small talk. Our day-to-day experiences are affected by weather. Weather has had an impact on history and has an impact on life today. Weather changes as a result of differing causes. Atmospheric currents, ocean currents, seasonal variation, location, and possibly even human activities, all have an impact on the weather. How is weather different from climate? Climate is the overall trend of weather patterns, over time, in a given region; whereas weather is the current atmospheric status in a given region. Or in other words, weather is what is happening now and climate is better defined as what happens throughout the year.

Climate ranges from hot to cold and from dry to wet depending upon your location on Earth. Climate trends stay relatively predictable. For example, in the Central San Joaquin Valley we experience hot dry summers, yet our winters are typically characterized with cold, wet, and most often foggy weather. Climate zones are found all over the Earth. Climate zones, however, do not always indicate extreme weather patterns.

Extreme weather happens on Earth everyday. Tornadoes commonly occur over the Midwestern United States; whereas Tropical Cyclones threaten the Eastern United States annually. Southeast Asia typically struggles with extreme tropical weather patterns, yet East Central Africa is currently experiencing severe drought conditions. Below are some examples of extreme weather and their causes.

Tornadoes are caused by a mixture of warm moist air and cool dry air. These types of air masses collide and create supercell thunderstorms. These powerful weather systems are the fuel which gives tornadoes their destructive power. 95% of the tornadoes on Earth happen here in the United States. The cool dry air sweeping down from the Canadian Rockies combines with the warm moist air from the Gulf of Mexico causing extreme weather patterns every year over the United States.

Are we at risk for a Tornado?

Tropical Cyclones, most often called Hurricanes, form all across the mid latitudes over the oceans. Warm ocean currents give strength to tropical atmospheric depressions giving birth to rotating storms up to 700 miles wide. These storms cause billions of dollars in damage every year across the globe. Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of New Orleans and more recently, Super Storm Sandy, a combination of a tropical cyclone and a nor'easter, wreaked havoc upon the North Eastern coast of the United States.  

Tropical Cyclone over the Gulf of Mexico

Tropical Cyclone Tracks; Notice the movement away from the Equator.