Funded in part by a grant from the City’s Special Program through the Houston Arts Alliance.

• Solar radiation received at a particular latitude

• Air mass influence

• Location of global high and low pressure zones

• Heat exchange from ocean currents

• Pattern of prevailing winds

• Distribution of mountain barriers

• Altitude

• Distribution of land and sea

Factors that Influence Climate

Climate Cycles that Influence Global Weather Patterns

El Niño

La Niña

Drought

Monsoon

Normal Conditions

• Strong easterly trade winds in the tropical Pacific push surface waters toward the west.

• Waters heat up more as they move toward the western Pacific Ocean because of longer sun exposure.

• Cooler waters off the coast of Peru in the eastern Pacific due to upwelling.

El Niño Conditions

• Weaker easterly trade winds in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean.

• This causes the normal upwelling of the cold water from below the surface to stop and the warm surface water to remain.

Winter temperatures are warmer than normal in the North Central States and

cooler than normal in the Southeast and the Southwest.

Effects of El Niño

Increase in the rainfall across the southern United States from Texas to

Florida.

La Niña Conditions

• Stronger than normal easterly trade winds in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean.

• This causes more upwelling off the western coast of South America resulting in cooler than normal surface water across the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean.

Wetter than normal

conditions across the Pacific

Northwest.

Effects of La Niña

Drier and warmer than normal conditions across much of the

southern United States.

Drought

Causes serious problems such as crop damage and/or water supply

shortages.

A period of abnormally dry weather sufficiently prolonged for the lack of water to cause serious hydrologic imbalance in the affected area.

Monsoon

A period of seasonal winds; strongest on the southern and eastern sides of Asia.

Monsoon climate -- Type of

climate found in regions

subject to monsoons and

characterized by a dry winter

and a wet summer.

Funded in part by a grant from the City’s Initiative Program through the Houston Arts Alliance.

For more information, visit the

INTERACTIVE CLIMATE ZONE

EXHIBIT at The Weather Museum