CLIMATE & WEATHER

Review: Give each of the following clouds a name. (Click on

picture toview answer).

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Cumulonimbus clouds are a sure sign of bad weather to come--at least bad if you don't like rain and hail! These clouds grow on hot days when warm, wet air rises very high into the sky.

Cirrus clouds are ice clouds. They can look like delicate white feathers or streamers. They are always more than three miles up where the temperature is below freezing, even in summer. Wind currents twist and spread the ice crystals into wispy strands.

Cumulus clouds are the fluffy, white cotton ball or cauliflower-looking clouds with sharp outlines. They are "fair weather clouds" and are fun to watch as they grow and change in shape and size.

Stratus clouds often look like thin, white sheets covering the whole sky. Since they are so thin, they seldom produce much rain or snow.

Words to know in the lesson: Climate Temperature Precipitation Wind Weather

Climate – What is it?

The average weather of an area, usually taken over a 30 year period, for a particular place and time.

Climate is not the same as weather, but rather, it is the average pattern of weather for a particular region.

Temperature – What is it?

Degree of warmth or coolness of the air.

The degree of hotness or coldness of a substance or the atmosphere as measured by a thermometer.

Precipitation – What is it? The part of the water cycle in which the

water vapor in the atmosphere falls to Earth as rain, hail, snow, or other forms of moisture.

Wind – What is it? Air that moves in relation to the earth’s

surface, generally horizontally. There are four areas of wind that are

measured: direction, speed, character (gusts and squalls), and shifts.

Weather – What is it? The specific condition of the

atmosphere at a particular place and time. It is measured in terms of such things as wind, temperature, humidity. Weather is not the same as climate.