World Climates

Tropical Wet

• Characteristics– Always hot– rains daily

Tropical Wet and Dry

• Characteristics– Rainy– warm summers – dry, cool winters

Semiarid

• Characteristics– Little precipitation– mild to cold winters (can

snow)– interior of continents

Desert

• Characteristics– Less than 10 inches per

year of precipitation

Mediterranean

• Characteristics– Dry, hot summers– cool, rainy winters…– usually around Med Sea

Marine West Coast

• Characteristics– Cloudy– Damp– precipitation pretty

much year round

Humid Subtropical

• Characteristics– Long summers- heat and

humidity– prone to hurricanes– mild to cool winters

Humid Continental• Characteristics– Great variety in

temperature and precipitation

– all four seasons

Subarctic• Characteristics– Huge temperature

variations– short, cool summers– very cold winters– taiga forests

Tundra

• Characteristics– Little precipitation– permafrost (perm frozen

ground)– cold summer

Ice Cap

• Characteristics– Permanently freezing

temperatures, so cold it rarely snows

– polar desert

Highlands• Characteristics– Varies due to all factors– Cold as elevation

increases

D Tropical Wet

Belem, Brazil

Elev: 42 ft Lat: 01 o 27' S Long: 48 o 29'W

• LACEMOPS– Latitude– warm ocean currents– winds moving air

masses

C Tropical Wet & Dry

Mexico City, Mexico

Elev: 7340 ft Lat: 19 o 26' N Long: 99 o 04'W

• LACEMOPS– Latitude– warm ocean currents– winds moving air

masses

K Semiarid

Phoenix, Az.

Elev: 1107 ft Lat: 33oN Long: 112oW

• LACEMOPS– Continentality– winds moving apart

at horse latitudes – cold ocean currents– mountain barriers

HDesert

Cairo, Egypt

Elev: 381 ft Lat: 29 oN Long: 31 oE

• LACEMOPS– Continentality– winds moving apart

at horse latitudes– cold ocean currents– mountain barriers

EMediterranean

Athens, Greece

Elev: 351 ft Lat: 37 o N Long: 23 o E

• LACEMOPS– Latitude– ocean currents– air masses

F Marine West Coast

London, England

Elev: 149 ft Lat: 51 oN Long: 00 o

• LACEMOPS– Warm winds– cold ocean currents

(storms)– Continentality

(moderates)

L Humid Subtropical

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Elev: 89 ft Lat: 34 o 33' S Long: 58 o 29'W

• LACEMOPS– Latitude – warm ocean

currents meet high pressure with heavy cold air (storms)

J Humid Continental

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Elev: 686 ft Lat: 45 oN Long: 93 oW

• LACEMOPS– Latitude, – continentality (farther

away from water) – air masses chilled by

Arctic ice and snow collide with tropical air masses (storms, tornadoes)

B Subarctic

Arkhangelsk, Russia

Elev: 13 ft Lat: 65° N, Long: 41° W

• LACEMOPS– Latitude– polar winds and cold

air masses– Continentality,

(extreme coldness b/c no water to moderate)

A Tundra

Barrow, Alaska

Elev: 10 ft Lat: 71° N, Long: 157° W

• LACEMOPS– Latitude– polar air masses– cold ocean currents

(dry, little precipitation)

I Ice Cap

Scott Base, Antarctica

Elev: 52 ft Lat: 77 oS Long: 166 oE

• LACEMOPS– Latitude– polar air masses– cold ocean currents

(dry, little precipitation)

G Highlands

La Paz, Bolivia

Elev: 11,975 ft Lat: 17oS Long: 68oW

• LACEMOPS– Elevation– Latitude– Winds– ocean currents (dry or wet)