Today was one of the worst days for the weather. The sun was up, but it was very cloudy. The temperature was warm, it reached 43 F. All of the snow was soft and really beginning to melt. All of that is fine but for the wind. The wind was blowing at around 26 miles per hour for the first time since I arrived. It’s hard to get good CO2 measurements on a windy day, so Elizabeth decided we would wait. So we spent most of the day around the cabin, working on projects that we now have the parts for since our trip to Fairbanks. I also worked on correcting quizzes that I received on line today. Most of them look pretty good, but I only have one so far that has all of them right!
Today was cloudy and windy and warm, with lots of snow on the ground. Climate or weather?
All of you would understand that I was talking about the weather in the first paragraph. The weather is what the outside temperature, sun, wind, and humidity are doing on a day to day basis. If I asked you to come play Frisbee with me at the beach, you might look out a window to make sure what the weather was like. Should you bring your jacket, or maybe some sunscreen? The weather in an area can change in a short amount of time. We may have rain at school during the week and then we all are at the beach on the weekends because it’s warm and sunny.
The weather is sunny, but the climate tells you that this isn't Huntington Beach!
So what is climate? One way to look at it is that climate is the average weather in a place over many years. While weather can change everyday, climate can take hundreds to millions of years to change. If I said we were going on a trip to Antarctica, you would instantly have an idea about what clothes to pack because you are familiar with the climate there. We may have some sunny nice days by the south pole, but you still need your warm clothes. To find the patterns in climate, you can look at the average temperature and precipitation in an area. You can also consider the amount of sunshine, wind speed and direction, and the number of days the area has freezing temperatures. All of these factors define the climate in an area over time.
Even mountains can affect the climate of an area.
Another factor of climate is geography. The extent and height of mountains in an area can affect the climate. Being near a coast, or large body of water can also have an affect. Also the latitude on the earth that an area is located will give you some ideas to the climate. Anywhere on the Equator is going to have a warmer climate than areas closer to the poles. There is also the altitude to consider when looking at climates.
It's a cool day, but the climate does not include snow!
Does Healy have a different climate than Huntington Beach? Yes it does! HB is closer to the equator and has temperatures that range from the low 40’s to the 90’s throughout the year. We have little rain and lots of sun all year round. Healy, on the other hand it closer to the pole than the equator. The temperatures range from the -40’s to the 80’s. They have little rain but a fair amount of snow for a portion of the year, and the sunlight changes a bunch from the summer to the winter times. It’s no wonder there are different plants and animals living in these areas! They also know the difference in weather and climate.