THE CLIMATE AND WEATHER SYSTEMS.pptx

1. THE CLIMATE AND
WEATHER SYSTEMS

2. WEATHER VS. CLIMATE
Weather is what is going on in the atmosphere at a
particular place at a particular time. Weather can
change rapidly.
Climate is the average of a region’s weather over
time. The climate for a particular place is steady, and
changes only very slowly.

3. WEATHER SYSTEMS
Weather systems are simply the movement
of warm and cold air across the globe.
These movements are known as low-
pressure systems and high-pressure
systems.

4. HIGH-PRESSURE SYSTEMS
High-pressure systems are rotating masses of
cool, dry air. High-pressure systems keep
moisture from rising into the atmosphere and
forming clouds. Therefore, they are usually
associated with clear skies.

5. LOW-PRESSURE SYSTEMS
Low-pressure systems are rotating masses
of warm, moist air. They usually bring
storms and high winds.

6. High-pressure and low-pressure systems
continually pass through the mid-latitudes, or
areas of the Earth about halfway between the
Equator and the poles, so weather there is
constantly changing.

7. A weather map is filled with symbols indicating
different types of weather systems. Spirals, for
instance, are cyclones or hurricanes, and thick
lines are fronts. Cyclones have a spiral shape
because they are composed of air that swirls in
a circular pattern.

8. FRONT
A front is a narrow zone across which
temperature, humidity, and wind change
abruptly. A front exists at the boundary
between two air masses. An air mass is a large
volume of air that is mostly the same
temperature and has mostly the same humidity.

9. When a warm air mass moves into the place of
a cold air mass, the boundary between them is
called a warm front. On a weather map, a warm
front is shown as a red band with half-circles
pointing in the direction the air is moving.