Weather and Climate Info.

Weather vs. Climate

Weather is the current atmospheric conditions, including temperature, rainfall, wind, and humidity at any given place. If you stand outside, you can tell how hot it is by taking a temperature reading or feel if it is raining or windy, sunny or cloudy. All of these factors make up what we think of as weather. Weather is what is happening right now or likely to happen tomorrow or in the very near future.

Climate, on the other hand, is the general weather conditions. For example, in the winter, we expect it to often be rainy in Portland, Oregon, sunny and mild in Phoenix, Arizona, and very cold and snowy in Buffalo, New York. But it would not be particularly startling to hear of an occasional January day with mild temperatures in Buffalo, rain in Phoenix, or snow in Portland. Meteorologists often point out that "climate is what you expect and weather is what you get." Or, as one middle school student put it, "Climate helps you decide what clothes to buy, weather helps you decide what clothes to wear."

Climate is the overall weather patterns over time in certain regions.

Weather usually refers to the situation at one given time. Climates are different in different locations.

Climate is determined by analyzing yearly charts of surface weather patterns, upper wind patterns, high and low temperatures, and precipitation. There are many areas where topography or the relief of the surrounding area influences what is called "microclimate."

For instance being close to a mountain can make the climate more windy, than a community that lives away from the mountain. Distinguish for students that seasons are caused by the angle of the Sun’s ray caused by the Earth’s tilted axis. The season’s influence the general climate, but mountains, land, and vegetation also exert an influence.