Weather

 

Weather is the condition of the lowest layer of the atmosphere at a particular time and place. Air can be still or moving, hot or cold, wet or dry. We experience the weather in precipitation, wind, temperature, and humidity. PRECIPITATION is any kind of water or ice that falls from the clouds. Examples would include rain, drizzle, freezing rain, sleet, snow, and hail.

The weather is driven by the heat from the sun. Near the equator the sun's rays hit directly. the earth there absorbs a great deal of the sun's energy, and the weather is hot. in polar regions the sun hits at a shallow angle. More of the sun's energy is "bounced" back into space, and the weather is cold.

Air movement from these regions ( the equator and the polar regions) create our weather. The warm air along the equator rises and the cool air from the North and South Poles moves toward the equator. The movement of this warm and cool air and the rotation of the earth cause a global circulation of air. The name for the way the winds swirl and turn around the earth because of its rotation is called the CORIOLIS EFFECT. These moving masses of air warm up and cool down, rise and fall, collide, and carry precipitation. This circulation of air is mainly responsible for the weather conditions around the world.

Click on a link below to learn more about the various aspects of the weather around us.

atmosphere page

clouds

air masses

  air movements

climate

lightning

tornados

hurricanes

  greenhouse effect

   water cycle

  changing world

science of weather

natural disasters links 

  search engine page

 

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