8. Weather Elements and Severe Weather

Weather is what is going on in the atmosphere at a particular place at a particular time. Weather can change rapidly. A location’s weather depends on air temperature; air pressure; humidity; cloud cover; precipitation; wind speed and direction. All of these are directly related to the amount of energy that is in the weather system and where that energy is and how it is transferred. The ultimate source of this energy is the sun.

Climate describes the average of a region’s weather patterns over time. The climate for a particular place is steady and changes only very slowly. Climate is determined by many factors, including the angle of the Sun, the likelihood of cloud cover, and air pressure. All of these factors are related to the amount of energy that is found in that location over time.  The standard method to identify a region’s climate is to use data spanning 30 years.

Climate is what we can expect but weather is what we get.