Weather and Climate
     
  Weather Climate
Definition The condition of the atmosphere at any particular time and place. The averaged weather in terms of mean and other statistical quantities (higher order moments), that measure variability over a period of time and over a geographical region (space).
Elements wind, temperature, humidity, visibility, atmospheric pressure, cloudiness, and precipitation. The same as shown in the left column.
Characteristics Always changing, exhibiting large fluctuations in the atmosphere from hour-to-hour or day-to-day Over the period where you do the average, climate does not change. But looking at a really long period of time, climate may change from one sub-period to another.
     
Examples If on a day in July, you are asked, "What's the weather been like in Austin?" you might answer, "Today it's clear and cool, but yesterday was wet and hot." "What's the climate like during the summer in Austin?" it would be correct to answer, "In the summer it's hot and humid."
     
Some meteorologists say that "climate is what you expect and weather is what you get." According to one middle school student, "climate tells you what clothes to buy, but weather tells you what clothes to wear."
 
Additional Readings:
 
Definitions of Weather Elements
  • air temperature - the degree of hotness or coldness of the air
  • air pressure - the force of the air above an area
  • humidity - a measure of the amount of water vapor in the air
  • clouds - a visible mass of tiny water droplets and/or ice crystals that are above the earth's surface
  • precipitation - any form of water, either liquid or solid (rain or snow), that falls from clouds and reaches the ground
  • visibility - the greatest distance one can see
  • wind - the horizontal movement of air
Weather, Climate, and Paleoclimatology

Observations of Extratropical Variability (by Jim Hurrell)

More Explanations about Weather and Climate.
 
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Last updated on 01/05/10 03:25 PM by Zong-Liang Yang