Much of the information in this

Power Point came from Linda Hammon.

The Factors the Affect Climate:

L.A.C.E. M.O.P.S.

• Rotation/1 day takes the earth 24 hours (1 day) to make one complete rotation on it’s AXIS.

• Revolution/1 year Takes the earth 365 ¼ days (1 year) to make one complete revolution around the SUN

• Weather – The DAILY condition of the atmosphere.

• Climate – Weather conditions over TIME.

• Precipitation – Moisture that falls from the sky: rain, snow, sleet, & hail.

Terms to Know Fold your paper in half 3 times to create 8 boxes

necessary to record the information in this lesson. Use one side record each of these vocab terms &

definitions.

How to Read a Climograph

Months of the year.

Look at the title to see what location’s climate is being described by the graph.

Average precipitation by month.

Line Graph = avg

temperature for each month.

Forces that create the climate of a certain location: LACEMOPS.

Place one of each of these letters in your boxes created by folding the manilla paper.

L A C E

M O P S

L = Latitude Distance from the equator is one of the most

important factors in determining climate.

LOW

MIDDLE

HIGH

MIDDLE

HIGH

High: Polar climates. One Season: COLDMiddle: Temperate Climates4 Seasons: Winter, Summer, Spring, FallLow: Tropical Climates2 Seasons: Rainy, Dry

Zones of Latitude

Tropical Wet & Dry Location

Humid Subtropical

Location

Take a moment to compare the temperatures of Mangalore & Memphis.

Which one do you think is closer to the equator? Why?

Climate A Climate B

Study the two climographs below.

• Can you pick out the one that depicts a tropical climate? How do you know?

• Bonus Question: Is it a tropical wet or a tropical wet and dry climate? How do you know?

A is for Air Masses

Air Masses• Northern hemisphere = • cold air from the polar

regions comes from the north

• hot air from the tropics comes from the south.

• Southern hemisphere = • cold air from the polar

region comes from the south

• hot air from the tropics comes from the north.

Why is the direction that cold air comes from flip flopped in the

Northern and Southern Hemispheres?

C is for Continentality

ContinentalityThe effect of a location on a continent

• Why is there so little difference between summer and winter along the coast of California?

It takes the ocean a long time to heat & cool!Wind blowing off of water moderates coastal

areas.• What is the difference between summer

& winter in Kansas? BIG difference in seasons in Kansas…why?

Land heats & cools quickly!!

• Close to large body of water = smaller difference in temperature

• Farther away from water = greater difference in temperature.

Continentality: How Does It Affect Climate?

Remember: continentality is the effect of location on a continent on the climate of a place. Inland locations

typically have larger temperature ranges and (possibly) drier conditions than maritime locations.

Compare these two locations. Which one is further inland? How can you tell?

E is for Elevation

ELEVATION• The higher you go, the colder it gets. • As you go up in elevation, the air gets thinner

and does not trap heat. • Are there glaciers on the equator??

Remember: elevation affects climate and climate affects the type of vegetation.

Elevation

Elevation affects the type of natural vegetation & crops that grow in a

region.

In this photo, you can see the tree line-the highest point on a mountain

that trees can survive.

M is for Mountain Barriers

MOUNTAIN BARRIERS (aka the Orographic Effect or the Rain Shadow Effect)

• Winds blow across the ocean & push moisture inland. • Moisture cloud reaches the mountains, gets “popped”

by the mountain top & rains on the coastal side • By the time this cloud reaches the other side of the

mountains, the air is dry. What very dry state do you find East of the Sierra Nevada

Mts??

Mountain Barriers: Rain Shadow

O is for Ocean Currents

OCEAN CURRENTS• The UK & Europe are on the same line of latitude as Canada. • Do they experience the same climate? • North Atlantic Drift = warm current that flows up from the equator &

and keeps Europe warmer than it should be at that latitude

Ocean Currents• Cold currents create dry conditions on the

coast. • Warm currents create wet conditions on the

coast.

Ocean Currents

Physical Map of Africa

Using both maps above, how do you explain the existence of the desert

region of southwestern Africa?

P is for Pressure and Prevailing Winds

High Pressure =H Heavy, cool air, brings clear skies and no rain.

Low Pressure =L Light, warm air, usually brings precipitation

Pressure

Earth’s winds would blow in straight lines,

but since the earth rotates they are

turned at an angle. In the northern

hemisphere, they turn to the right. In

the southern hemisphere they turn

to the left. This bending of the wind is called the Coriolis

Effect.

Wind and the Coriolis Effect

Cyclonic storms (hurricanes & typhoons)

Northern Hemisphere spin counter-clockwise.

Southern Hemisphere cyclones spin clockwise.

Northern Hemisphere

Southern Hemisphere

What relationship can you detect between the diagram and the map of the world’s

major deserts? HINT: Think high pressure vs. low pressure.

S is for Storms

Storms• Storms occur where ….• polar winds meet westerlies• when hot & cold air masses collide

Tropical Storm

Cat. 5 Hurricane

TornadoCyclone

Storm Tracks

• L atitude• A ir Masses• C ontinentality• E levation• M ountain Barriers• O cean Currents• P ressure & Prevailing Winds

• S torms

This acronym was .introduced by: Dr. James Petersen – Texas State University – San Marcos, TX, 1990.