Earth Sciences: Weather vs. Climate

Earth Sciences: Weather vs. Climate

Weather and climate are often used interchangeably but are actually different things. Let's learn the similarities and differences.

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson seems to have done it all. He was our third president. He wrote the Declaration of Independence. He designed the University of Virginia. He helped create the Bill of Rights. He organized the Lewis and Clark expedition to the Pacific Northwest.

Thomas Jefferson

But did you know that he was also one of the first climatologists? Jefferson loved science and technology and had a keen interest in weather data. He kept detailed records of hourly and daily temperatures, described differences in wind patterns between inland areas and the coast, and understood changes in the Virginia climate due to land clearing.

Multiple Choice

One reason that Thomas Jefferson is an important figure is because he:

• Was one of the first climatologists.

• Was the first to define the terms weather and climate.

• Invented the thermometer.

• Was the first to record scientific data in a journal.

Weather

Weather is short-term atmospheric conditions like temperature, air pressure, wind and humidity. Weather occurs in minutes, hours and days.

Climate

If you look at trends in long-term atmospheric conditions, this is the climate. Climate data examines the same factors as weather but is an average of the weather conditions over seasons, years, decades and more.

Weather and Climate are related

As you can see, though weather and climate describe different things, they depend on each other to have any sort of meaning. Think about it this way: the weather is like short-term climate, and the climate is like long-term weather. The specific weather of any area depends on the climate, and the climate is the average weather conditions for that area.

For example, if you were going to vacation in the tropics, you might expect high temperatures, lots of sunshine, afternoon thunderstorms and high humidity. This is the tropical climate. However, you would still want to know what the conditions of each specific day of your trip are going to be, and that's the weather.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following statements is true about climate?

• It is measured on the scale of seasons, years, and decades.

• It refers to long-term atmospheric conditions.

• It is an average of the daily weather conditions.

• All answers are correct.

Multiple Choice

Your family has decided to vacation in Europe during the early fall. If you wanted to know the climate during that time of year, which of the following data would you NOT want to use?

• Annual data

• Seasonal data

• Monthly data

• Hourly data

Multiple Choice

Which of the following statements is NOT true about weather?

• It describes average atmospheric conditions over long periods of time.

• It is related to climate.

• It is on the scale of minutes, hours, and days.

• It is short-term atmospheric conditions.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is true about weather and climate?

• Climate reflects average weather conditions.

• Weather is not related to climate.

• Climate does not depend on weather.

• The terms can be used interchangeably.