Name: _________________________________________ Date: ________________
Climate Depends On What??
Introduction: The state of the atmosphere continually changes over time in response to the
uneven distribution of the energy in the atmosphere. The short-term changes in temperature and
humidity are fundamental controls of weather, and their long-term averages are called climate.
Since climate is averaged weather, we must take a look at the average temperature and average
humidity (precipitation) in a particular region.
There are large variations in average monthly temperature among cities located at the same
latitude. This suggests that factors, besides the angle of insolation and duration of insolation,
affect the rate (speed) of heating and cooling of any given location. Climographs which show the
average monthly temperature and precipitation of various locations can be used to compare these
rates.
Objectives: At the end of this activity, you should be able to determine factors that influence
climate.
Procedure:
1. There are 4 pairs of climate data. Each pair shows a different factor that can influence
climate.
2. The cities are plotted on the map on the back page.
Factor
Factor
Factor
Factor
1
2
3
4
-
Eureka, California and Lincoln, Nebraska
Dallas, Texas and Fargo, North Dakota
Los Angeles, California and Savannah, Georgia
Lake Tahoe, California and Reno, Nevada
3. Create a climograph for each city. Use line graphs for temperature and bar graphs for
precipitation. Make sure each climograph is titled and labeled correctly.
4. Answer the questions to see if you can determine the primary factor that influences
those cities climates.
5. Answer the conclusion.
1
Factor 1:
Eureka, California
Elevation: 10 feet
Latitude: 40o 49’N
Longitude 124o 134’W
Average Monthly Temperature
Jan
Feb
Mar
o
F
47.3
48.9
49.2
Apr
50.7
May
53.6
Jun
56.3
Jul
58.1
Aug
58.7
Sep
57.4
Oct
54.5
Nov
51.0
Dec
47.9
Average Monthly Precipitation
Jan
Feb
Mar
in
5.97
5.51
5.55
Apr
2.91
May
1.62
Jun
0.65
Jul
0.16
Aug
0.38
Sep
0.86
Oct
2.36
Nov
5.78
Dec
6.35
Lincoln, Nebraska
Elevation: 1184 feet
Latitude: 40o 86’N
Longitude 96o 75’W
Average Monthly Temperature
Jan
Feb
Mar
o
F
22.0
28.2
39.0
Apr
51.3
May
62.0
Jun
73.5
Jul
78.0
Aug
75.0
Sep
66.0
Oct
53.4
Nov
37.8
Dec
26.8
Average Monthly Precipitation
Jan
Feb
Mar
in
0.67
0.66
2.21
Apr
2.90
May
4.23
Jun
3.51
Jul
3.54
Aug
3.35
Sep
2.92
Oct
1.94
Nov
1.58
Dec
0.86
2
Factor 2
Dallas, Texas
Elevation: 440 feet
Latitude: 32o 51’N
Longitude 96o 51’W
Average Monthly Temperature
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
o
F
45.9 51.0 58.8 66.3
May
74.4
Jun
82.2
Jul
86.5
Aug
86.1
Sep
78.9
Oct
68.4
Nov
56.4
Dec
48.0
Average Monthly Precipitation
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
in
1.89 2.31 3.13 3.46
May
5.30
Jun
3.92
Jul
2.43
Aug
2.17
Sep
2.65
Oct
4.65
Nov
2.61
Dec
2.53
Fargo, North Dakota
Elevation: 900 feet
Latitude: 46o 56’N
Longitude 96o 49’W
Average Monthly Temperature
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
o
F
6.8
14.1 27.2 32.4
May
46.3
Jun
54.5
Jul
59.0
Aug
57.0
Sep
46.1
Oct
34.4
Nov
18.7
Dec
4.2
Average Monthly Precipitation
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
in
0.76 0.59 1.17 1.37
May
2.61
Jun
3.51
Jul
2.88
Aug
2.52
Sep
2.18
Oct
1.97
Nov
1.06
Dec
0.57
3
Factor 3
Los Angeles, California
Elevation: 100 feet
Latitude: 33o 56’N
Longitude 118o 24’W
Average Monthly Temperature
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
o
F
57.1 58.0 58.3 60.8
May
63.1
Jun
66.4
Jul
69.3
Aug
70.7
Sep
70.1
Oct
66.9
Nov
61.6
Dec
57.6
Average Monthly Precipitation
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
in
2.98 3.11 2.40 0.63
May
0.24
Jun
0.08
Jul
0.03
Aug
0.14
Sep
0.26
Oct
0.36
Nov
1.13
Dec
1.79
Savannah, Georgia
Elevation: 46 feet
Latitude: 32o 07’N
Longitude 81o 45’W
Average Monthly Temperature
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
o
F
49.2 52.5 59.3 65.3
May
72.8
Jun
82.1
Jul
80.8
Aug
80.8
Sep
76.7
Oct
67.1
Nov
58.7
Dec
51.4
Average Monthly Precipitation
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
in
3.95 2.92 3.64 3.32
May
3.61
Jun
5.49
Jul
6.04
Aug
7.20
Sep
5.08
Oct
3.12
Nov
2.40
Dec
2.81
4
Factor 4
Lake Tahoe, California
Elevation: 6291 feet
Latitude: 38o 94’N
Longitude 119o 99’W
Average Monthly Temperature
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
o
F
28.0 29.5 34.0 39.5
May
46.5
Jun
53.5
Jul
59.5
Aug
58.5
Sep
52.5
Oct
44.0
Nov
34.5
Dec
28.0
Average Monthly Precipitation
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
in
6.02 5.40 4.08 2.13
May
1.20
Jun
0.68
Jul
0.25
Aug
0.32
Sep
0.61
Oct
1.81
Nov
3.69
Dec
5.69
Reno, Nevada
Elevation: 4599 feet
Latitude: 39o 52’N
Longitude 119o 81’W
Average Monthly Temperature
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
o
F
33.7 38.6 43.3 48.7
May
56.4
Jun
64.7
Jul
71.3
Aug
69.9
Sep
62.4
Oct
52.0
Nov
40.9
Dec
33.6
Average Monthly Precipitation
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
in
1.06 1.06 0.86 0.35
May
0.62
Jun
0.47
Jul
0.24
Aug
0.27
Sep
0.45
Oct
0.42
Nov
0.80
Dec
0.88
5
Questions:
Even if you did not know these cities were all cities in the United States, how could you tell from the
temperature curves that they were all in the Northern Hemisphere?
Factor 1 – Eureka vs. Lincoln
1. Both cities are close to being on the same latitude. Describe where each is located.
2. What is the yearly temperature range for Eureka? ______________For Lincoln? ________________
3. Since both cities are located near the same latitude, how does the annual temperature range for a
coastal city compare to the annual temperature range for a continental city?
4. Which city experiences the most precipitation during a year? _________________________
5. Since both are located near the same latitude, why is there more precipitation at Eureka than at
Lincoln?
Factor 2 – Dallas vs. Fargo
1. Both cities are located on the same longitude. Describe where each is located.
2. Which city is receiving a higher angle of insolation and therefore more intense rays from the Sun?
____________________
3. Why are Dallas’s temperatures hotter than Fargo?
4.
What climate factor accounts for the difference in the temperature range?
6
Factor 3 – Los Angeles vs. Savannah
1. Both cities are close to being on the same latitude. Describe where each is located.
2. Which city has the warmer climate? _____________________
3. Which city is located on the west coast? __________________
4. Using ESRT page 4, what is the name of the current that affects Los Angeles’ climate?
___________________
Is this current a warm current or a cold current? _________________
5. Which city is located on the East Coast? ___________________
6. Using ESRT page 4, what is the name of the current that affects Savannah’s climate?
____________________ Is this current a warm current or a cold current? ______________
7. If both cities are located on the same latitude, why does Savannah have a higher average
temperature range than Los Angeles?
Factor 4 – Lake Tahoe vs. Reno
1. Both cities are close to being on the same latitude. Describe where each is located.
2. How much precipitation does Lake Tahoe receive in a year? ____________ Reno? ____________
3. Which city is located on the windward side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains? ____________
4. Which city is located on the leeward side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains? _____________
5. Explain the process to include the steps to why Lake Tahoe has the cooler, wetter climate.
6. Explain the process to include the steps why Reno has the warmer, drier climate?
7
Conclusion
What are 4 factors that affect climate and explain how they affect temperature and/or precipitation.
Climate Factor
Affect on Temperature and/or Precipitation
Temp –
Temp –
Precip –
Temp –
Temp –
Precip –
8