Factors that Influence Climate

W.O.W.L.A.M.A.

1. Wind Patterns

2. Ocean Currents

3. Bodies of Water 

4. Latitude 

5. Altitude

6. Mountain Barriers

7. Air Masses

1. Wind Systems

Water or land will heat up certain parts of the Earth because the rays of the sun have shone more directly.   Heated air rises and then it expands.  Cool air lowers or slides underneath the warm air.  These are known as convection currents.   The Earth rotates and there is more land in the Northern hemisphere.  The Coriolis force or the rotation of the Earth from west to east makes the winds spin clockwise in the North and counter clockwise to the South.  Prevailing winds is a fancy name for wind patterns.

2.  Ocean Currents

Cold Arctic water in the North moves downward to the warmer equatorial regions of the South or the equator.  This creates a clockwise conveyor belt movement in the North and a counter clockwise movement in the South.  The warm water of the Gulf of Mexico moves up along the Atlantic to England.  This known as the North Atlantic Drift and both ships and sea life can hitch a ride on this movement. The worse fear is that with Global Warming the conveyor belt could slow down.

3.  (Water Bodies) Bodies of Water

The larger the body of water or the larger the amount of water means that it has a higher heat capacity or takes longer to heat or cool.  In the winter, when the ground is frozen the large lake is warmer and above zero.  In the summer, the land heats up quickly and the water does not, so the land is warmer and the lake is cooler.  For Torontonians, Lake Ontario heats us up in the winter and cools us down in the summer. 

4. Latitude

The horizontal lines that run west to east and vice versa are imaginary.  The equator is 0 degrees and the further north you go the latitude measurement increases.  The further south you go the latitude measurement also increases. The sun is more direct at the equator and therefore that area is warmer.  Because of the tilt, at one time, the top or the bottom receive more direct light.

5. Altitude

This is how tall or how high something is above sea level.  The higher you are the air molecules are spread apart and more energy is required to make them collide or warm up.  The lower you are, the closer the air molecules are and it is easier for the sun to heat up or make the molecules collide.  For every I km, there is a 6 centigrade degree drop.

6. Mountain Barriers

Warm and moist winds from the ocean go up the mountain on the windward side.  Here is where the cooler air with moisture is released in the form of precipitation in either rain or snow.  The descending air lacks moisture and it slowly warms.  The wet side is the windward and the dry side is the leeward side.

7. Air Masses


*Jet Streams