https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/Recent content in Weather and Climate on Teddy Rook Bookhttps://teddyrookbook.com/img/share.jpghttps://teddyrookbook.com/img/share.jpgHugoenhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/pressure-units/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/pressure-units/Pressure is force per area; read it in hectopascals, millibars and inches of mercury. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/pressure-height/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/pressure-height/Pressure drops by about half for every 5.5 km you climb, because less air is left above you. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/gas-law-air/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/gas-law-air/Pressure, density and temperature are tied together by P = ρRT, so at the same pressure warm air is less dense than cold air. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/radiation-wavelength/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/radiation-wavelength/The Sun's light peaks in the visible and Earth's glow peaks near 10 μm in the infrared, so air can let sunlight through yet absorb Earth's heat. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/stefan-boltzmann/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/stefan-boltzmann/The energy a surface gives off grows with the fourth power of its temperature in kelvins: E = σT⁴. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/insolation/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/insolation/A low sun spreads the same beam over more ground, so each square meter gets less energy. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/albedo/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/albedo/Albedo is the fraction of sunlight a surface reflects: fresh snow reflects most of it and open ocean very little. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/energy-balance/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/energy-balance/Earth warms until the infrared it sends to space equals the sunlight it absorbs, which predicts about −18 °C with no greenhouse gases. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/greenhouse-layer/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/greenhouse-layer/Air that absorbs infrared sends part of it back down, so the surface must warm until it gives off more. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/specific-heat/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/specific-heat/Water takes about five times more energy than dry sand to warm by one degree, so oceans warm and cool slowly and coastal places swing less in temperature than inland ones. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/latent-heat/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/latent-heat/Evaporating water takes in a lot of energy and condensing vapor gives it back, warming the air inside clouds and powering storms. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/saturation/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/saturation/Air is saturated when vapor condenses as fast as water evaporates; the saturation amount climbs steeply with temperature. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/relative-humidity/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/relative-humidity/Relative humidity compares the vapor in the air with the saturation amount at the air's temperature. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/dew-point/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/dew-point/The dew point is the temperature air must cool to for saturation; a higher dew point means more water vapor. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/adiabatic-cooling/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/adiabatic-cooling/A rising parcel expands as the pressure drops and cools about 10 °C per kilometer while it stays unsaturated. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/lifting/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/lifting/Air rises when the ground heats it, when it is forced over mountains, when it is pushed up at fronts and when winds crowd together. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/cloud-base/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/cloud-base/A rising parcel's temperature closes in on its dew point by about 8 °C per kilometer, so the cloud base is about 125 m up for each degree of difference. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/moist-adiabatic/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/moist-adiabatic/Once a parcel is saturated, condensation releases latent heat, so it cools more slowly, about 6 °C per kilometer on average. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/rain-shadow/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/rain-shadow/Air that drops its rain on the way up a mountain warms faster on the way down, so the far side is warmer and drier. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/stability/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/stability/Lift a parcel and compare it with the air around it: if it ends up warmer it keeps rising, and if colder it sinks back. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/cloud-types/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/cloud-types/Name clouds by height and shape: cirrus are high and wispy, stratus lie in flat layers, cumulus pile up in heaps, and nimbus means rain. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/raindrop-growth/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/raindrop-growth/A raindrop holds about a million cloud droplets; drops grow by bumping and joining, or from ice crystals that grow at the droplets' expense. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/precipitation-types/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/precipitation-types/The temperatures a falling snowflake meets on the way down decide whether it lands as snow, rain, sleet or freezing rain. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/pressure-gradient/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/pressure-gradient/Air is pushed from high toward low pressure, harder where the isobars are close together. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/coriolis/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/coriolis/On a spinning Earth, moving air turns to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern, more strongly toward the poles. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/geostrophic-wind/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/geostrophic-wind/High above the ground, the pressure push and the Coriolis turn balance, so the wind blows along the isobars. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/highs-and-lows/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/highs-and-lows/Near the ground, friction lets air spiral into lows, where it rises and builds clouds, and out of highs, where it sinks and clears the sky. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/three-cells/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/three-cells/Air rises near the equator and sinks near 30° latitude, which explains rainy tropics, desert belts and the trade winds. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/jet-stream/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/jet-stream/A fast river of wind about 10 km up forms where warm and cold air meet, and its dips and bulges steer storms. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/enso/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/enso/When the Pacific trade winds weaken, warm water spreads east (El Niño); when they strengthen, cool water wells up in the east (La Niña), and weather shifts around the world. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/station-model/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/station-model/Decode a weather station's plot: temperature, dew point, pressure, wind barbs and cloud cover. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/air-mass-modification/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/air-mass-modification/Name air masses by their source (cP, mT and others) and see how they change over new ground, as in lake-effect snow. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/cold-fronts/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/cold-fronts/A cold front lifts warm air sharply, bringing a narrow band of showers and storms, then cooler, drier air and a shift in the wind. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/warm-fronts/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/warm-fronts/Warm air glides up a gentle slope over cold air, so high clouds come first and steady rain spreads over a wide area. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/midlatitude-cyclones/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/midlatitude-cyclones/A low forms on a front, winds up into a comma of cold and warm fronts, occludes and fades over a few days. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/surface-maps/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/surface-maps/Use isobars, fronts, highs and lows to say where the wind blows, where it is raining and what is coming next. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/thunderstorms/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/thunderstorms/Moisture, unstable air and a lift build a thunderstorm through its cumulus, mature and dissipating stages. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/lightning-thunder/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/lightning-thunder/Lightning heats the air so fast that it expands with the boom we call thunder; sound takes about 3 seconds to travel a kilometer. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/tornadoes/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/tornadoes/Winds that change with height can set a storm's updraft spinning; tornadoes are rated by their damage on the Enhanced Fujita scale. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/hurricanes/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/hurricanes/Warm ocean water feeds a hurricane through latent heat; its Saffir–Simpson category rates only its wind. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/wind-chill-heat-index/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/wind-chill-heat-index/Wind makes cold air feel colder and humid air makes heat feel hotter, by changing how fast your body loses heat. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/instruments/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/instruments/Match each instrument to what it measures: thermometer, barometer, hygrometer, anemometer, wind vane, rain gauge and weather balloon. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/radar-satellite/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/radar-satellite/Visible images show sunlit clouds, infrared images show how cold cloud tops are, and radar shows where rain and snow are falling. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/forecast-models/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/forecast-models/Models step the laws of physics forward on a grid; small errors grow, so forecasters run many versions and look at how far they spread. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/probability-of-precipitation/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/probability-of-precipitation/The chance of rain is the probability that measurable rain falls at any given spot in the forecast area during the forecast period. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/climate-normals/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/climate-normals/A climate normal is a 30-year average, and an anomaly is how far a value is from its normal. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/climographs/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/climographs/A climograph shows a place's average monthly temperature and precipitation, enough to tell its hemisphere and climate type. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/climate-zones/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/climate-zones/Classify a climate from its monthly numbers with the Köppen groups: tropical, dry, temperate, continental and polar. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/carbon-cycle/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/carbon-cycle/Carbon moves among air, ocean, living things and rock, quickly through photosynthesis and decay and slowly through rocks and fossil fuels. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/carbon-budget/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/carbon-budget/About 2.1 billion tonnes of carbon raise the air's carbon dioxide by 1 ppm, and a little under half of what we emit stays in the air. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/co2-record/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/co2-record/Measurements at Mauna Loa since 1958 show a yearly wiggle from plant growth on top of a rise that has reached 2 to 3 ppm a year. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/climate-forcings/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/climate-forcings/Changes in sunlight, volcanic haze, greenhouse gases, pollution particles and land cover push climate warmer or cooler. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/feedbacks/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/feedbacks/A change can strengthen itself, as when melting ice uncovers darker water, or weaken itself, as when a warmer Earth gives off more heat. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/orbital-cycles/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/orbital-cycles/Slow changes in the shape of Earth's orbit, its tilt and the direction of its axis, over tens of thousands of years, pace the ice ages. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/paleoclimate/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/paleoclimate/Ice cores, tree rings, ocean mud and corals record temperatures and gases from long before thermometers. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/climate-sensitivity/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/climate-sensitivity/Each doubling of carbon dioxide adds about 3.7 W/m² of push, and the long-run warming is likely 2.5 to 4 °C per doubling. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/sea-level-rise/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/sea-level-rise/Seas rise as warming water expands and as ice on land melts or slides into the ocean. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladderhttps://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/climate-projections/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://teddyrookbook.com/earth-and-space/weather-and-climate/climate-projections/Climate models project long-term averages, not the weather on a date, for different paths of future emissions. Weather and Climate · Earth & Space Ladder