Weather
Weather And Climate
The terms weather and climate often are used in conjunction with each other, but they refer to quite different phenomena. Weather involves atmospheric conditions that currently prevail or that exist over a relatively short period of time. Climate refers to the average weather pattern for a region (or for the whole planet) over a much longer period of time (at least three decades according to some authorities).
Changes in weather patterns are easily observed. It may rain today and be clear tomorrow. Changes in climate patterns are much more difficult to detect. If the summer of 1997 is unusually hot, there is no way of knowing if that fact is part of a general trend towards warmer weather or a single variation that will not appear again for some time.
See also Atmospheric temperature; Seasons; Weather forecasting; Weather mapping.
Resources
Books
Ahrens, C. David, Rachel Alvelais, and Nina Horne. Essentials of Meteorology: An Invitation to the Atmosphere. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole, 2000.
Bramwell, Martyn. Weather. New York: Franklin Watts, 1994.
Danielson, Eric W., James Levin, and Elliot Abrams. Meteorology. 2nd ed. with CD-ROM. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math, 2002.
Lutgens, Frederick K., Edward J. Tarbuck, and Dennis Tasa. The Atmosphere: An Intorduction to Meteorology. 8th ed. New York: Prentice-Hall, 2000.
Lynott, Robert E. How Weather Works and Why. Gadfly Press, 1994.
Watts, Alan. The Weather Handbook. Dobbs Ferry: Sheridan House, 1994.
Williams, Jack. The Weather Book. New York: Vintage Books, 1997.
Periodicals
"Temperature And Rainfall Tables: July 2002." Journal of Meteorology 27, no. 273 (2002): 362.
"Weather Extremes: July 2002." Journal Of Meteorology 27 no. 273 (2002): 361.
David E. Newton
Additional topics
Science EncyclopediaScience & Philosophy: Verbena Family (Verbenaceae) - Tropical Hardwoods In The Verbena Family to WelfarismWeather - Solar Energy, Humidity, Clouds, And Precipitation, Atmospheric Pressure And Winds, Terrestrial Characteristics