Many people believe that weather and climate are interchangeable words for the same definition. They actually have very different meanings! Weather is a short term phenomenon that occurs in a region over a short period of time. Rain, sleet, snow, wind, current temperatures, and thunderstorms are all examples of weather. Climate is a long term phenomenon that occurs in a region over a long period time. Average rainfall over the years and average temperatures are both examples of climate.
Precipitation in any short amount of time, like you would see on the 7-day forecast, is an example of weather. According to the national weather service, on average, the same city in the United States will only have the exact same temperature for no more than 10 days per year. That means that if the temperature in Atlanta, Georgia is 85 degrees Fahrenheit one day, it will only be 85 degrees Fahrenheit for 9 more days that year on average!
When precipitation, wind patterns, and temperatures are measured over longs periods of time (decades and centuries), it is an example of climate. Antarctica, for instance, has a much different climate than California. Because temperatures in Antarctica are cold year round, and they have been for thousands of years, we can say that Antarctica has a cold climate. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the Gobi Desert gets less than 2 inches of rain per year. We would say that they have a very dry climate.
A regions climate and weather are not always the same. There are times when a place with a very dry climate has rainfall and times when a very wet place has a drought. Just because a desert has some rainfall doesn’t mean that it has a wet climate, it just means it rained on that day, which is an example of weather. The overall conditions of the desert after being observed for many years, however, are dry. The climate of a desert is dry.
Can the climate of a region give us a good hint as to what the weather will be like there on a certain day? Absolutely! If your family decided to take a trip to Florida over the summer to visit beaches, you may assume that the 7 day forecast would be very hot and muggy. Florida has a very hot and muggy climate, so over the course of time, you are more likely to find yourself breaking a sweat on the beaches there rather than needing a coat or jacket.
So, while climate and weather both deal with precipitation and temperature, they actually have some major differences. Weather is what you usually see on the news every day and climate is in it for the long haul.
Learn more by downloading and reading the Weather vs Climate worksheet. This is a great resource for kids in the classroom and basic education for understanding the difference between weather and climate.
Directions: After reading Weather vs. Climate, answer the following questions. Refer back to the text when necessary.
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What is the central idea of the text?
- Weather and climate are nearly the same
- Climate is a long term phenomenon involving temperature and precipitation while weather is short term phenomenon involving those things.
- The weather and climate of a region can be the same
- There are several differences between weather and climate, but they are ultimately the same
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Which detail from the text supports your answer to number one?
- “Antarctica, for instance, has a much different climate than ”
- “There are times when a place with a very dry climate has rainfall and times when a very wet place has a drought.”
- “Antarctica, for instance, has a much different climate than ”
- “Because temperatures in Antarctica are cold year round, and they have been for thousands of years, we can say that Antarctica has a cold climate.”
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Why is reasonable to predict the weather of an area based on its climate?
- An areas climate can give clues as to what the weather will be like on a specific
- An areas climate and weather always matchup with each
- Weather is a short term climate, so they must be the
- Climate is a short term weather, so they must be the
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A seven day forecast on the news is an example of…
- precipitation
- wind direction
- climate
- weather
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The average temperature in a region during the 20th century would be an example of…
- forecast
- climate
- weather
- degrees Fahrenheit
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Which of these is an example of climate?
- A seven day forecast on the
- A series of tornadoes ripping through a town in
- The average amount of rainfall in New York City from 1918-2018
- A category 3 hurricane in
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Which of these is an example of weather?
- The average temperature in London in December from 1950-
- The yearly rainfall totals in the Gobi
- The average precipitation in Seattle since
- A snowstorm in middle
8. How does this sentence fit into the overall structure of the text?
“According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the Gobi Desert gets less than 2 inches of rain per year.”
- It provides supporting detail to the central idea that weather is a short term phenomenon and climate is long term.
- It provides the central idea of the
- It provides a claim that climate change is dangerous to the
- It provides evidence to support the theme of the text that weather can be frightening and climate is not.
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Reread paragraph Based on the text, what do you think the word “interchangeable” means?
- Able to be
- To flip backwards and
- To change positions over
- Rain, sleet, snow, and
- Reread paragraph Based on the text, what do you think the word “drought” means?
- Extremely wet conditions
- Extremely dry conditions
- Extremely sandy conditions
- Extremely windy conditions
