Weather and Climate

While weather and climate are interconnected, they are very different concepts. Weather is the current state of the atmosphere, while climate is a long-term overview of the conditions over several decades. Climate is influenced by latitude, topography, and air masses. There are three major belts of wind in each hemisphere that influence climate and weather. These winds are known as the Trade Winds, the Westerlies, and the Polar Easterlies. Moving air masses impact climate and weather, bringing moisture or dry conditions as well as warm or cold temperatures depending on where each air mass originally formed. As these air masses move and collide, they create fronts. Fronts can bring sudden and significant changes in the weather conditions including precipitation and strong storms. Weather is also impacted by local conditions such as topography and and local winds.