WEATHER AND CLIMATE

WEATHER
Weather is the condition of the atmosphere of a place observed over a short period of time e.g.
daily/ 24 hrs.
It is observed by the department of Meteorology (study of the processes of the earth’s
atmosphere especially to predict future weather conditions.)

Climate is the average conditions of the atmosphere observed over a long period of time.eg 35
years.

Weather elements include:

ELEMENT INSTRUMENT UNITS
Temperature Minimum & maximum Degrees Celsius (0c)
thermometer/ six’s
thermometer
Rainfall Rain gauge Millimeters
Wind direction Wind vane Cardinal points
Humidity Hygrometer Percentage (%)
Cloud cover Observation Km/ hr or Oktas
Sunshine Sunshine recorder Hours per day
Pressure Barometer Millibars
Wind speed Cup Anemometer Knots

WIND
Wind can be defined as the movement of air from a high pressure area to a low pressure area. It
has both direction and speed. Winds are named after the direction they are coming from e.g. from
East (Easterly wind), from North West (North Westerly wind).

WIND DIRECTION
The instrument used is called Wind vane.

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HOW WIND VANE WORKS?
When the wind blows, the arrow/ vane moves freely with the prevailing wind and points where
the wind comes from. The cardinal points are fixed and show the direction in which the wind is
moving from. The 8 and 16 point cardinal systems are used to name direction of winds.

HOW IS WIND DIRECTION RECORDED?

An octagonal chart is used for recording the direction of winds of a place over a period of one
month. This chart has eight (8) wings pointing to the eight (8) main Cardinal points. This is called
a Wind rose.

HOW IT WORKS
 Each of the small boxes represents the direction in which the wind blew each day.
 Days without the wind are recorded in the centre to show the number of calm days.

DESCRIPTION: 7 days wind comes from

North East (Prevailing wind: most frequent
wind direction in a place).
5 days wind from the North
4 days wind from East
3 days wind from South and West
3 calm days/ days without wind

NB: In weather maps, wind direction is represented by an arrow attached to a circle. The arrow
points to the direction where wind is coming from.

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WIND SPEED.
This is a measure of how fast the air is moving and the instrument used is a Cup Anemometer. It
consist of a vertical shaft/mast, meter or dial, semi- circular cups attached to four rotating arms.

HOW IT WORKS
When wind blows, the cups rotate and as they rotate they move the vertical mast connected to
the meter. The rotation is then recorded by a meter/ dial. The meter then gives the speed in
kilometers per hour.

A Beaufort scale is used to estimate the speed of winds if an anemometer is not available. (Ref:
p122 Leong). In weather maps, wind speed is shown by feathers and one full feather is 10 knots.
Half a feather is 5 knots and the smallest feather is 1-3 knots (light air).

A cup anemometer must be high above the ground (10m) to avoid friction to the ground. It must
be free i.e., open space, away from buildings and trees which may obstruct it.

TEMPERATURE
Refers to how hot or cold air is. The instruments used to measure temperature are kept in
Stevenson Screen.
THE STEVENSON SCREEN
This is found in a weather station and it is used to accommodate the maximum and minimum
thermometers or six’s thermometer and the hygrometer.

FEATURES/ CHARACTERISTICS OF STEVENSON SCREEN.

 It is painted white to reflect heat from the sun.
 It has a sloping roof to shed off rain water.
 It has four louvered sides to allow for free air circulation in and outside the screen.
 It is made of wood to improve on insulation
 It has a double roof for further insulation against the heat.
 Its doors face south in the Southern hemisphere to avoid direct sun rays from entering
the screen when opening it.
 It is 121cm/ 1.21m above the ground to minimize the ground radiation.

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INSTRUMENTS USED TO MEASURE AIR TEMPERATURE
a) MAXIMUM THERMOMETER
It is used to measure the highest temperature of the day. It consists of a glass tube containing
mercury and a metal index to regulate the flow of mercury.

HOW IT WORKS
As the temperature rises, the mercury expands and pushes the metal index up along the tube.
When temperature fall the mercury contracts and leaves the metal index behind. To read the
maximum temperature, take the reading at the end of index that was in contact with the mercury
every day. To reset the thermometer a magnet is used.

b) MINIMUM THERMOMETER
It is used to measure the lowest temperature of the day. It consists of a glass tube containing
alcohol and a metal index.
HOW IT WORKS?
When temperatures decrease, the alcohol the alcohol contracts and its meniscus is pulls the index
along the tube. When the temperature rises the alcohol expands but the metal index does not
move it remains where it was pulled during contraction. To get the minimum temperature for the
day, you focus your eyes at the end of the index nearer to the meniscus. Measurement is done
every 24 hours.
The index is returned to the meniscus by raising the bulb of the thermometer.

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 c) THE SIX’S THERMOMETER
It is used to measure both the maximum and minimum temperature. It consists of minimum and
maximum scale, metal index, bulb mercury, alcohol, glass tube and vacuum.

HOW IT WORKS
When temperature rises the alcohol in the left tube expands and pushes the mercury down the
right limb, alcohol in the right also heats up and some of it changes into vapour and rises into the
space in the bulb. Maximum readings are attained at the end of the index nearest to the mercury.

When temperature falls the alcohol in the right bulb, which have charged into vapour now
charges into liquid. The mercury flows back to the left limb and the minimum readings are taken
from the end of the metal index facing away from the bulb.

CALCULATIONS IN TEMPERATURE

*Mean daily temperature: Sum of maximum and minimum temperatures of the day divided by
2.

*Daily temperature range: The difference between maximum and minimum temperatures of the
day.

*Mean monthly temperatures: Sum of mean daily temperatures in a month divided by the
number of days for that month

*Mean annual temperature: Sum of mean monthly temperature divided by 12.

*Mean annual temperature range: The difference between the highest mean monthly
temperature and the lowest mean monthly temperature in a year.

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RAINFALL
Precipitation may be referred to as all various forms by which water reaches the ground. It takes
the form of rainfall, drizzle, snow and hail etc. A Rain gauge is used to measure amount of
rainfall and the units are millimeters.

HOW TO USE A RAIN GAUGE TO MEASURE RAINFALL

 Pour water from the jar in a separate measuring cylinder

 Put the measuring cylinder on a flat surface and allow water to settle
 Take the reading at eye level, at the lower part of the meniscus
 Record in millimetres, every day or 24 hours

LOCATION OF A RAIN GAUGE

A rain-gauge is sited in the following conditions.
 It should be at least 30cm above the ground to avoid water splashing inside the rain-
gauge.
 It should be on flat land for stability and accuracy in collection
 It should be on grassy area/ soft ground to avoid water splashing inside.
 It should be in open space/ away from trees/ buildings as water from leaves/roof tops
may fall into rain gauge.

CALCULATIONS IN RAINFALL

i) MONTHLY RAINFALL : Add all the daily records of rainfall in a particular month

ii) ANNUAL RAINFALL: Add all the monthly rainfalls in a year.

iii) MEAN MONTHLY RAINFALL: Add all monthly rainfalls in a year and divide by
12.

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 iv) MEAN ANNUAL RAINFALL: Add all Annual rainfalls and divide by a period of
35 years.

TYPES OF RAINFALL

Rainfall is of three main types.

(a) CONVECTIONAL RAINFALL
This type of rainfall is associated with hot and humidity conditions mainly in the tropical regions
of Africa including Botswana.

CHARACTERISTICS OF CONVECTIONAL RAINFALL

 It is normally accompanied by thunder and lightning.
 It normally occurs in the afternoons
 It is associated with cumulonimbus clouds
 It is intense, heavy or torrential
 Has big water droplets and occurs over a short period of time

HOW IT IS FORMED
 The ground is intensely heated by the sun setting up convection currents
 Heated air absorbs large amounts of moisture
 Warm, moist air is forced to rise by convection currents
 As warm, moist air rises, it expands, cools until it is saturated
 Condensation takes place and clouds are formed resulting in rain

(b) RELIEF/ OROGRAPHIC RAINFALL

This type of rainfall forms in mountain regions which are in the path of moisture or rain bearing
winds.
Formation
- On the Windward side, warm, moist air is forced to rise by a mountain
-As it rises, it expands, cools until saturation point is reached

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-Condensation takes place, clouds are formed and it rains.
-As air continues to the other side of the mountain (Leeward side), it is now dry, descends, gets
compressed, temperature and pressure increase resulting in little or no rainfall. This side is
regarded as the Rain shadow area or Leeward side.

In Africa much of relief rainfall occurs in the high land areas such as those around the
Drakensberg Mountains (including Lesotho & Swaziland), highlands of Zimbabwe, Malawi and
East Africa.

(c) FRONTAL/ CYCLONIC RAINFALL

Frontal rainfall occurs where two different air masses meet and is known to be persistent over a
long period of time; it may be hours, days or a few weeks. It is associated with the stratocumulus
clouds.
Formation
 Warm air meets or converge with cold air
 Warm, moist air( lighter) rises over cold air(denser)
 As it rises, it expands, cools
 Saturation point is reached/Relative humidity becomes 100%/ dew point is reached
 Condensation takes place and clouds are formed
 Rainfall occurs

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PRESSURE
Atmospheric pressure is referred to as weight exerted by air on the earth surface.

The study of pressure is important in that differences in pressure, gradient within a given region
result in the formation of wind. High pressure is associated with cool stable, weather condition
while low pressure is associated with unstable windy, hot and rainy weather.

MEASUREMENT OF PRESSURE
Pressure is measured in Millibars (mb) by an instrument known as barometer. The following are
some kind of barometer used to measure pressure.

 MERCURY BAROMETER - this is the most accurate instrument in measuring

pressure. It consists of a meter long glass tube which is filled with mercury. When the
glass tube is inverted the mercury in the column would be made to fall to a level of 700-
750 above the mercury basin.

 How it works
-When pressure increases, force of pressure is exerted on the mercury in the container
-The level of mercury rises along the glass tube to record high pressure
-When pressure decreases, less force is exerted on the mercury in the container

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 -Mercury column in the glass tube drops to record low pressure

 ANEROID BAROMETER - this barometer is made up of collapsible metal box which

is connected to sensitive spring and a lever mechanism connected to a given pressure
dial or meter.

How it works
-When pressure is increases, the metal box lid bends in and this activates the lever
mechanism forcing the pointer or indicator in the dial/ meter to move to the right indicating
high pressure.
-When pressure decreases, the metal box lid springs upwards and the indicator/pointer in the
meter moves to the left registering low pressure. The movements are conveyed by a series
of levers across a graduated scale.

Lines joining places of equal pressure are known as ISOBARS. Isobars in weather maps are
interpreted using Normal pressure at sea level which 1013 millibars OR 760 millimetres in
mercury barometer. Any number below is regarded as low pressure and above is high pressure.

FACTORS AFFECTING PRESSURE

The pressure experienced at a given place, at a given time is influenced by the following.

 Temperature-When air sinks, its pressure rises as its gets compressed and its molecules
move more quickly .On the other hand, rising air results in pressure decreasing as its
molecules move more slowly. When air is heated, it expands and its pressure decreases
as molecules occupy a larger area slowing their movement and when it is cooled, it gets
compressed occupying a smaller area hence pressure increase.

 Altitude- the air which is close to the earth surface has a higher pressure than that
which lies above it. This is so, because the air at the surface supports the weight of the
air that is above it, and it thus compressed and assumes high pressure. As a result,
mountain tops have lower pressure when compared to areas on the earth’s surface.

 Rotation of the earth- The force that influences the deflection of winds is known as the
CORIOLIS FORCE. It leads to the deflection of winds to the right in the Northern
hemisphere and to the left in the Southern hemisphere.

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CLOUD COVER
Clouds are a visible mass of suspended water or ice particles floating in the atmosphere.
They are formed by condensation of water vapour at dew point temperature. Clouds can also form
close to the earth surface as mist or fog.

TYPES OF CLOUDS
Clouds are divided into four main groups depending on their height form, shape and colour. The
groups include:
1. HIGH CLOUDS (between 6-13km above ground)

a) Cirrus: these are feathery looking, thin, white clouds

-Appear like wisps in the sky and indicate fair weather
b) Cirrocumulus clouds: Appear like white, globular masses forming ripples in the sky.
c) Cirrostratus- Look like thin, white sheets or veil
-sky looks milky and the sun or moon shines through them like a halo.

2. MIDDLE CLOUDS (BTWN 2.1KM – 6KM)

a) ALTOSTRATUS
They are dense, greyish clouds with a watery look
Have a fibrous structure which makes sun rays shine through faintly
b) ALTOCUMULUS
 Consists of both water droplets and ice crystals.
 There are white, woolly, bumpy clouds with flat bases
 They are globular in shape
 They are in layers or patches
 Normally indicate fine weather
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3. LOW CLOUDS-(They occur below 2.1km above the surface)
a) STRATUS
 Very low cloud, grey and thick
 Appear like low ceiling or highland fog
 They associate with frontal rainfall
 They bring drizzle- light rainfall that is continuous
b) NIMBOSTRATUS
 Thick, dark, dull clouds and clearly layered
 Associated with continuous heavy rainfall hence known as ‘Rain cloud’

4. CLOUDS OF GREAT VERTICAL EXTENT

These are huge vertical clouds extending from about 600m to over 9000m above the ground.
These include:
a) CUMULUS
 Very low clouds, grey white and globular
 Have rounded tops and horizontal bases
 Associated with uprising convectional currents in humid sub tropical regions

b) CUMULONIMBUS CLOUDS
 Globular, black and white
 Rise like tall towers with cauliflower -looking tops and anvil-shaped
 Bring convectional rainfall
 Associated with heavy tropical storms especially in the afternoons
 Accompanied by thunder and lightning
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MEASUREMENTS OF CLOUDS
Clouds are measured by a way of
observation and recorded in oktas or
eighths. The sky is sub-divided into equal
sections and by observation. Estimation of
cloud cover is made and given as a fraction
of 8. The following are the symbols used:

HUMIDITY
Humidity is the amount of water vapour in the air. It is important to study humidity because it
indicates the probability of precipitation.

When the air cannot hold anymore water vapour it is said to be saturated (RH =100%). The
point at which this saturation takes place is known as the dew point. Water vapour condenses to
form clouds and precipitation may occur.
The actual amount of water vapour in a given volume of air at a particular temperature is known
as Absolute humidity.

RELATIVE HUMUDITY: is the ratio between the amount of water vapour in the air in a given
volume of air and the maximum amount it can hold at the same temperature and it is expressed as
a percentage.

MEASUREMENT OF HUMIDITY
Instrument used is called the hygrometer. It consists of two thermometers. One of which has its
bulb wrapped with a muslin cloth and dipped in water while the other one is left as it is. The
thermometer which is wrapped with a muslin cloth is known as the wet bulb thermometer and
that which is not is the dry bulb thermometer.

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How it works/Why wet bulb thermometer shows a lower reading

-When temperature increases, evaporation from the muslin cloth takes place
-Latent heat is used up
-The wet bulb thermometer cools and mercury contracts
-Wet bulb thermometer will then show a lower reading than the dry bulb thermometer
-Dry bulb thermometer on the other hand measures normal temperatures

CALCULATION OF RELATIVE HUMIDITY

i) Subtract the wet bulb reading from the dry bulb reading to find the depression of wet
bulb.
ii) Use the dry bulb reading and the depression of the wet bulb in the Hygrometric
table to find Relative Humidity in Percentage.
iii) Where the two readings intersect, we find the percentage

e.g. Use the following readings and the hygrometric table to calculate Relative Humidity
Dry bulb reading - 30°C
Wet bulb reading - 24°C

Hygrometric table

Dry bulb Depression of wet bulb

reading
°C
1°C 2°C 3°C 4°C 5°C 6°C 7°C

% % % % % % %

30 93 86 79 73 67 61 55

25 92 84 77 70 63 57 50

20 91 83 74 66 59 51 44

i) 30°C - 24°C = 6°C

ii) Use dry bulb reading (30°C) and depression of wet bulb (6°C) in the table to find
Relative Humidity
iii) Where the two readings intersect, we find %, therefore RH = 61%
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NB: Interpretation of readings of the two thermometers are as follows :

- No difference means the air is saturated (RH = 100%)

- Small difference means Relative humidity is high
- Large difference means Relative humidity is low

SUNSHINE
The number of hours and minutes of sunshine that a place receives each day is measured by a
sunshine recorder. This is a glass sphere which is partially surrounded by a metal frame on the
inside of which is a sensitized card. The card is graduated in and minutes.
How it works
 When the sun shines on the glass sphere.
 The glass sphere focuses the sun’s rays on the sensitized card as the sun moves across the
sky.
 The rays burn a trace on the card. This only happens when the sun is shining.
 At the end of the day, the card is taken out and the length of trace is converted into hours
and minutes which represents the total amount of sunshine for the day.
 This is done every 24 hours

FACTORS AFFECTING TEMPERATURE

a) ALTITUDE

 Altitude means the height of a given place above the sea level.

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 Areas close to the surface have higher temperatures as water vapour and dust prevent heat
from rapidly escaping into space.
 At high altitudes or tops of mountains, air is rarefied with little dust and water vapour.
The heat escapes rapidly and air remains cold hence low temperatures experienced in
high altitude areas. e.g. Lesotho, Ethiopia etc
 This means that temperatures decrease with an increase in altitude and this is referred to
as LAPSE RATE. The Normal lapse rate at sea level is a decrease of 6.5°C for every
1000 meters of ascent.

b) LATITUDE

 Latitude is the position of a given place in a relation to the Equator.

 As the sun is always overhead the Equator, places which are nearer to the Equator have
higher temperatures than those which are far away as the sun rays reach at a direct angle
hence a smaller area heated. Rays from the sun also travel the shortest distance to reach
the area.
 On the other hand, the sun rays approach the Polar Regions at an oblique angle covering
a larger area and also travel a longer distances to reach the area. This makes the high
latitude areas to experience low temperatures as the intensity of the sun rays are
weakened the nature of the latitudes.

c) CLOUD COVER
 Clouds reduce the amount of sun’s insolation reaching the earth’s surface and radiation
leaving the ground.
 Clouds reflect much of the suns’ heat back into the atmosphere during the day and during
the night they prevent rapid heat loss through radiation.
 Therefore areas with cloud cover have lower temperatures during the day and warmer
temperatures during the night. The daily temperature range is therefore smaller than in
areas without cloud cover.
 Absence of cloud cover on the other hand results in maximum insulation reaching the
ground and also results in maximum radiation from the earth’s surface. e.g. Hot deserts
experience large daily temperature range due to absence of cloud cover.

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 d) DISTANCE FROM THE SEA/ CONTINENTALITY

 This is the position of a given place in relation to the sea or ocean and this influences
climatic conditions during summer and winter on both coastal and inland regions.
 In Summer (diagram A), the sea absorbs heat slowly and land absorbs heat faster. The
coastal regions are then cooled by the cool breeze from the sea and interior of continents
become hot as they absorb heat quickly.
 In Winter (diagram B), the sea loses heat slowly while the land loses heat quickly. As a
result, coastal areas become warmer due to the warm breeze from the sea while the
interior of continents experience cold conditions as heat is lost faster than in the sea.

e) WINDS/ AIR MASSES

Winds distribute climatic characteristics of their source areas to the receiving areas. Onshore
winds lower summer temperatures in Temperate latitudes and raise winter temperatures in the
same latitudes. Influence of winds is mostly seen in coastal regions. e.g. South West monsoon
winds cooling coastal areas in West Africa in summer

f) OCEAN CURRENTS
There are two types that are warm and cold ocean currents. Warm ocean currents raise
temperatures and moisture in the winds that pass over them and are therefore important in the
creation of rainfall. Cold ocean currents reduce the temperatures and moistures of winds that
pass over than and are therefore responsible for lack of rainfall in areas that next to them.

g) SLOPE/ ASPECT

Aspect may be defined as the orientation of a given place in the relation to the raising and setting
sun. The effect of aspect is mostly felt in the Polar Regions. South facing slopes in the northern
hemisphere have longer hours of sunshine than the north facing slopes and also have more
vegetation and the opposite is true of the southern polar region.

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 h) Length of the day
The length of the day determines the number of hours of sunshine in a given place. Longer days
are therefore warmer than shorter days thus summers are warmer than winters.

WEATHER MAPS SYMBOLS

The diagram above shows a low pressure system or cyclonic activity as represented in a weather
map, where cold air meets warm air along a front. This results in frontal or cyclonic rainfall as
cold air undercuts the warm, moist air forcing it to rise.

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An Example of a Station Model

Description of atmospheric
conditions from station above
 The area has cold/cool
temperatures
 Cloud cover is 4 oktas/
sky is ½ covered by
clouds
 There is rain
 Gentle breeze with 15
knots wind speed
 Wind is from North
West/ North Westerly breeze

NB: Descriptions MUST show interpreted description to show level of understanding.

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