Clear Table of Contents How Climate Change Impacts Extreme Storms 184 Glossary 188 To Learn More 189 Index 190 Photo Credits 191 Weather Basics 4 What Is Weather 4 Weather Is in the Atmosphere 10 Weather and the Sun 12 Weather and the Air 14 The Climate Is Changing 24 Natural Causes of a Changing Climate 28 Human Causes of Climate Change 34 Weather Phenomena 40 Clouds 42 Precipitation 52 Basic Types of Precipitation 54 Dew Frost and Fog 64 Other Weather Phenomena 68 Sky Phenomena 76 Light Phenomena 80 Weather Forecasting 86 Extreme Storms 94 What Is Extreme Weather 94 Thunderstorms 104 Floods 110 Hurricanes 116 Tornadoes 126 Hailstorms 134 Blizzards 138 Ice Storms 146 Droughts 150 Wildfires and Firestorms 156 Dust Storms 160 Heat Waves 164 Special Storm Types 170 Other Extreme Weather Events 178
Weather Basics What is WEather The natural events that happen in the air surrounding Earth are called weather Weather can be calm and comfortable It can produce a sunny day with a warm breeze It can also be dangerous creating blizzards tornadoes and hurricanes Each part of Earth has weather conditions that change on a daily basis Each part also has a pattern of weather that can be seen over a long period of time For example some areas get To many people a warm sunny day is an example of ideal weather 4
A lack of rain in an area’s climate affects that region’s plants animals and landscapes a lot of rain while others get very little Some areas stay warm or cold all year Others have wide changes in temperature at different times of the year Patterns of weather over years decades and even centuries are called the area’s climate Both weather and climate affect people animals plants and the landscape People wear different clothing based on how warm or cold the weather is Some plants and animals cannot live in places that stay very hot or cold Temperature changes can affect water in the ground Hot conditions can dry out the 5
