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
is Weather Basics What Weather ground making the land dusty Cold conditions can freeze water into ice cracking natural rocks or paved streets Weather also affects the kinds of homes people live in In cold areas homes need heating and insulation Homes in hot climates might not have heaters at all Instead they are designed to keep cool The structures and materials may allow less sunlight to get inside People also build their homes to withstand extreme weather In areas where there are a lot of floods houses are often built on stilts to protect them Homes in areas that get a The cycles of melting and refreezing that occur in a cold climate damage infrastructure such as roads In some regions weather can become so severe that people build shelters to protect themselves from it 6
lot of hurricanes and tornadoes are sturdy to stand up to strong winds and they may have basements for shelter The food people eat is also affected by weather and climate Many crops need a certain temperature and amount of rain to grow well Droughts which are long periods without rain and cold spells can kill crops and animals used for food Before people had ways to safely transport and store food in Drought conditions bring widespread devastation to critical food sources 7
