Weather Forecasting

804 Words2 Pages

Introduction
In his lab, we are to track the weather for our region. We are to track the predictions for one week, using a local source that we use now and one that we have never used before. We are then to record the actual weather for each day tracked. Afterwards, the lab asks us to respond to the questions based on the accuracy of the predictions. This essay examines the questions of weather, climate, weather predictions and accuracy for the purposes of this lab.
Weather
Weather in reality is nothing more than a description of atmospheric conditions for a given area at a given time. The terms warm, cold, wet, dry, cloudy or sunny describe what is happening in the troposphere. “The troposphere is the lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere. The troposphere starts at Earth's surface and goes up to a height of seven to twenty kilometers, or four to twelve miles or twenty-three to sixty-five thousand feet, above sea level” (Russell, 2010). Our atmosphere is dynamic. It changes daily and even hourly in response to various environmental factors. These factors include the amount of energy from the sun trapped in the atmosphere or the amount of water in the atmosphere.
Climate
Climate of a given region is the long-term study of weather for that region. In this case, long-term study of weather involves averaging weather conditions over a thirty-year period. The purpose of the averages is to understand average precipitation, average temperatures, daylight hours or extreme weather scenarios for a given region. A given region’s “height above sea level, the shape of the land, and how close it is to oceans influences its climate. Since the equator receives more sunlight than the poles, climate varies depending on distance from the eq...

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...s for one week, using a local source, Mr. David Aldrich from WVLT-TV Channel Eight, Knoxville, Tennessee, and one that we have never used before, the National Weather Service predictions for Knoxville, Tennessee. I was then to record the actual weather for each day tracked. Afterwards, I addressed the accuracy of Mr. Aldrich’s predictions versus the National Weather Service. Overall, this essay examined the questions of weather, climate, weather predictions and accuracy for the purposes of this lab.

Works Cited

Johnson, R. (2013). What is climate? Retrieved from http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/climate/cli_define.html
Oblack, R. (2014). What is a meteorologist? Retrieved from http://weather.about.com/od/weatherfaqs/f/meteorologist.htm
Russell, R. (2010). The troposphere. Retrieved from http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Atmosphere/troposphere.html

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