MOHAMMAD Assignment1

GEOGRAPHY 102 Winter 2024 Assignment #1 Weather and Climate EXERCISE 1: WEATHER MAP INTERPRESTATION Questions: 1. Compare Maps 1 through 3. Describe changes to the weather of The Pas, Manitoba over this time period. What caused these changes? (3 marks) The weather underwent some significant changes between maps 1 and 3. Wind speed, cloud coverage and air pressure all increased, while the temperature dropped. Additionally, there was a shift from occlusion to a cold front. Overnight, the wind speed decreased, but picked up again during the day and night. This can be observed by the changes in the isobar proximity. As the night transitioned to day and back to night, the isobars became closer, indicating higher wind speeds. Cloud coverage increased slightly from 0 to 1/8. Air pressure increased significantly from around 1009.0 mb to 1023.0 mb, which means the wind will slow down from earlier. The temperature decreased notably between weather maps 1 and 3 due to the change from occlusion to a cold front. 2. Based on the information in Map 3, complete the table below to compare the weather recorded at Edmonton, Alberta; Trout Lake, Ontario; and Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Be sure to include proper units. (5 marks) Edmonton, Alberta Trout Lake, Ontario Charlottetown, PEI Air Temperature 6 ° C 0 ° C 9 ° C Dew Point -2 ° C -3 ° C 1 ° C Sky Cover 1/8 6/8 2/8 Air Pressure 1022.7 kPa 1012.7 kPa 1023.1 kPa Wind Speed 5-13 km/hr 14-22 km/hr 14-22 km/hr Wind Direction* NE NW NW *Approximate your value as one of N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW 3. Refer to Map 4 for the below two-part question: a. Examine that air temperature and dew point of the air for stations falling within the shaded areas that indicate precipitation. What can you say about the relationship of air temperature? (2 marks) The first area of precipitation appeared in Northern Alberta’s air temperature is at approximately 3 ° C; and dew point is between 2 ° C and 3 ° C. In Northeastern United States,

which is the second area of precipitation, the air temperature is between 9 ° C and 12 ° C; and the dew point is between 6 ° C and 12 ° C differing between states. The first area of precipitation in Quebec has air temperature between 1 ° C and 2 ° C; and the dew point presents between -1 ° C and 1 ° C. Through observing the relationship between the air temperature and dew point at these specific areas of precipitation it is evident that the cooler the air temperatures that have higher dew points increases the chances of precipitation. b. Contrast these differences between air temperature and air’s dew point temperature to those in the southwestern United States. What is the relationship between air temperature and dew-point difference, and the potential for precipitation? (2 marks) The area of precipitation in the Southwestern United States has higher air temperatures and a higher dew point. This depicts that the air has less moisture, meaning the chances for rainfall are lower. 4. Refer to Map 5. Identify the area with the greatest pressure gradient. Calculate the pressure gradient (mb/km) across at least 5 isobars. Note that a degree of latitude equals approximately 100 km. although there are no weather stations in the areas of the steepest gradients, speculate as to what the wind speeds could potentially reach in this region. (4 marks) 1008 -984 = 24  24 mb/500 km  0.048 mb/km The nearest weather station had predicted a wind speed of a minimum of 50 km/hr. As the isobars continue to migrate closer to each other, we can predict that the wind speed will be between 60 and 69 km/h. EXERCISE 2: WORKING WITH CLIMATE DATA – PART 1 Questions: 5. Examine the weather data for Kingston, ON (Latitude 44 ° 15’ N; Longitude 76 ° 30’ W; Elevation 104m), in July 1900 and July 2020 that are contained in the attached data sheets. Fill in the summary columns for each year. (4 marks) JULY – Normal* JULY 1900 JULY 2020 Temperature Mean Daily Average ( ° C) 21.5 19.79 °C 23.10°C