2. Climate FAQ

On this page:

1) Lesson #1: Canada's Varied Climate

2) Lesson #2: Key Terms: Weather and Climate

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LESSON #1: CANADA"S VARIED CLIMATE

KEY FACTORS THAT CAN IMPACT & CREATE WEATHER AND CLIMATE in CANADA

(Printable Note here)

Weather: The combination of many atmospheric conditions (temperature, precipitation, currents of wind,

and cloud cover) that occur within a very short time (today,daily/weekly) and within a local (small)

area, like a city or region on a specific day.

Climate: Atmospheric (weather) conditions of a place over a long period of time, or a large area, in a short or

long period of time. Ottawa’s climate over the past year, Canada’s climate today.

Climate often is often varied (hot there, cold and snowy in that season, but hot in another…) but

weather tends to be specific to a day or place.

4 KEY FACTORS CREATE CANADA’S VARIED (DIFFERENT) CLIMATES

(Reasons our climate/can be so different in different locations on the same day).

1- Canada is a very large country, extends great distances N,S,E,W

2- Different elevations (mountains, valleys etc…) produce different climate conditions.

3- Coastal and Continental Regions: Coastal (maritime) regions by the oceans, have

different climates from our Continental (or inland regions) regions.

Halifax and Vancouver are both Maritime regions (by the ocean) and Ottawa and

Winnipeg would be Continental, or inland regions.

4. Wind and Pressure Systems are responsible for moving weather conditions from one part of the country to another.

Ottawa’s weather can be impacted by wind blowing from the West, Arctic Cold air descending from the North

(Polar Vortex), and warm moist air coming up from Florida. That is why weather can be so hard to predict

(Printable Note here)

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LESSON # 2: CLIMATE KEY TERMS

1) NOTES PPT: CLIMATE KEY TERMS PRESENTATION

A) Definition Hunt Worksheet

- Use the slide show to find key terms