Climate Family Climographs & Locations Developed by Joe Naumann A family of climates - Tropical • Warm all months – Diurnal temperature range is usually greater than the range of average monthly temperatures. • Seasons based on precipitation, not on temperature. • Differences in typical vegetation is based on differences of available precipitation. 2 Climograph – Af (Tropical Rainforest) 3 Tropical Rainforest Map 4 Am – Tropical Monsoon • Not given on many maps – often combined with the tropical rainforest (Af) • Temperatures are very similar to Af • Precipitation differs: there is a short dry season that is long enough to allow some deciduous trees to be part of the forest. 5 Tropical Monsoon Climate 6 Climograph – Aw (tropical Savanna) 7 Savanna Locations 8 B Family – Dry Climates • The most important characteristic is the insufficiency of precipitation for any kind of continuous vegetation cover. • Precipitation is also usually unreliable. • Temperatures are usually not considered – High altitude & high latitude deserts (Bwk) – High altitude & high latitude steppe (Bsk) – Low latitude deserts (Bwh) – Low latitude steppe (Bsh) • Temperatures – k = cold & h = hot 9 Climograph – BW (Desert – Arid) 10 Desert Locations 11 Climagraph – Bs (Steppe or Semiarid) 12 Steppe (Semi-arid) Locations 13 C Family – 4 season temperate • All members have four distinct seasons based primarily on temperature differences • The receive enough precipitation to support some type of forest vegetation (Maquis of the Mediterranean is the result of human action of long ago – deforestation by the Romans) • Summers can be very hot, but winters are mild compared to those of the D climates. 14 C Family of Climates 15 Climagraph – Cfa (Humid subtropical) 16 St. Louis is near the northern border of Cfa Climagraph – Cs (Mediterranean) 17 Climagraph – Cfb (Marine West Coast) 18 D Family – Humid Continental • The continental influence results in seasonal temperature extremes • Four seasons, but the summer gets shorter and cooler as one progresses from Dfa to Dfd. • Found in the higher latitudes; therefore, there are none in the southern hemisphere. There are no huge continental landmasses in those latitudes in the southern hemisphere. • Sufficient precipitation to support some type of forest vegetation. 19 D Family of Climates 20 Climagraph – Dfa (Humid Continental – hot summer) St. Louis is near the southern border of Dfa 21 Climograph – Dfb (Humid Continental – cold winter) 22 Dfc or Dfd -- Siberia 23 Moving north into Canada colder D climates • Dfc • Dfd – coldest of the D family • D climates found in Asia, particularly Siberia (w stands for dry winter) – Dwa – Dwb – Dwc – Dwd 24 E Family – Polar climates • Here the temperatures do not get warm enough to provide a reasonable growing season. Available precipitation is insufficient to support any type of forest. • The ET climate (tundra) does support grasses, herbaceous plants, mosses, and lichens in the few months that might avearge above freezing. • The EF climates never have average temperatures above freezing, so there is no vegetation. 25 Climagraph – ET (Subarctic) 26 Tundra Locations 27 Permafrost 28 EF - Permanent Ice and Snow • Glacial areas such as mountain glaciers or continental glaciers (Antarctica & Greenland) • No vegetation or permanent human habitation. 29 EF climate 30