Jan 01, 2017 · Explain how the topography of the United States can affect the weather. Topography is one factor that plays a large role in our everyday weather. Mountains and other natural barriers are the biggest contributors. They affect the moment of perception, air, and temperature. Therefore, mountainous areas are more likely to have extreme weather.
The temperature is shown as line graphs, and the rainfall is the bars. ANSWER: Water dominates the Caribbean and year-round warm temperatures also promote evaporation. Together, these factors help explain the ample rainfall throughout the region.
Heavy precipitation events in most parts of the United States have increased in both intensity and frequency since 1901 (high confidence).There are important regional differences in trends, with the largest increases occurring in the northeastern United States (high confidence).In particular, mesoscale convective systems (organized clusters of thunderstorms)—the main mechanism …
Dec 23, 2019 · California’s climate varies greatly throughout the state and are influenced by wind patterns, ocean currents, and high-elevation mountains. In the northwestern corner, rainfall exceeds 100 inches annually while the Mojave Desert in the southeastern part only receives an inch in a half. California’s plant and animal life are as diverse as it’s climate.
Climate change will cause an intensification of rainfall variability, thus resulting in river flow fluctuations and a higher frequency of droughts or floods [10–16].1 Oct 2019
The climate of the United States varies due to changes in latitude, and a range of geographic features, including mountains and deserts. Generally, on the mainland, the climate of the U.S. becomes warmer the further south one travels, and drier the further west, until one reaches the West Coast.
The global distribution of precipitation is influenced by the general circulation of the atmosphere, proximity to large bodies of water, and topography. Precipitation is most abundant where air rises, and least abundant where it sinks. It also tends to be greater near oceans and lakes, and in higher elevations.
The fast-moving air currents in a jet stream can transport weather systems across the United States, affecting temperature and precipitation. … Jet streams typically move storms and other weather systems from west to east. However, jet streams can move in different ways, creating bulges of winds to the north and south.27 Nov 2021
As average temperatures at the Earth's surface rise (see the U.S. and Global Temperature indicator), more evaporation occurs, which, in turn, increases overall precipitation.17 Jul 2021
Climate change can affect the intensity and frequency of precipitation. Warmer oceans increase the amount of water that evaporates into the air. When more moisture-laden air moves over land or converges into a storm system, it can produce more intense precipitation—for example, heavier rain and snow storms.21 Jul 2021
Rainfall pattern means the distribution of rain geographically, temporally, and seasonally. The tropics receive more rainfall than deserts. Cooler places like the poles receive no rainfall, as it is converted to snow before it falls to the ground.6 Mar 2022
NevadaDriest States in America Nevada takes the lead as the least rainy state in the US, with only 9.5 inches (241 mm) of rain each year. The mountain states, including Wyoming and Montana, dominate the list of America's driest states year round.
With temperature, rainfall is perhaps the most important factor in defining climate. Excess rainfall can cause flooding and enormous property and crop damage. Still, a deficiency of rainfall can cause drought and crop failure. Rainfall is also the major source of energy that drives the circulation of the atmosphere.21 May 1999
Weather is made up of six main components. These are temperature, atmospheric pressure, cloud formation, wind, humidity and rain. A small change to any of these conditions can create a different weather pattern. Every weather pattern has a knock-on effect, creating a ripple effect around the world.
Daily changes in the weather are due to winds and storms. Seasonal changes are due to the Earth revolving around the sun. What causes weather? Because the Earth is round and not flat, the Sun's rays don't fall evenly on the land and oceans.
rain gaugesInstruments for measuring precipitation include rain gauges and snow gauges, and various types are manufactured according to the purpose at hand. Rain gauges are discussed in this chapter. Rain gauges are classified into recording and non-recording types.
In the United States, projected changes in seasonal mean precipitation span the range from profound decreases to profound increases. In many regions and seasons, projected changes in precipitation are not large compared to natural variations.
Changes in precipitation are one of the most important potential outcomes of a warming world because precipitation is integral to the very nature of society and ecosystems. These systems have developed and adapted to the past envelope of precipitation variations.
Spring and summer have comparable increases (about 3.5%) but substantially different patterns. In spring, the northern half of the contiguous United States has become wetter, and the southern half has become drier. In summer, there is a mixture of increases and decreases across the Nation.
The Third National Climate Assessment#N#54#N#projected reductions in annual snowpack of up to 40% in the western United States based on the SRES A2 emissions scenario in the CMIP3 suite of climate model projections. Recent research using the CMIP5 suite of climate model projections forced with a higher scenario (RCP8.5) and statistically downscaled for the western United States continues to show the expected declines in various snow metrics, including snow water equivalent, the number of extreme snowfall events, and number of snowfall days.#N#55#N#A northward shift in the rain–snow transition zone in the central and eastern United States was found using statistically downscaled CMIP5 simulations forced with RCP8.5. By the end of the 21st century, large areas that are currently snow dominated in the cold season are expected to be rainfall dominated.#N#56
Lake effect snows along the Great Lakes are affected greatly by ice cover extent and lake water temperatures. As ice cover diminishes in winter, the expectation is for more lake effect snow until temperatures increase enough such that much of what now falls as snow instead falls as rain.
Streamflow is a measure of the rate at which water is carried by rivers and streams, and it represents a critical resource for people and the environment. Changes in streamflow can directly influence the supply of drinking water and the amount of water available for irrigating crops, generating electricity, and other needs. In addition, many plants and animals depend on streamflow for habitat and survival.
More precipitation is expected to cause higher average streamflow in some places, while heavier storms (see the Heavy Precipitation indicator) could lead to larger peak flows. More frequent or severe droughts, however, could reduce streamflow in certain areas.
Cohen (1955), whose status frustration theory says that lower-class boys do poorly in school because schools emphasize middle-class values. School failure reduces their status and self-esteem, which the boys try to counter by joining juvenile gangs. In these groups, a different value system prevails, and boys can regain status and self-esteem by engaging in delinquency. Cohen had nothing to say about girls, as he assumed they cared little about how well they did in school, placing more importance on marriage and family instead, and hence would remain nondelinquent even if they did not do well. Scholars later criticized his disregard for girls and assumptions about them.
Differential opportunity theory, developed by Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin (1960), tried to explain why the poor choose one or the other of Merton’s adaptations.
Sociologist Herbert Gans (1996) pointed to an additional function of deviance: deviance creates jobs for the segments of society—police, prison guards, criminology professors, and so forth—whose main focus is to deal with deviants in some manner.
Deviance has several functions: (a) it clarifies norms and increases conformity, (b) it strengthens social bonds among the people reacting to the deviant, and (c) it can help lead to positive social change. Social ecology. Certain social and physical characteristics of urban neighborhoods contribute to high crime rates.
To review, this approach attributes high rates of deviance and crime to the neighborhood’s social and physical characteristics, including poverty, high population density, dilapidated housing, and high population turnover. These problems create social disorganization that weakens the neighborhood’s social institutions and impairs effective child socialization.
One popular set of explanations, often called learning theories, emphasizes that deviance is learned from interacting with other people who believe it is OK to commit deviance and who often commit deviance themselves. Deviance, then, arises from normal socialization processes. The most influential such explanation is Edwin H. Sutherland’s (1947) differential association theory, which says that criminal behavior is learned by interacting with close friends and family members. These individuals teach us not only how to commit various crimes but also the values, motives, and rationalizations that we need to adopt in order to justify breaking the law. The earlier in our life that we associate with deviant individuals and the more often we do so, the more likely we become deviant ourselves. In this way, a normal social process, socialization, can lead normal people to commit deviance.
Because symbolic interactionism focuses on the means people gain from their social interaction, symbolic interactionist explanations attribute deviance to various aspects of the social interaction and social processes that normal individuals experience. These explanations help us understand why some people are more likely than others living in the same kinds of social environments. Several such explanations exist.