Climate Family Climographs & Locations

1. Climate Family Climographs& Locations Developed by Joe Naumann

2. 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.

3. Climograph–Af (Tropical Rainforest)

4. Tropical Rainforest Map

5. 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.

6. Tropical Monsoon Climate

7. Climograph – Aw (tropical Savanna)

8. Savanna Locations

9. 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

10. Climograph – BW (Desert – Arid)

11. Desert Locations

12. Climagraph – Bs (Steppe or Semiarid)

13. Steppe (Semi-arid) Locations

14. 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.

15. C Family of Climates

16. Climagraph – Cfa (Humid subtropical) St. Louis is near the northern border of Cfa

17. Climagraph – Cs (Mediterranean)

18. Climagraph – Cfb (Marine West Coast)

19. 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.

20. D Family of Climates

21. Climagraph – Dfa (Humid Continental – hot summer) St. Louis is near the southern border of Dfa

22. Climograph – Dfb (Humid Continental – cold winter)

23. Dfc or Dfd -- Siberia

24. 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

25. 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.

26. Climagraph – ET (Subarctic)

27. Tundra Locations

28. Permafrost

29. EF - Permanent Ice and Snow • Glacial areas such as mountain glaciers or continental glaciers (Antarctica & Greenland) • No vegetation or permanent human habitation.

30. EF climate