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Expert: - 10/20/2004


Question
In school, we each had to pick a question and subject.  I choose this one:

What causes different climates around the world?

Answer
?4?D
There are a few different reasons...
(1) Lattitude, or the distance from the equator. The farther away from the equator you are, the colder it is, and vice versa.
(2) Elevation. Mountains tend to be colder or cooler than valleys and plains, because it is generally colder higher up in the atmosphere.
(3) Proximity of water. Places near a big body of water tend to have a more moderate climate than locations that are far removed from any source of water. For example, a place near an ocean does not get as cold in the winter, nor as hot in the summer as areas farther inland do.
(4) The prevailing wind direction. This is very important, because it usually determines whether some place is wet or dry...or perhaps changes from one time of the year to another. For example, let's say that in south Texas, the wind always blew from the southwest, or from Mexico. In that case, it would be much drier than it is, because in south Texas, the winds sometimes blow from off the Gulf of Mexico, making it very moist and leading to rain.
I hope this answered your question.

Sincerely,

Dave Dombek
Expert Senior Meteorologist
AccuWeather.com

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Dave Dombek

Expertise

A weather enthusiast from an early age, Dave Dombek is now an AccuWeather meteorology expert.

Experience

Dave received his B.S. degree in meteorology from the Pennsylvania State University in May of 1980. Dave joined AccuWeather in July of 1980, beginning in the Snow Warning Service late that fall after his few month period of training. Within a short period of time, Dave got involved in radio broadcasting. He spent over 25 years broadcasting forecasts on radio stations throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states, and has also done newspaper forecasts and television briefings. Currently, Dave is the lead television briefer for all of AccuWeather's television clients in the northeatern quarter of the nation. In his daily forecasting routine, Dave helps coordinate the forecasts in the northeastern part of the country. He is also the Director of Forecaster Hiring and is in charge of hiring new meteorologists. Finally, Dave is the supervisor of the climatology department at AccuWeather. An avid outdoorsman, Dave enjoys hunting and trout fishing. He also enjoys watching football and is a student of history and current events. If Dave doesn't already have enough on his plate, he is married with two teenage daughters. He also leads a small Messianic congregation in the State College, Pa. area.

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