U.K Climate
Snail's like the rain and if it gets to heavy, they have an umbrella on their back!
You may think that it rains a lot in the U.K (and you'd be right)...well now's your chance to find out why.
The UK has a mild climate which means cool, wet winters and warm, wet summers.
There are five main reasons why the climate varies within the U.K.
1. Latitude (how far north or south of the equator a place is) The higer in latitude you go the colder it gets. Southern parts of the UK are warmer than northern parts because of their lower latitude.
2. Distance from the see The sea stores up heat which in turn warms the land. This means that Places that are nearer the sea are warmer in winter than those places that are further inland. In the summer those areas that are nearer the sea are cooler because it takes a long time for the sea to heat up and then heat the land. The west of the UK is generally warmer than the east beacause of a warm ocean current that flows from the south west called the North Atlantic Drift.
3. Winds. Across the U.K winds blow and bring warm moist air which in turn makes the climate warm and wet. The U.K's most common prevailing winds come from the south west.
4. Pressure. When watching the weather report we have all thought 'what do they mean' when they say 'there is low pressure over the country'. Well, low pressure weather systems produce lots of rainfall because the air is rising and water vapor is condensing.
High pressure systems bring dry waether because the air is falling.
5. Altitude. This just means how high the land is. So the higher up you go the colder it feels because the air gets thinner so less heat energy is trapped. Higher areas get more rainfall because the air is forced upwards and the water vapor condenses into rain clouds. To sum up, higher altitude areas in the U.K are colder and wetter than lower altitude areas.
The UK has a mild climate which means cool, wet winters and warm, wet summers.
There are five main reasons why the climate varies within the U.K.
1. Latitude (how far north or south of the equator a place is) The higer in latitude you go the colder it gets. Southern parts of the UK are warmer than northern parts because of their lower latitude.
2. Distance from the see The sea stores up heat which in turn warms the land. This means that Places that are nearer the sea are warmer in winter than those places that are further inland. In the summer those areas that are nearer the sea are cooler because it takes a long time for the sea to heat up and then heat the land. The west of the UK is generally warmer than the east beacause of a warm ocean current that flows from the south west called the North Atlantic Drift.
3. Winds. Across the U.K winds blow and bring warm moist air which in turn makes the climate warm and wet. The U.K's most common prevailing winds come from the south west.
4. Pressure. When watching the weather report we have all thought 'what do they mean' when they say 'there is low pressure over the country'. Well, low pressure weather systems produce lots of rainfall because the air is rising and water vapor is condensing.
High pressure systems bring dry waether because the air is falling.
5. Altitude. This just means how high the land is. So the higher up you go the colder it feels because the air gets thinner so less heat energy is trapped. Higher areas get more rainfall because the air is forced upwards and the water vapor condenses into rain clouds. To sum up, higher altitude areas in the U.K are colder and wetter than lower altitude areas.
check out this cool video from the very clever weather people at the Met office.
Or, try this video which is a recap of the 5 factors which affect climate.