1. precipitation
The two basic factors which are used for defining a climate type are the precipitation and temperature. All of the climate classification systems are using these factors as they are by far the most important in the creation of the climate at a particular area.
These two factors are dependent on other factors though, as they do not just occur randomly in a particular variation.
For example:
The places where the sunlight falls at a more direct angle have higher temperatures, while the places where the sunlight falls at lower angles have lower temperatures. Where the water is warmed more, there is more evaporation more humidity, and there is more precipitation, where the water is cooler, the evaporation is lower, the humidity lower, so there is less precipitation.
2. weather forecast
The weather is often a term used in the same manner as the term climate. That is wrong though. The weather, unlike the climate, represents the short-term changes in the atmospheric conditions, be it in minutes or weeks.
The changes in question are the temperature, humidity, air pressure, precipitation etc.
If a scientists is studying the short-term weather conditions, than he needs to focus on the weather forecast. The weather forecast is based on models that are predicting the aforementioned atmospheric conditions, and provide enough data for a scientist to be able to study and predict the weather on the short term.
3. temperature
The two basic factors which are used to a define a climate type are the temperature and the precipitation. These two factors are dependent on other factors that define them, such as angle of the sunlight, land mass, water bodies, latitude etc.
The Earth is elliptical, so the sunlight cannot fall at the same angle in all of it. The area around the Equator is the most exposed to the sunlight in that it is the area that receives the most direct sunlight, and has the highest temperatures. This also results in warming up the water bodies and creation of warm oceanic currents, which in turn bring in precipitation.
The further north and south an area is from the Equator, the less sunlight it gets, as the sunlight falls at lower and lower angles, so the warming up is much lower. That results in lower temperatures, but also the formation of cold oceanic currents, which in turn bring in cold and dry conditions.
4. windward
The windward side of the mountains is the side that is facing the upcoming winds. This side of the mountain acts as a natural barrier for the movement of the air masses. That results in building up of the air masses, change of temperature as the rise up, and change of pressure, which in turn results in precipitation.
The precipitation on this side of the mountain is much more abundant than on the opposite side, the leeward side, which receives mostly dry winds, and rare drizzle or light rainfall.
The easiest way in which the windward side can be recognized is the vegetation abundance. The windward side has thick cover of vegetation, usually forests, because the amount of precipitation allows it. The leeward side, on the other hand, is much drier, so the vegetation is much rarer, often having grasses, and the occasional shrub and tree.
5. Southern
The Southern Oscillation, more commonly referred to as El Nino, is a natural occurrence in the southern part of the Pacific Ocean. It manages to warm up significantly the waters of the Pacific Ocean in this part, which influences the ocean currents in this ocean.
The ocean currents are too becoming warmer, and as they move toward the higher latitudes they tend to bring in warmer weather. This is the case with the North part of North America as well, as the ocean currents are becoming warmer, the air masses over them become warmer too, so the coastal areas are getting more warmth, resulting in abnormally high temperatures.
Alaska for example, when the Southern Oscillation is active, manages to get temperatures of over 30 C degrees along its coast, which is very weird and unexpected considering its latitude.
