Climate Types--What climate types exist in Canada?
The Canadian Encyclopedia illustrates how Canada
has so many different climate types because of it's size; when they state
"Canada is a very large country with many different climates.
It extends 4500 km, from 42° N lat (at Pelee Island, Lake Erie) to 83° N (the
tip of Ellesmere Island). Thus, there are great differences in length of day
from south to north: in December southern Canada receives 8 hours of daylight;
Canada's northern tip, none. Latitude is also responsible for the generally
westerly air flow in Canada. Southern
Canada is often the battle zone between cold air from arctic regions and warm,
moist air from the south; hence, airflow is channelled east-west." (Retrieved from <http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/climate) . This could range from temperate climate types
to Arctic climates, depending on the northern or southern location.
How uniform is the climate across the country of Canada?
An extremely
informative website named Natural Resources Canada, or http://www.nrcan.gc.ca; shows how there is a
direct connection between the drastic climate changes in Canada mainly because
their economy, much like the U.S., is dominated by the "Service"
industry. This statement demonstrates this trend " Over the past half century,
changes in climate have resulted in increased temperatures throughout much of
Canada, altered precipitation patterns, reduced sea-ice cover, shifting
hydrological conditions and changes in some extreme weather events. At the same
time, Canada's economy has become dominated by the services sector, while the
population has aged and become increasingly urban. In all cases, these trends
are expected to continue, with implications for future vulnerability. For
example, the services sector is likely less sensitive to changes in climate
than the primary resource sector, and the elderly generally have a lower
capacity to deal with extreme weather events, such as heat waves. Stronger
economies also have more options for adaptation, and are therefore considered
better able to adapt" (Retrieved from <http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/earth-sciences/climate-change/community-adaptation/assessments/634>
).
Seasonality-- What is the annual range of temperature
and precipitation for two cities in Canada?
How does the
annual temperature and precipitation for a city in Canada compare to
Denver? Do these cities in Canada experience large or small
seasonality?
The annual range of
temperature for Toronto would be around
15 (°C) or about
60(°F)
Fahrenheit; because the hottest month of July averages 20 (°C) and the
coldest month of January averages around -5(°C). The annual average range of
precipitation for Toronto is around 35(mm).
The annual range of
temperature for Calgary is definitely colder, around 5 (°C) or about 41(°F) Fahrenheit; because the hottest month
of July averages 15 (°C) and the coldest month of January averages around
-10(°C). The annual average range of precipitation for Calgary is around
70(mm).
In terms of
seasonality, Calgary seems to be very similar in Temperature with my city of
Denver, but not so much in precipitation. The high temperatures seem to both
peak in the summer months of July and August; for Denver and Calgary. However,
the precipitation is drastically different as both cities seem to experience
extreme cases of seasonality during the middle of the year. Denver's
precipitation goes down during the summer months and Calgary's seem to
increase. Toronto seems to have an
overall small seasonality compared to that of Calgary and Denver.
Nice job Ryan. Very informative. I think Canada would be a nice country to visit because my family likes hockey and hockey is big there. Toronto looks nice because it looks like it rains a lot there and that might be a nice change.
ReplyDeleteThere is a lot of information about the climate of Canada on this page, good job! My family is Acadian French, these ppl were the first settlers of the Quebec area, basically the entire North East coast. They were forced out by the Canadians and either stayed in Quebec, or settled around Maine and Louisiana. Which basically means I am related to the Creole folk. Which is kinda awesome, except I am allergic to most shellfish. It's amazing what the climate of Canada can bring up. The most interesting fact I found on this page was that the Northern tip of Canada was covered in darkness.
ReplyDeleteSo parts of Canada are a more humid Denver? Makes me glad I live here, I could not handle the humidity! P.s. the only eight hours of daylight in December would drive me nuts, but hey someone has to live there right?
ReplyDeleteI always assumed Canada was just cold I was not aware that their are parts of Canada that are more humid then Denver! great informative page Ryan.
ReplyDeleteThank you all so much for your comments, I am definitely trying to keep up. These graphs are truly telling though! Thank you professor for the video tutorials, because I am definitely not that good on Excel! ;)
ReplyDeleteRyan