Weather or Climate?

Take a moment to observe what it looks like outside your window. Is it raining? Is it cold? Is there a strong wind blowing leaves down the street?

You may notice that the sky outside your window looks completely different than last week, or even yesterday. Is this because of the weather or the climate? Are weather and climate the same thing? Though these terms are closely related, weather and climate are not the same. In today’s blog, we explain the difference between the two and why they’re important to IFCD 3.

Weather

Weather refers to the short-term conditions of the lower atmosphere – also known as the troposphere. These conditions include precipitation, temperature, humidity, wind direction, wind speed and atmospheric pressure. If you’ve been in North Texas for more than day or two, you’ll agree that our weather can change from day to day, sometimes even hour to hour!

Together, these activities can lead to rain, snow, frost, fog, sunshine or extreme weather events like tornadoes and thunderstorms.

Climate

While weather refers to short-term changes in the atmosphere, climate refers to what a regions’ weather is like over 30+ years. When scientists talk about climate, they’re often looking at historical averages for precipitation, temperature, humidity, sunshine, wind and other measures.

While we may describe this week’s current weather as overcast with scattered rain, we’d describe our climate for this time of year as fairly mild with historically minimal snow and nightly temperatures often dropping below freezing.

Both weather and climate are important for IFCD 3 to understand and study. We use historical climate data to make informed decisions about the best time of year for specific projects to take place. We also use climate data to anticipate months that will likely require more use out of the pump station due to higher precipitation levels. We’re also equipped with various technologies that help us track and predict upcoming weather changes to ensure our team is ready to take on sudden storms.

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