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Air, Weather, Climate, Seasons of Southwest Michigan In Michigan and at the beach, the weather is different every day.
Some days are warm and the sky is clear of clouds.
Sometimes clouds, such as cirro-stratus clouds, are in the sky.
Sometimes there are cumulus clouds during a fair weather day.
Alto-cumulus clouds.
Nimbo-stratus clouds during a stormy day. Learn more about clouds at www.jason.org/... and www.enchantedlearning.com/...
Fog during a stormy day. It's windy and snowing. The storm, cold air, lake water, and beach sand are making ice-sand bolders along the lake's edge on a winter day.
The Sun plays a vital role in daily weather and the annual cycle of seasons. For instance, the Sun warms the air in the day. During the sunless dark nights, some warmth escapes, so the air becomes cooler. Also, because the Earth is tilted, the sun more directly shines on Michigan during the summer; thus Michigan is warmer during the summer. During the winter, the sun shines less directly on Michigan; thus, the air temperature is colder. Learn more about the seasons at www.enchantedlearning.com/...
Michigan has 4 seasons: winter, spring, summer, and fall. Learn more about the seasons at www.enchantedlearning.com/...
The air, weather, and water affect each other. Windy weather causes Lake Michigan to be wavy. And Lake Michigan supplies lots of moisture for storm clouds to form during the winter to create "lake effect snow." After winter, on the land near Lake Michigan, Lake Michigan's cold water keeps the land cooler for longer into the spring. After summer, on the land near Lake Michigan, Lake Michigan's warm water keeps the land warmer for longer in the fall. Learn more about how wind makes waves at earthguide.ucsd.edu/...wave wind.html Learn more about "lake effect snow" at www.upweatherhistory.com/... and at http://severe-wx.pbworks.com/Lake-Effect-Snow.
The air, weather, and land affect each other. The wind blows the sand onto the sand dunes; following, the Marram Grass (Ammophila breviligulata) traps the sand and makes the sand dunes taller. In the winter, after storm clouds form over Lake Michigan, the land and sand dunes push air up and cause snow to fall onto the land. Learn more about dune formation at www.geo.msu.edu/geogmich/dunes.html Learn more about "lake effect snow" at www.upweatherhistory.com/... and at severe-wx.pbworks.com/Lake-Effect-Snow.
In the image above, the wind is whipping the Marram Grass (Ammophila breviligulata) around so that the grass draws circles on the sandy ground. Weather, climate, and seasons effect plants; and, plants affect the air, wind, and temperature at the ground. Marram Grass (Ammophila breviligulata), Burr Oak (Quercus macrocarpa), and Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) require a particular climate to live; likely, they will not survive in climates that are a lot hotter or a lot colder than Michigan. In the fall season, deciduous plants' leaves change color and drop off. In the fall season, herbacious perennials die down to the root. In the spring season, deciduous plants grow new leaves. In the spring and summer seasons, perennial herbacious plants grow from their roots again. Plants also affect the air and microclimates. Plants affect the chemistry of the air. Plants breathe in carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen. Also, plants affect microclimates. Trees provide shade, which cools the air and decreases direct sunlight. A mass of trees create an effective wind break, which diminishes the windiness behind the tree mass.
Air, weather, climate, and seasons relate to animals. During the warm seasons and sunny days, Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta) squat on a log to warm themselves in the sun. During the winter season, Painted Turtles hibernate in the mud under ponds. Birds migrate south in the fall and back north in the spring. The birds of Michgian and Painted Turtles require a particular climate; they will likely not survive in climates that are lot hotter or a lot colder than Michigan. Animals breathe in oxygen from the atmosphere and exhale carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
In the image above, it has snowed on a dune with Marram Grass is in the foreground; in the background is Lake Michigan, which has iced over during the winter; the little hills are actually 20-foot high mounds of sand and ice along the Lake's edge. Air, weather, climate, and seasons connect to everything. For a few examples ... Air, weather, climate, and seasons affect the water and water affects them. Air temperature warms and cools Lake Michigan's water temperature. Lake Michigan's water temperature warms and cools the temperature of the local air. Summer rainstorms add water to Lake Michigan and Lake Michigan provides moisture for winter lake-effect snowstorms. The wind makes Lake Michigan wavy. Air, weather, climate, and seasons are related to the ground. Weather provides the ground with moisture and dryness. Cold winters freeze the top couple feet of the ground. Warm springs thaw the ground. Winters storms cover the ground with snow. Summer storms make the ground wet. In the winter, as land and dunes push air up into storm clouds, "lake effect snow" happens. Air, weather, climate, and seasons relate to plants. Each plant requires a particular climate in which to live. Deciduous plants drop their leaves each fall and grew new leaves in the spring. Plants breathe in carbon dioxide from the air. Trees create shade and block wind; thus, trees make microclimates. Air, weather, climate, and seasons relate to animals. Each animal requires a particular climate in which to live. Amphibians and reptiles hibernate in the winter season. Many birds fly south in the fall season and return north in the spring season. Animals breathe in oxygen from the air. Air, weather, climate, and seasons relate to people. Air, weather, climate, and seasons influence people's health, economy, education, government, art, and values. People need to breathe clean air to be healthy. Weather, climate, and seasons affect the economy. Weather, climate, and seasons influence what locally-grown plants are available during each month of the year. Weather, climate, and seasons influence what kind of clothes people wear each month. Air, weather, climate, and seasons affect education. Nature centers have classes that relate to the local weather, climate, seasons, and phenology. Phenology is the study of the annual timing of biological occurrences in relation to their climate and habitat, such as when flowers blooms, when birds migrate, etc. Air, weather, climate, and seasons affect the government. Governments make laws on people’s activities that affect air quality and the climate. Air, weather, climate, and seasons affect the art. People make art about air, weather, climate, and seasons. Weather, climate, and season affect the land and habitats which provide people with materials with which to make art. Air, weather, climate, and seasons affect people's values. For instance, in the dynamic climate of Michigan, many Michigan residents especially cherish sunny days. However, in the hot and dry climate of Australia, many Australian residents especially cherish cloudy days. Air, weather, climate, and seasons connect to everything. If the climate changes, everything changes. If the climate changes, all social elements and natural elements change too. Everything is connected to everything; thus, the air and climate relate to all social elements (health, economy, school, government, art, values, etc.), culture, and all natural elements (habitats, plants, animals, water, ground, air, etc.). Links: Learn more about clouds at Learn more about the seasons at Learn more about how wind makes waves at Learn more about "lake effect snow" at |
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Three Oaks, Michigan, USA