Blog Numero 3

Green vegetation during the rainy season of Jalisco which is usually from June to September.

Weather and Climate.

Climate refers to the atmospheres average conditions over a long period of time, in other words it is "what we expect". Weather is the atmospheres conditions at any given moment or "what we actually get." The six types of climate classifications are, tropical humid, dry, mildlatitude, severe midlatitude, polar and highland.

Jalisco would fall under A tropical wet and AW tropical wet and dry.  

The rainy season takes place usually around June and precipitation levels rise sharply, with hurricanes and tropical storms even occurring some years. However, the rainy weather often lasts no more than one or two hours and often falls towards the end of the day, refreshing the air and overall climate. Although the summer climate in Guadalajara can be hot, it is rarely uncomfortable and humidity levels are reasonable. The temperatures can vary from  95°F during the months of April and May.

And 41°F around January and December.

 

Average temperature for Jalisco, we can see the highest temperature around July

Average rainfall in Jalisco, with the most rainy days occurring in September.

Clouds

Condensation or deposition of water above the Earth's surface creates clouds. In general, clouds develop in any air mass that becomes saturated. Clouds can be classified by altitude, shape and precipitation. The four major types of clouds are Cumulus, Stratus, Cirrus and Nimbus. 

Cumulus clouds appear as small, cotton ball-like clouds that generally form by convection. Cumulus are also called "fair-weather" clouds as pleasant conditions usually prevail while they are around.

This photo is an example of cumulus clouds on a sunny day in Jalisco.

This photo is an example of Cirrus clouds. These clouds appear as wispy thin veils or detached filaments composed mostly of ice. Strong winds aloft often create the fibrous ice trails which tend to curl at their ends. Cirrus clouds are associated with an approaching warm front.

And Finally the clouds in this photo are Nimbostratus clouds. These clouds are dark-gray layer of clouds that cover the entire sky. The prefix "nimbo" indicates that these clouds are precipitating. Nimbostratus clouds are typically found along a warm front producing low intensity precipitation that lasts for several hours.

 

 

Hurricane Jova hitting Jalisco.

Hurricanes

 A Hurricane is one of natures most powerful natural disasters. It is a huge storm which can contain wind speeds of  75 to 200 mph. The Ingredients needed for a hurricane include, a Strong coriolis effect, high sea surface temperatures, changes in wind speed and direction, and some convergence.

Hurricanes form when latent heat is released.

The impact of Hurricanes are that is that it can create a tornado, storm surges, high winds, rainfall, stream flooding and mass wasting.

 

In October of 2011 a Pacific hurricane made landfall over Jalisco Mexico. Jova was a powerful category 3 which had wind speed of up to 125 miles per hour, a total of 9 fatalities and 46,280 others affected.Shortly after landfall, Jova rapidly dissipated to a remnant low, early on October 13.    

Video that documents the effects Hurricane Jova which include high winds, mas wasting and flooding.

Sources:
http://geo-mexico.com/?p=9512

http://clasfaculty.ucdenver.edu/callen/1202//Climate/Cyclones/FrontsCyclones.html

Pidwirny, M. (2006). "Cloud Formation Processes". Fundamentals of Physical Geography, 2nd Edition. Date Viewed. http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/8e.html  Ritter, Michael E. The Physical Environment: an Introduction to Physical Geography. 2006. Date visited.  http://www.earthonlinemedia.com/ebooks/tpe_3e/title_page.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5s_XuA__TE