Weather and climate mountain ranges toward prevailing winds, and the ocean current. Weather and climate There is often confusion between weather and climate. Weather is the condition of the atmosphere at a particular place over a short period of time, whereas climate refers to the weather pattern, using statistical data, of a place over a long enough period to yield meaningful averages. Meteorology studies weather, while climatology studies climate; both are atmospheric sciences. Climate is an important physical element because it indicates the atmospheric condition of heat, moisture and circulation; it plays a dominant role in shaping vegetation and soil; and it ultimately
Foehn wind it expands and cools due to the decrease in pressure with height. Since colder air can hold less water vapour, moisture condenses to form clouds and precipitates as rain or snow above the mountain's upwind slopes. The change of state from vapour to liquid water is accompanied by heating, and the subsequent removal of moisture as precipitation renders this heat gain irreversible, leading to the warm, dry foehn conditions in the mountain's lee. This mechanism has become a popular textbook example of atmospheric thermodynamics and it lends itself to attractive diagrams. However the common occurrence of 'dry' foehn events, where