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
Weather warning [increasing] significantly, but its occurrence, location, and/or timing is still uncertain"" and a warning as ""hazardous weather or hydrologic event [that] is occurring, is imminent, or has a very high probability of occurring"" . Additionally, the NWS breaks down weather warnings and watches based upon the specific type of hazardous weather. These warnings and watches include, but are not limited to, flooding, severe local storms, tropical cyclones, and winter storms. In Canada, governmental weather warnings and watches are issued by the Environment Canada. Non-governmental alerts, not watches or warnings, such as a "rotation detected" or "tornado reported" are issued by