Distance from Bodies of Water

DISTANCE FROM BODIES OF WATER

Large bodies of water such as oceans, seas, and large lakes affect the climate of an area. Water heats and cools more slowly than land. Therefore, in the summer, the coastal regions will stay cooler and in winter warmer. A more moderate climate with a smaller temperature range is created.

Ocean Boundaries

If there are no bodies of water to moderate the climate the same conditions follow as with vast, flat plains. The climate condition is continental with more extreme temperatures, a larger range, and less precipitation.

Storms occur over water and over continents. Hurricanes are massive storms that produce heavy winds and rain over a large area. The warmer air masses traveling from the south up the eastern coast of the United States in the spring and summer sometimes bring the remnants of a hurricane that formed in the Gulf of Mexico. Onlyon a very few occasions has Ontario experienced the full force of a hurricane.

More common are tornadoes. They form in the spring and summer, especially after a period of intense heat. They are violent, localized storms with powerful funnel clouds that cause much damage.