Climographs

Images of the Month: Climographs

Average Monthly Precipitation for Average Monthly Precipitation for
Cookeville (1971 to 2000) the Knoxville Airport (1971 to 2000)

Average Monthly Temperature for Average Monthly Temperature for

Cookeville (1971 to 2000) the Knoxville Airport (1971 to 2000)

The term climate refers to the average weather for a particular place or area.

Using a thermometer and a rain gauge, we can record the weather on our school grounds. The “weather reports” you hear on TV or radio can tell you how hot or cold it is where you live. When it rains, they report how much rain fell in certain locations.

People have been recording the weather for many years. For some locations, the weather records for each year have been saved. For example, the weather station at the Knoxville Airport has weather records from 1910 to the present!

To calculate an average for a set of numbers, you add up all the numbers and divide by how many numbers you have. For example, the average of the two numbers 10 and 20 is 15 because 10 + 20 = 30 and 30 divided by 2 is 15. Climate averages are often based on the averages for 30 years.

Comparing the climate data for Cookeville and Knoxville, what do you notice? Can you see that March is generally the wettest month and October is generally the driest month of the year in both places? Can you see that in both places temperatures gradually get warmer from January to July and then begin to get cooler again?

Who Cares About What the Climate Is?

Suppose someone from Kansas is thinking of moving to Knoxville. They might want to know what weather to expect in Knoxville.

The Knoxville Chamber of Commerce website (http://www.knoxvillechamber.com/) gives the following information on Knoxville’s climate:

Average Annual High/Low Temperature: 69 / 46
Average Winter High/Low Temperature: 49 / 28
Average Spring High/Low Temperature: 70 / 45
Average Summer High/Low Temperature: 86 / 64
Average Autumn High /Low Temperature: 71 / 48
Average Annual Rainfall: 47.14 inches
Average Annual Snowfall: 11.40 inches

Just because the average snowfall each year is Knoxville is about 12 inches, does that mean they get about 12 inches every year? No! Some years they get more and some years they get less. According to the National Weather Service records for Knoxville (http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mrx/tys/tysnorms.htm), the record for “most snow in one season” was 56.7 inches, which happened during late 1959 and early 1960. Wow!

Naturalists care about climate because different plants and animals are adapted to survive in different climates. Can you identify some plants that are adapted to survive in hot dry places?

Junior Naturalist Challange:

To create your own graphs for lots of places in Tennessee, try out our new Climograph–Maker! For directions, Click Here

Last updated on January 7, 2006