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Climate: North America (NAM)

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Category: Weather Weather
Content source: SKYbrary About SKYbrary
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The Climate of North America

North America extends to within 10° of latitude of both the equator and the North Pole. It embraces every climatic zone, from Tropical Monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification Am) in Florida, Subarctic and Tundra climates (Köppen climate classification Dfc & ET) prevail in northern Canada, and desert and semiarid conditions (Köppen climate classification BWh & BSk) found in interior regions cut off by high mountains from rain-bearing westerly winds. The West coast enjoys Mediterranean climate in the south (Köppen climate classification Csb) and an Oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb)further north as far as southern Alaska. The eastern half of North America has a continental climate - Humid Sub-Tropicall (Köppen climate classification Cfa) in the southern United States and Humid Continental (Köppen climate classification Dfa & Dfb) around the Great Lakes and Atlantic Canada.

Airports

The following map shows the Köppen climate classification for aerodromes across North America which are listed on SKYbrary:

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Climatic and Weather Phenomena Affecting Aviation in North America

  • Tropical Revolving Storms - the US states bordering the Gulf of Mexico are prone to Hurricanes between July and October.
  • Tornados - Tornados occur regularly in the Mid-West of the USA and occasionally in southern Canada (Ontario).
  • Freezing Rain - Freezing Rain can affect many airports in the north east of the USA and southern/atlantic Canada in the winter months.
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