Weather is the condition of wind, temperature, rain, sunshine, snow etc. at a certain time or over a period of time
Climate is the average weather conditions at a particular place over a period of years
Climate varies from place to place and sometimes it is difficult to say which climatic zone the country belongs to. In general we could say that we recognize 5 main types of climate
- Tropical
- Dry
- Warm temperate
- Cold temperate
- Cold
Each climatic zone has different weather pattern. Slovakia is situated in the warm temperate zone.This zone is characteristic for the alternation of four seasons-spring, summer, autumn and winter. Each season lasts about three months and has different characteristics.
Spring-begins on the 21st March. In spring nature begins to awake from its long winter sleep and new life begins. Nights get shorter and days get longer.The snow melts as days become warmer. It can cause swelling of the streams and rivers and there are often floods during this season. The weather in spring is very changeable and unpredictable. The temperatures are often below 0°C at night, but the days are quite warm. But the weather changes very quickly. Sometimes the sun shines and soon after is overcast, rains or even snows.
Typical spring flowers are snowdrops and snowflakes,dandelions, daffodils, tulips, violets, catkins
Summer-begins on 21st June. The temperature rises to 25°C or more. In the morning there is often dew on the grass, the sky is clear, no wind or just a fresh breeze flows. The weather is often hot and dry. But on the other hand, when it is too hot for a long time, then the rain comes. Strong storms are typical for summer.It clouds over, wind is stronger, it cools down and a heavy downpour with the lightning starts. Sometimes there may be hailing or a clowdburst. After the rain you can sometimes see a beautiful rainbow in the sky
Autumn- begins on 23rd September. the sun sets earlier and rises later so days get shorter. There is a period of a few fine days which is called Indian summer.This is the time of harvest. The leaves start to fall off the trees and grass turns yellow. Birds fly to the south.
The wether is very unsettled, thy sky is often clouded, mornings are dull and it often looks like rain.In the morning there is often fog. The temperature starts to drops and first frosts may appear. It is chilly and rainy or it drizzles.
Winter- starts on 21st December. In winter it snows, icy wind blows and there are hard frosts. Streems, rivers and lakes are frozen over, snow is everywhere. The temperature drops to below zero, sometimes more than 20°C. Icycles hang from the roof, the roads are slippery, the snow crunches underfoot. Winter is time for winter pleasures such as throwing snowballs, building snowmen, sledging, sliding, skating or skiing.
Weather can affect people´s mood. When the weather is fine people feel happy, they are in a good mood, they laugh and enjoy life. But when the weather is bad, people feel depressed, bored, suffer from headache or feel pain in their bones. That´s why the English use the phrase´to feel under the weather´ when you don´t feel very well.
Thera are many ways how people can predict weather. We have meteorologists who prepare weather forecasts for us, but not everybody relies on them.
But we can forecast the weather ourselves from the clouds, the moon, the behaviour of birds and insects, or from plants. Some people are weather sensitive and they feel the weather changes in their bones, organs, they feel headache, or they feel pain in their scars.
Climate changes very obviously and so the weather changes as well. We cannot compare winters 50 years ago to those we have today. the main cause is the global warming which affects our climate. Summers become warmer and winters less severe.
