Figure 11.1 “Low-Pressure Area Over the United States” by NOAA is licensed as Public Domain.

Weather Systems and Severe Weather:

Energy is the ability to do work, weather and climate are all about energy, energy from the sun. In the previous chapter you learned about the many forms of energy we use in our daily lives, but where does most of this energy come from, at its source 97% of all of the energy on earth comes from the sun. Think about it, coal is organic matter that has been turned into a rock, where did that organic matter come from, plants, where did those plants get their energy, the sun! The Sun also powers the mechanical energy processes that cause weather.

The energy in our atmosphere creates temperature differences, these temperature differences cause air to move, air rising, sinking, and moving across the surface. This movement causes wind, storms, rain, and drought. In the following sections, we will explore how this movement of energy creates our dramatic weather.