Which statement best describes weather?

Which statement best describes weather?

• A. The long-term patterns of weather
• B. What the temperature and precipitation is like outside today
• C. The average rainfall during a year
• D. The climate of a city

Answer: (B)

Weather is the atmosphere’s condition at a specific place and time, including what you experience outside on a given day. This means things like temperature, precipitation, wind, humidity, and cloud cover as they are right now. The statement describing what the temperature and precipitation are like outside today captures that short-term, local nature of weather—the conditions you’d observe during a single day. Descriptions of long-term patterns describe climate, not weather. So talking about the average rainfall over a year or the climate of a city refers to typical conditions over many years, not what you’re feeling outside today.

Weather is the atmosphere’s condition at a specific place and time, including what you experience outside on a given day. This means things like temperature, precipitation, wind, humidity, and cloud cover as they are right now. The statement describing what the temperature and precipitation are like outside today captures that short-term, local nature of weather—the conditions you’d observe during a single day.

Descriptions of long-term patterns describe climate, not weather. So talking about the average rainfall over a year or the climate of a city refers to typical conditions over many years, not what you’re feeling outside today.