Weather is a topic of conversation in every diner across the U.S. almost daily. There is an entire cable television channel dedicated to weather and there are multiple online weather sources. We all want to know what's going to happen -- we expect an accurate prediction and are highly disappointed when a trusted prediction is wrong. There are all sorts of wives taless and local traditions for predicting weather. In farming communities, when the cows are huddled together and laying down, it means it is going to rain. In some parts of the country, we even rely on a groundhog to predict the length of winter as the season eases into spring. We've created a holiday -- Groundhog Day -- around this belief!

But what is weather? Weather is actually the condition of the bottom layer of the atmosphere. Since the atmosphere is made of gases, water vapor and dust, the weather usually is described by temperature, precipitation and moisture, and wind. Weather is constantly shifting and at times is even erratic. Just today as this is being written in Cochranville, Pennsylvania, the temperature is 22 degrees F, snowing, and very windy. Last week it was 65 degrees F, dry, and slightly breezy.

Climate is a description of the weather that a region usually experiences over a long period of time. Knowing the climate of an area can tell you what kinds of temperatures, rainfall amounts, and even the types of vegetation that may be found there. Climates are classified into different types based largely on the average temperatures and the amount of rainfall that is received.

Climate and weather, as you can see, are related but not the same. Another wives tale says that,

"Climate is what you expect; weather is what you get."