Oceanside vs. Landlocked Comparison

Ocean:

• More moderate climate

• Sea breeze is produced throughout most of the year

• Fog

• Not a lot of variation in weather, stays mostly the same year-round

Landlocked:

• More extreme climate

• Bigger difference in climates between summer and winter

• Higher highs and lower lows in temperature

• Land breeze, climate is not normalized throughout the year

Case Study: San Francisco, CA (Oceanside) vs. Kansas City, MO (Landlocked)

San Francisco

• Location: Coastal

• Highest temperature: 22°C (July 1)

• Lowest temperature: 10°C (January 1)

• Precipitation: Rain (both days)

• Other observations: Fog, lots of wind coming in from the ocean

Kansas City

• Location: Landlocked

• Highest Temperature: 30°C (July 1)

• Lowest Temperature: 3°C (January 1)

• Precipitation: Rain (July), Snow (January)

• Other observations: snow, an occasional land breeze.

Thunderstorms and Fog

• Thunderstorms are formed when condensation in cumulus clouds form water droplets or ice pellets that fall to the ground as precipitation. They are more common in landlocked cities (ex. Kansas City).

• Fog forms when the difference between air temperature and dew point is between 0 and 2.5 degrees Celsius. This is more common in cities near oceans (ex. SF)

Conclusions

Since San Francisco is near the ocean, the climate is more moderate.  Because Kansas City is landlocked, it experiences more extreme weather (higher highs and lower lows).  Kansas City also did not see any fog, whereas San Francisco had a lot of it.