Why does weather exist?

From warm and sunny summer days to beautiful blankets of winter snow – there are a few main reasons why we have weather!

One of the factors that contributes to our weather is Earth’s special atmosphere. The atmosphere refers to the layer of air above us that separates what’s on Earth from what’s in outer-space – it makes life on Earth possible by giving us protection and air to breathe! 

The atmosphere together with the heat and light of the sun are responsible for a lot of our weather! The atmosphere contains small amounts of water vapor that interact with sunlight as part of the Water Cycle, which gives us weather like clouds, rain, frost, snow, and more! The heating and cooling of the sun also causes weather like wind.

Weather also comes from the way the Earth moves in a big circle around the sun over the course of a year -- we get seasons because the circling makes the sun higher and the days longer and warmer at one time of year, and lower and less warm at another!

Aside from why we have weather, there are also some reasons why we need weather! Without sunlight and rain, for example, trees and plants would not be able to survive and provide us with air to breathe and food to eat! Plus, changing weather provides you with all kinds of different activities you can do -- swimming in summer, sledding in winter, and more!