Tropical Atlantic Ocean & The Gulf of Mexico

The climate of the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent land areas is influenced by the temperatures of the surface waters and water currents along with the winds blowing across the water. Because of the waters great capacity for retaining heat, MARITIME climates are moderate and have little seasonal variation. Precipitation can be approximated from coastal weather data, and the air temperature from the water temperatures. The oceans are the major source of the atmospheric moisture that is obtained through evaporation. Climatic zones vary with latitude; the warmest climatic zones stretch across the Atlantic north of the equator. The coldest zones are in the high latitudes, with the coldest regions corresponding to the areas covered by sea ice. Ocean currents contribute to climatic control by transporting warm and cold waters to other regions. Adjacent land areas are affected by the winds that are cooled or warmed when blowing over these currents. The Gulf Stream, for example, warms the atmosphere of the British Isles and northwestern Europe, and the cold water currents contribute to heavy fog off the coast of northeastern Canada (the Grand Banks area) and the northwestern coast of Africa. In general winds tend to transport moisture and warm or cool air over land areas. Hurricanes develop in the southwestern North Atlantic Ocean.