weather [1] [information over pictures]

There are a number of different factors which effect our weather. The first being the jet stream, bands of winds which circle the Earth, some which are warm and some which are cool.	Here you can see the difference between two years. In August 2003 the sub-tropical jet stream moved north bringing warmer weather. In July 2004 the polar jet stream moved south bringing cooler weather.	The second factor is the wind. The UK lies in the 'battleground' between warm tropical air to the south and cold polar air to the north.
The third factor are the ocean currents. The Gulf Stream, for example, carries warm water from the South Atlantic to the western shores of the UK. The south-westerly winds give the UK milder winters.	When winds travel over water they are called maritime. When winds travel over land they are called continental.	In the UK we get tropical maritime [red], tropical continental [red], polar martime [light blue], polar continental [light blue] and sometimes just polar [dark blue].

Look at all of the pictures in turn. As you hover over each one a blue screen appears with an explanation of what the picture shows. Important words are coloured. If you are certain that you know about the picture click on it and it will disappear. As you go through all of the pictures you will get rid of all those which you know about and be only left with those you may be unsure of. In some cases you may get rid of all of the pictures in which case you are ready to move on to other activities which will test your knowledge on that particular topic.