Weather Tidbits: Air vs Water Temperature

This edition of Weather Tidbits will be discussing the different rates of heating and cooling between air and water. Air and water heat at different rates because of their different heat capacities. Heat capacity is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of a substance by one degree. Water has a higher heat capacity than air. This means that more energy is required to heat up water. Thus, it also takes longer to heat up water than air. Factors like the size of the water body and movement of the water are also important to consider. A lake with still water will react to changes in temperature much faster than an ocean with constant movement and upwelling. A fundamental reason why the Chesapeake Bay changes in temperature quicker than the Atlantic.