LLAOATS

In Physical geography, LLAOATS (pronounced "ya-oats") is an acronym used to describe factors that contribute to the climate at any given location. The impact of each factor is listed in decreasing order e has a higher impact than land/water distribution, which has a higher impact than atmospheric circulation, and so on.

Latitude
Latitude controls the amount and duration of insolation.

Land/Water Distribution
Land and water do not absorb or reflect heat at the same rate. Therefore, heating and cooling tend to be differential.

Atmospheric Circulation
Air tends to stay in motion. See Coriolis Effect, Jet Stream, and Atmospheric Pressure for more information.

Oceanic Circulation
Oceanic circulation contributes significantly to the climate, especially near coastal areas. Generally, water flows to the west at the equator, and then north (if in the northern hemisphere) or south (if in the southern hemisphere) as it is deflected by land masses. Heat absorbed during equatorial flow is slowly shed as the water flows toward the poles, and it is cooled further by temperatures at high latitudes before flowing back toward the equator. As a result, the east coasts of continents are usually warmer and more humid (due to the heat the water flowing offshore has from its equatorial travel), and the west coasts of continents are usually cooler and less humid (because the water has shed much of its heat during its time at high latitudes.)

Altitude
Due to Adiabatic lapse, temperature and pressure decrease as altitude increases.

Topographic Barriers
Topographic barriers, such as mountains, cause effects such as orographic lift.

Storms
Storms are temporary and have the least overall impact on climate.