天気 vs. 天候, what's the real difference?


What's the real difference between 天気 and 天候? In at least one of my
dictionaries, 天候 just redirects to 天気.

I've always thought (read: "felt") that 天候 is the general "concept" of
weather, or even climate

> 秋の天候 - "the [type of] weather in the fall"; 北海道の天候 - "the climate of
> Hokkaido"

whereas 天気 seems to be the actual tangible weather.

> 明日の天気は雨です - "Tomorrow (the actual weather) will be rain"; 天気予報 - "weather
> (not climate) forecast"

これ合ってるか教えてください。

**EDIT** : After looking a bit more through the different definitions, it
seems that **気候** is more closely related to "climate" than **天候**.




[Daijisen's got you
covered](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/153212/m0u/%E5%A4%A9%E6%B0%97/).
The usage note under 天気 says that 天気 refers to the atmospheric conditions over
a short period of time (two or three days at most), while 天候 is for describing
those conditions over a period of several to several tens of days. And of
course 天気 can be used in the sense of "good weather", which is a connotation
天候 does not have.




[Daijisen's got you
covered](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/153212/m0u/%E5%A4%A9%E6%B0%97/).
The usage note under 天気 says that 天気 refers to the atmospheric conditions over
a short period of time (two or three days at most), while 天候 is for describing
those conditions over a period of several to several tens of days. And of
course 天気 can be used in the sense of "good weather", which is a connotation
天候 does not have.

