Weather Study Guide

Science 551 clues | 87 recurring answers

Topic Overview Study Guide Practice

answers to learn

7 Must-Know

22 Should-Know

58 Worth Knowing

Quick Reference: Must-Know Answers

These appear 8+ times. Memorize these first.

fog 17 humidity 13 Lightning 12 the Snow 10 a front 10 a tornado 9 hail 8

Answers by Category

Chemistry / Elements

41 answers | 160 clues

Must-Know (4)

Lightning 12x 8.3% stumper $358 avg J:8 DJ:4

J $100 1992 A safety tip says if your hair stands on end, hit the ground; this may be about to strike

J $600 2015 "It's as if God is trying to tell me something, but I don't know what that is", a man said after the 6th time this happened

DJ $1,600 2011 Still a scientific mystery, the ball type of this appears as a glowing sphere & has sometimes been seen in houses

the Snow 10x 10.0% stumper $460 avg J:5 DJ:5

J $100 1995 A lot of this blowing around creates a "whiteout"

DJ $600 2000 To overwhelm with flattery or insincere talk

J $1,000 DD 2022 A Joyce story ends with this falling "upon all the living and the dead"

a front 10x $1,210 avg J:4 DJ:6

DJ $200 2001 Expect cloudy days when a cold one of these catches a warm one & forms an occluded one

J $500 1995 When this, the border of an air mass, passes over a fixed location, there's a sudden change in the weather

DJ $1,000 2000 To face, as property does on a lake

hail 8x 12.5% stumper $675 avg J:3 DJ:5

DJ $200 2000 Salute, or call out to get a cabbie's attention

J $800 2022 A book about the underworld says Al Capone's rival Joe Aiello died in this type of storm "of lead"

DJ $1,200 2021 Pellets of ice have a diameter of less than 5mm; if the ice's diameter is between 5mm & 15cm, it's called this

Should-Know (11)

Thunder 7x 14.3% stumper $529 avg J:3 DJ:4

J $100 1985 While a cannon shot may be heard 50 or more miles away, this rarely heard beyond 20

DJ $1,600 2022 Making some big noise, AC/DC "Got Some Rock & Roll" this, while Kiss staked a claim with "God Of" it

J $200 1999 It must be hard to sleep late in Kipling's "Mandalay", where "The dawn comes up like" this

clouds 7x 14.3% stumper $357 avg J:4 DJ:3

J $100 1994 They're classified by their shape & elevation

DJ $800 DD 1987 The word "sky" is from an Old Norse word for these objects in the sky

DJ $200 1987 Fog is simply these, so low they touch the ground

the doldrums 6x $767 avg J:3 DJ:3

J $100 1990 You're in them where the trade winds meet near the equator, even if you're not down in the dumps

DJ $800 1995 Early sailing ships were often stranded for many weeks in this region of calm winds on the Equator

DJ $1,000 1984 Region near Equator that took the wind out of Sinbad's sails

Indian summer 6x 16.7% stumper $233 avg J:5 DJ:1

J $100 1985 Period of mild, warm weather occurring in late autumn in U.S.

J $300 1985 In Poland, it's "God's gift to Poland", in England "all hallow's summer", & in America, this

J $200 2013 Like our "Indian" one, a spell of warm, pleasant weather in October in Greece is called this "of St. Dimitrios"

trade winds 6x 16.7% stumper $600 avg J:3 DJ:3

J $400 2003 In addition to helping commerce, these ocean winds bring pleasant weather to islands like Hawaii

J $500 1985 Gallegos, Santa Anas, & cockeyed bobs for example

DJ $800 2014 Santa Anas are dry ones

a hurricane 6x $417 avg J:3 DJ:3

J $200 1998 The name of this storm with winds over 74 mph comes from the West Indies Taino word for "evil spirit"

DJ $800 2022 The Scorpions sang, "Here I am, rock you like" one of these

DJ $1,000 DD 1987 Admiral Beaufort designated this wind, "that which no canvas could withstand", #12 on his scale

hurricanes 5x 40.0% stumper $320 avg J:2 DJ:3

J $100 1997 In 1995, 11 tropical storms in the Atlantic strengthened to these, the most in one year since 1969

J $500 DD 1987 Weather phenomenon which caused E. Coast radio stations to play thefollowingin 9 1985:"... calling Gloria? /Gloria, don't you think you're fallin'? / If everybody wants you, why isn't anybody..."

DJ $200 1990 Called a "willy-willy" in Australia, it's name is from a West Indian word meaning "big wind"

the troposphere 5x 20.0% stumper $880 avg J:1 DJ:4

DJ $600 1996 Nearly all weather occurs in this lowest region of the Earth's atmosphere

DJ $1,600 2021 Most weather occurs in this 5-to-9-mile-thick layer of the atmosphere that's closest to Earth

DJ $600 1994 Nearly all weather occurs in this lowest layer of the atmosphere

wind 5x $340 avg J:3 DJ:2

J $300 1993 Triangular flags on a weather map show the direction of this

J $600 2013 A 10 on the modern Beaufort scale for this means ocean waves will have dense white streaks

J $400 1987 As Dennis Conner could tell you, the "Fremantle Doctor" is 1 of these

acid rain 5x $580 avg J:1 DJ:4

DJ $400 2000 To fall in great quantities, like confetti in a parade

DJ $600 1987 Term for modern weather eco-hazard caused by sulfur dioxide's reaction to moisture in air

DJ $1,000 1989 Rain with a pH reading of less than 5.6

a cyclone 5x 60.0% stumper $520 avg J:2 DJ:3

DJ $200 1985 This term comes from the Greek "kyklon", meaning the "coil of a snake"

DJ $800 2017 The circular wind motion during this event goes clockwise in the S. Hemisphere; the Indian Ocean sees tropical ones

J $400 1999 (Here's Al Roker with the clue.) This type of low-pressure area provides the title for chapter 1 of "The Wizard of Oz"

Worth Knowing (26)

London 3 drizzle 3 Antarctica 3 the eye 3 the Department of Commerce 3 the Indian Ocean 2 precipitation 2 Nuclear Winter 2 Miami 2 Doppler 2 dew 2 carbon dioxide 2 Andrew 2 air pressure 2 a fair-weather friend 2 wind shear 2 a weather satellite 2 The Ice Age 2 the horse latitudes 2 inversion 2 Sir Francis Beaufort 2 a mirage 2 an inversion layer 2 a drought 2 a depression 2 an anemometer 2

Earth Science

15 answers | 48 clues

Must-Know (1)

humidity 13x 7.7% stumper $631 avg J:5 DJ:8

J $200 2018 Expressed as a percentage, it's all "relative" this, the water vapor in the air at any given time & temp

DJ $800 2009 This is defined as the amount of water vapor in the air

J $1,000 2022 The EPA says keep this below 60% to prevent mold

Should-Know (3)

tornadoes 4x $275 avg J:3 DJ:1

J $100 1993 Most of these don't travel more than 20 miles, though in 1917 one went 293 miles across Illinois & Indiana

J $200 1990 These are the most violent windstorms

J $400 1994 These most violent of all storms can form in thunderstorms located inside hurricanes

hailstones 4x $600 avg J:1 DJ:3

DJ $200 1990 Weighing up to 2 1/4 pounds, the largest ones on record reportedly killed 92 people in Bangladesh in '86

DJ $600 1989 The largest of these reported in the U.S. weighed over 1½ pounds & was found in Kansas in 1970

DJ $1,200 2007 These, which may be described as softball-sized, begin in clouds as "embryos" to which frozen droplets adhere

monsoon 4x $475 avg J:3 DJ:1

J $200 1991 From "mausim", season, it's the wind system around the Indian Ocean that brings weather changes

J $500 1993 Associated with southern Asia, these seasonal winds also occur in North America

J $400 1991 Indra, chief Vedic god of India, killed Vrtra, a dragon who held back these seasonal winds

Worth Knowing (11)

a storm surge 3 waterspouts 2 Sahara 2 Russia 2 Aristotle 2 an umbrella 2 a cold front 2 "Let It Snow" 2 the American Meteorological Society 2 Galveston, Texas 2 an isobar 2

Astronomy / Space

11 answers | 44 clues

Must-Know (1)

fog 17x 29.4% stumper $653 avg J:10 DJ:7

J $100 1988 During the 1940s, kerosene burners were used along airport runways to dissipate this

J $500 1989 Stratus clouds at ground level are called this

DJ $2,000 2017 Brazil's highest peak is 9,800-foot Pico da Neblina, Neblina being this weather condition that surrounds the summit

Should-Know (2)

barometer 5x 40.0% stumper $800 avg DJ:5

DJ $400 1996 The aneroid type of this weather instrument is often used as an altimeter

DJ $800 1987 The lowest reading on this type of weather instrument was 25.55" during a typhoon

DJ $2,000 2011 Invented by French scientist Lucien Vidie in 1843, this type of barometer uses a metal capsule instead of mercury

a rainbow 4x 25.0% stumper $475 avg J:4

J $300 1987 A thunderbolt symbolizes Zeus while this after storm apparition is symbol of his messenger Iris

J $500 DD 1990 The Greeks saw this as the sign of Iris, messenger of the gods

J $300 1985 Formed by refraction & reflection of light by water droplets, 2 people can never see the same one

Worth Knowing (8)

ice 3 Tropical storm 3 Sunshine 2 mercury 2 a halo 2 The Sun 2 dog days 2 Edmond Halley 2

Other

9 answers | 26 clues

Should-Know (2)

Hawaii 5x $450 avg J:3 DJ:1 FJ:1

J $200 2006 The highest low temperature of any U.S. state is the 12 degrees F. recorded in this state on May 17, 1979

J $500 1987 According to the World Almanac, the lowest recorded temperature for this state was 14º F

FJ 1986 All states have recorded temperatures below zero (F.), except this one

blizzard 5x 20.0% stumper $680 avg J:1 DJ:4

DJ $400 2017 This type of storm includes cold, 35+ mph winds & snow reducing visibility to 1/4 mile or less for at least 3 hours

DJ $2,000 2014 Remember "The Great" one of March 1888?

J $200 1998 It's a snowstorm with winds past 30 knots, below normal temperatures & visibility reduced to 1/8 of a mile

Worth Knowing (7)

cirrus 3 cumulonimbus 3 thunderheads 2 Death Valley 2 a nimbus 2 an opti mist 2 Benjamin Franklin 2

Biology / Animals

7 answers | 23 clues

Should-Know (2)

a typhoon 7x $571 avg J:3 DJ:4

DJ $200 1986 This storm's name combines the Chinese words "ta", meaning "great", & "fung", meaning "wind"

J $800 2006 (Jeff Probst reports from Palau.) Luckily, Palau is outside the zone of these storms, whose name comes from a Chinese word that means "great wind"

DJ $400 2007 (Cheryl of the Clue Crew shows satellite video of storm movement on two monitors at the Weather Channel in Atlanta, GA.) A tropical storm in the North Atlantic that reaches 74 miles per hour is called a hurricane; if it'sherein the Northwest Pacific,...

Frost 5x $560 avg J:2 DJ:3

J $100 1999 James Whitcomb Riley wrote of the time when this "is on the punkin", & he didn't mean a fellow poet

DJ $1,600 2018 From the type of plant they resemble, these ice crystals are alliteratively called this type of frost

J $300 1985 Term for frozen dew

Worth Knowing (5)

California 3 red sky at night 2 cumulus 2 Australia 2 a scirocco 2

Medicine / Health

1 answers | 9 clues

Must-Know (1)

a tornado 9x 11.1% stumper $578 avg J:5 DJ:4

J $100 1998 With a funnel more than a mile wide, one of the largest of these occured March 18, 1925 & killed 695 people

DJ $800 2007 On March 18, 1925 the most violent single one of these in U.S. history swept through Mo., Ill., & Ind., killing 695

J $1,000 DD 1995 Its life cycle usually has 5 stages: dust-whirl, organizing, mature, shrinking & decaying

Botany / Plants

1 answers | 6 clues

Should-Know (1)

a hailstone 6x $400 avg J:2 DJ:4

DJ $400 2011 In June 2003 a record one of these, 18.75 in. around, dropped in on Aurora, Nebraska

J $800 2024 (Daisy Edgar-Jones presents the clue.) Never mind the usual comparison to golf balls, how about a volleyball? In South Dakota in 2010, the largest of these ever measured, came down at 8 inches across & weighed about 2 pounds

DJ $400 2002 The largest of these in the U.S. fell on Coffeyville, Kansas; it measured 17 1/2 inches in circumference

Math / Physics

2 answers | 6 clues

Should-Know (1)

the jet stream 4x 25.0% stumper $450 avg J:2 DJ:2

J $300 1991 In the Northern Hemisphere, eastbound aircraft fly with this to gain speed & save fuel

DJ $600 1992 This is the narrow band of strong winds at the level of the tropopause

J $300 1991 A tubular ribbon of high-speed winds 20,000 to 40,000 feet up

Worth Knowing (1)

a flash flood 2

Start Studying Weather
« Back to Weather overview