Weather for Kids Trivia Quiz

Answer: All directions

In a tornado, winds blow in a spiral, which is similar to circle, so they blow in all directions. Winds inside tornadoes have been recorded at over 300 miles per hour!

Answer: Lightning

Lightning creates thunder, so it must come first.

When lightning occurs, it sends electrons through the air, making air molecules vibrate. The vibrations cause sound, and as the sound moves, it bounces off things in its way-the ground, trees, buildings, etc. That's what makes the thunder sound we hear. Although thunder sounds scary, it isn't dangerous at all. Lightning, on the other hand, can be deadly.

Answer: The temperature when water vapor in the air changes to liquid water

The air always has some water in it, in the form of a gas called "water vapor". When air temperatures cool down after sunset, things like the grass and cars cool down, too. When it all cools down enough, the water vapor in the air condenses; that means it turns into droplets of liquid water we call "dew". It settles on the things that have cooled off. If the temperature is below freezing, ice forms instead - and that's called frost. The temperature when dew forms is known as the dew point.

Answer: An earthquake under the ocean

Besides earthquakes, undersea volcanoes and landslides can cause tsunamis, which are also known as tidal waves. That term is misleading, though, because tsunamis aren't caused by tides. Tsunamis can be so small as to be hardly felt or they can cause widespread death and destruction. If you are near a coastline and there is a tsunami warning, you should leave the area right away and go inland to a place of safety until authorities say it is safe to return.

Answer: A tornado over water

Waterspouts are tornadoes - usually very weak tornadoes - that form over a body of water. Once in a while waterspouts can move off the water onto the shore, but they usually fall apart quickly after this happens. Still, if you see a waterspout, get away from it, because they can be dangerous!

Answer: The Northern Lights

Aurora was, in ancient Rome, the goddess of the dawn. Her name comes from the Latin language, and refers to light (dawn = sunrise). Both Latin and Greek had the word "boreal", which meant "north". Combined, the two mean "north light".

The Northern Lights can be seen at night in areas north of the equator when electrons and protons from the sun are blown toward earth by strong winds. They look like shimmering curtains of pale shades of green, pink, red, purple, and sometimes yellow and even blue.

There are also "Southern Lights"-"Aurora Australis". They happen south of the equator.

Answer: The pattern of its crystals

It has long been thought that each snowflake has a unique crystalline pattern. Lately science has raised some doubts about this belief, but even scientists agree that it would be virtually impossible to find two that are identical.

Answer: Hail

Hail is made inside thunderclouds-not all thunderclouds, though. Two things are needed for hail to form: Strong updrafts inside the cloud (an updraft is when wind blows upwards, away from the earth) and freezing temperatures in the upper part of the cloud.

Hail starts out as rain that gets caught in the updrafts and blown into the freezing part of the cloud, freezes into ice, begins to fall to earth, gets wet again, gets caught again in the updraft, and goes back to the freezing part of the cloud. This time a new thin layer of rain freezes onto the ice. Each time the ice gets caught in the updraft and returns to the frozen part of the cloud, a little more water freezes onto it and it gets bigger and heavier. Eventually the ice-now called a hailstone-gets too heavy for the updraft to blow it back into the top of the cloud, and it falls to earth. Hailstones can be very dangerous if they are large, and they can damage cars, houses and heads even if they are just a couple of inches in diameter.

Answer: Cumulonimbus

Cumulonimbus clouds can be a sign of stormy weather approaching - not only thunderstorms, but also tornadoes, hail and even snow.

Cirrus clouds are very high clouds formed mostly of ice. Stratus clouds kind of cover the sky with gray, and can sometimes produce light rain, but usually not severe storms. Mammatus clouds are a sign of unstable weather; they are often associated with storms that produce tornadoes.

Answer: The storm surge

A storm surge happens when high winds in a big storm like a hurricane push water, forming something like a huge wave that hits shore and floods coastal areas. People who think it will be fun to stay near the shore during a hurricane can be caught off guard and injured or killed by the water coming across the land. Most of the time, people have several days' warning if a hurricane is coming, and are advised to evacuate the coastal areas before the storm hits. Following that advice is the best way to stay safe!