Are You a Weather Whiz? Prove It with This Quiz!

What causes “mirages” in deserts?

Reflected sunlight

Sand reflections

Heat waves

Water vapor

Mirages in deserts are caused by the refraction of light through layers of heated air, creating the illusion of water or objects that aren’t actually there.

Which weather event is known as a “sun dog”?

A halo around the moon

A bright spot beside the sun

An eclipse

A meteor shower

Sun dogs are bright spots that appear on both sides of the sun, typically due to the refraction of sunlight by ice crystals in the atmosphere.

What kind of weather is a “derecho”?

A snowstorm

A long-winded storm

A straight-line windstorm

A coastal storm

A derecho is a widespread, long-lived windstorm that is associated with a band of rapidly moving showers or thunderstorms.

What phenomenon creates the “blue moon”?

Extra full moon

Dust in the atmosphere

Volcanic ash

Solar eclipse

A blue moon refers to the occurrence of an additional full moon that appears in a subdivision of a year: the third of four full moons in a season.

What is a “lenticular cloud” often mistaken for?

UFOs

Smoke rings

Mountain caps

Sea waves

Lenticular clouds, with their lens-like shape, often appear stationary and are frequently mistaken for UFOs due to their unusual appearance.

What are “glory clouds”?

Sunlit fog

Rainbow around the observer’s shadow

Sunset colors

Moonlight on clouds

A glory is an optical phenomenon, appearing as a rainbow-like circle around the shadow of the observer’s head, caused by sunlight backscattering from tiny water droplets in clouds.

What is “frost smoke”?

Condensed fog

Ice on lakes

Cold air over warm water

Snow flurries

Frost smoke occurs when very cold air moves over warmer water, causing the water to evaporate and condense into a type of fog or steam that resembles smoke.

What is “diamond dust”?

A type of snow

Glacial ice

Sand whirls

Sea spray

Diamond dust is a ground-level cloud composed of tiny ice crystals. It’s not snow but resembles it and occurs in very cold weather.

What is a “haboob”?

A sandstorm

A type of rain

A cold snap

A heatwave

A haboob is a type of intense dust storm carried on an atmospheric gravity current, often occurring in arid regions like the Sahara and Arabian Peninsula.

Which phenomenon causes the sky to turn green?

Solar winds

Thunderstorms

Tsunamis

Earthquakes

A green sky is often associated with severe weather conditions, especially thunderstorms, where light is scattered in a way that gives the sky a green hue.

What are “mammatus clouds” known for?

Their smooth, flat appearance

Their puffy, cotton-like texture

Their droopy pouch-like structures

Their streaky, feather-like look

Mammatus clouds are known for their unique appearance, which includes bulging pouches from the base of the cloud.

What does “sleet” refer to?

Frozen raindrops

Melted snowflakes

Light drizzle

Heavy frost

Sleet consists of raindrops that freeze into ice pellets before reaching the ground, commonly occurring during winter weather conditions.

What causes “St. Elmo’s Fire”?

High-altitude winds

Electrical discharge from pointed objects

Reflection of sunlight

Lightning strikes

St. Elmo’s Fire is caused by the ionization of air molecules around protruding objects (like a ship’s mast or airplane wings), creating a bright, glowing plasma.

What is “thundersnow”?

Snow with thunder

A snowstorm with high winds

A myth

Lightning over snowy peaks

Thundersnow is an unusual kind of thunderstorm with snow falling as the primary precipitation instead of rain.

What is a “fire whirl”?

A fiery tornado

A type of lightning

A solar flare

An optical illusion

A fire whirl, also known as a fire tornado, forms when intense heat and turbulent wind conditions combine to create a whirling updraft of air that can contain flame or ash.

Ball lightning is described as?

A steady glow in the sky

A spherical electrical phenomenon

A strike of lightning

A weather myth

Ball lightning is a rare atmospheric electrical phenomenon described as luminescent, spherical objects which vary in diameter.

What triggers “ice spikes” on ice surfaces?

Rapid freezing

Sunlight refraction

Wind patterns

Water currents

Ice spikes occur when ice forms rapidly and a spike of ice is pushed upwards while the surrounding water continues to freeze, common in outdoor ice formations.