Weather Quiz
What type of clouds are thin and feathery, form at altitudes of about 4 miles or higher, and are nicknamed Mare's tails?
What location registered the highest ever recorded temperature in the world—136 degrees Fahrenheit?
- Death Valley, California, boasts the highest recorded temperature in the U.S.- 134 degrees Fahrenheit in 1913.
Where did the deadliest flood in U.S. history occur?
- More than 2,200 people died in the flood in 1889.
After Hurricane Katrina, what was the costliest hurricane in U.S. history?
- Katrina is estimated to have cost $96 billion in damages. Andrew, which battered Florida and Louisiana in 1992, cost $26.5 billion.
What was the diameter of the largest hailstone ever recorded in the U.S.?
- It was found in Aurora, Neb., on June 22, 2003, and it measured 7 in. in diameter and 18.7 in. in circumference.
How much snow did Silver Lake, Colo., receive in one 24-hour period in 1921—the most in U.S. history?
What instrument measures atmospheric pressure?
- Psychrometers measure relative humidity and anemometers measure wind velocity.
What is the name of the wind scale that describes the force of the wind? It is based on the visible effects of the wind on water and a ship's sails.
- Sir Francis Beaufort, an admiral in the British Navy, devised the scale.
What are the chances of being struck by lightning?
What city registered the lowest ever recorded temperature in the United States, -80 degrees Fahrenheit?
- In January 1971, the mercury dropped to -80 degrees Fahrenheit.