| Wind is caused by the flow of gasses in our atmosphere |
Wind |
| We use anemometers to measure wind speed |
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| We can generate energy from wind by using wind turbines |
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| We have been using wind for energy since sailing ships were invented |
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| We use the wind for recreation with kites, wind surfing and paragliding |
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| Not all rain drops reach the ground. Some evaporate while still falling |
Rain |
| Raindrops are not tear-shaped, as many believe |
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| Mawsynram in India gets 11 metres of rainfall each year! |
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| Britain's wettest day was in 2015 when Honister Pass had 34 cm of it! |
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| The average speed of a falling raindrop is 20 mph |
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| On hot days the Eiffel Tower grows up to 17 cm taller |
Heat |
| The highest temperature in the shade was 57.8°C in Libya in 1922 |
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| In 1995, Chicago experienced a heat wave that caused over 700 deaths |
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| The summer solstice is when the Sun reaches its highest point in the sky |
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| The hottest UK temperature was 38.7°C in Cambridge in 2019 |
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| Scotland sees sleet or snow an average of 38.1 days a year |
Snow |
| Every snowflake is a unique shape |
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| The first snowflake photographed was in 1885 |
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| The Inuit people have at least 53 words for snow |
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| In the UK we are more likely to have a white Easter than a white Christmas |
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| Fog is tiny droplets of water suspended in the air close to the ground |
Fog |
| There are different types of fog. Follow the link to see what they are |
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| Newfoundland, Canada, has over 200 foggy days every year |
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| Rainbows can appear in fog. These are called "Fogbows" |
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| In mist you can see more than 1 km. In fog visibility drops below 1 km |
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| Hail is frozen precipitation (rain or snow) that has a diameter of 5 mm or more |
Hail |
| Hailstones can fall at speeds of over 100 mph |
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| The heaviest hailstone fell in Bangladesh in 1986. it weighed 1.02 kilograms |
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| The largest fell in the USA in 2010. It had a 47 cm circumference |
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| Hailstones have gone through roofs, broken windows and destroyed cars |
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| A bolt of lightning is 5 times hotter than the surface of the Sun |
Thunder |
| In Tororo, Uganda, it thunders on more than 250 days a year |
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| Lightning kills thousands of people a year, so stay inside during storms |
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| The odds of being struck by lightning in your lifetime are 1 in 15,300 |
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| The fear of thunder and lightning is called astraphobia |
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| The coldest UK temperature is -27.2°C in the Scottish Highlands |
Cold |
| The UK's worst winter was 1962/63 when there were 6 m high snowdrifts |
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| Every winter, more than a septillion snowflakes fall. That's a 1 with 24 zeros! |
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| In the Northern Hemisphere Earth is closest to the Sun during winter |
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| Many times it has been cold enough for the River Thames to freeze solid |
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| Hurricanes are tropical storms that produce heavy rainfall and strong winds |
Hurricanes |
| Hurricanes rotate around a centre called the “eye", where the weather is calm |
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| Hurricane winds can reach a speed of 175 mph (280 km/h) |
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| In the Southern Hemisphere hurricanes rotate clockwise |
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| Hurricanes are called cyclones and typhoons, depending on where they are |
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| Clouds are formed by water that has evaporated from Earth's surface |
Clouds |
| At any given time, around 67% of Earth's surface is covered by cloud |
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| The average weight of a cloud is about 5 grams per cubic metre |
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| Contrails are clouds formed from the water in aeroplanes' exhausts |
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| There are 10 common types of cloud. Click the link to learn them |
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