In early February 2020 Britain was battered by Storm Ciara, the strongest storm of the century up to then. Winds reached speeds of 156 km/h, a month and a half’s rain fell in just 24 hours, and 20,000 homes were left without power.
Extreme weather and freak events like this were not new, but they were becoming more common. We put together this quiz all about the weather - you’ll be surprised just how weird it can be!
Do you know the sorts of things which have fallen from the sky, the nickname of the man who has been struck by lightning seven times, the difference between fog and mist or the speed of the strongest winds? Well, we’re about to find out! See if you can reach the sunny score of 10 out of 10, or whether you’ll have to settle for a dreary total. Good luck!
1.
|
July 10th 1913 was the hottest day ever on Earth, with temperatures reaching 56.7 °C. Whereabouts was this? |
|
[ ] |
Cambridge, UK |
[ ] |
The Sahara Desert |
[ ] |
Death Valley, California |
[ ] |
The Gobi Desert |
|
|
2.
|
Roy Sullivan was a park ranger in the USA who was struck by lightning seven times during his life, surviving them all. What nickname did this earn him? |
|
[ ] |
Sparky |
[ ] |
Roy the Lightning Rod |
[ ] |
Electro Man |
[ ] |
The Human Lightning Conductor |
|
|
3.
|
You’ve heard the saying, raining cats and dogs, but it does occasionally rain animals. Which of these has never been reported as falling from the sky? |
|
[ ] |
Mice |
[ ] |
Jellyfish |
[ ] |
Spiders |
[ ] |
Frogs |
|
|
4.
|
Discarding tornadoes, the fastest winds ever recorded were on Barrow Island, Australia, in 1996. The wind was as fast as what? |
|
[ ] |
As fast as a Formula 1 racing car |
[ ] |
As fast as a helicopter |
[ ] |
As fast as a jet plane |
[ ] |
As fast as a rocket |
|
|
5.
|
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the world's largest snowflake fell in January 1887, in Montana, USA. How big was it? |
|
[ ] |
0.38 cm wide |
[ ] |
3.8 cm wide |
[ ] |
38 cm wide |
[ ] |
380 cm wide |
|
|
6.
|
Thick fog containing the poisonous gas sulfur dioxide is known as what? |
|
[ ] |
A Custard Skin Fog |
[ ] |
A Pea Soup Fog |
[ ] |
An Onion Gravy Fog |
[ ] |
A Mashed Potato Fog |
|
|
7.
|
Hail can be deadly. In April 1888, a severe hailstorm in Moradabad, India, killed how many people? |
|
[ ] |
2 |
[ ] |
24 |
[ ] |
246 |
[ ] |
2,460 |
|
|
8.
|
The year 1816 is known as the Year Without a Summer, after temperatures around the world fell and crops failed. What caused this freak weather? |
|
[ ] |
A mini Ice Age |
[ ] |
Earthquakes |
[ ] |
Industrial pollution |
[ ] |
The eruption of a volcano |
|
|
9.
|
In the Northern Hemisphere, very hot days during the summer are known by what name? |
|
[ ] |
Dog Days |
[ ] |
Lion Days |
[ ] |
Bear Days |
[ ] |
Wolf Days |
|
|
10.
|
Fog and mist are both formed by low-lying clouds. What is the official difference between mist and fog? |
|
[ ] |
Mist is not classed as a danger to life |
[ ] |
Mist forms only above bodies of water |
[ ] |
Fog reduces visibility to less than 1 km |
[ ] |
Fog forms at lower temperatures than mist |
|
|
1.
|
July 10th 1913 was the hottest day ever on Earth, with temperatures reaching 56.7 °C. Whereabouts was this? |
|
[ ] |
Cambridge, UK |
[ ] |
The Sahara Desert |
[x] |
Death Valley, California |
[ ] |
The Gobi Desert |
|
|
2.
|
Roy Sullivan was a park ranger in the USA who was struck by lightning seven times during his life, surviving them all. What nickname did this earn him? |
|
[ ] |
Sparky |
[ ] |
Roy the Lightning Rod |
[ ] |
Electro Man |
[x] |
The Human Lightning Conductor |
|
|
3.
|
You’ve heard the saying, raining cats and dogs, but it does occasionally rain animals. Which of these has never been reported as falling from the sky? |
|
[x] |
Mice |
[ ] |
Jellyfish |
[ ] |
Spiders |
[ ] |
Frogs |
|
|
4.
|
Discarding tornadoes, the fastest winds ever recorded were on Barrow Island, Australia, in 1996. The wind was as fast as what? |
|
[ ] |
As fast as a Formula 1 racing car |
[x] |
As fast as a helicopter |
[ ] |
As fast as a jet plane |
[ ] |
As fast as a rocket |
|
|
5.
|
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the world's largest snowflake fell in January 1887, in Montana, USA. How big was it? |
|
[ ] |
0.38 cm wide |
[ ] |
3.8 cm wide |
[x] |
38 cm wide |
[ ] |
380 cm wide |
|
|
6.
|
Thick fog containing the poisonous gas sulfur dioxide is known as what? |
|
[ ] |
A Custard Skin Fog |
[x] |
A Pea Soup Fog |
[ ] |
An Onion Gravy Fog |
[ ] |
A Mashed Potato Fog |
|
|
7.
|
Hail can be deadly. In April 1888, a severe hailstorm in Moradabad, India, killed how many people? |
|
[ ] |
2 |
[ ] |
24 |
[x] |
246 |
[ ] |
2,460 |
|
|
8.
|
The year 1816 is known as the Year Without a Summer, after temperatures around the world fell and crops failed. What caused this freak weather? |
|
[ ] |
A mini Ice Age |
[ ] |
Earthquakes |
[ ] |
Industrial pollution |
[x] |
The eruption of a volcano |
|
|
9.
|
In the Northern Hemisphere, very hot days during the summer are known by what name? |
|
[x] |
Dog Days |
[ ] |
Lion Days |
[ ] |
Bear Days |
[ ] |
Wolf Days |
|
|
10.
|
Fog and mist are both formed by low-lying clouds. What is the official difference between mist and fog? |
|
[ ] |
Mist is not classed as a danger to life |
[ ] |
Mist forms only above bodies of water |
[x] |
Fog reduces visibility to less than 1 km |
[ ] |
Fog forms at lower temperatures than mist |
|
|
At the time Cambridge held the record for the hottest temperature in the UK of 38.7 °C in 2019. This was broken in the summer of 2022 and will no doubt be broken again as temperatures on Earth continue to rise