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The Weather

Click on each clue for its answer.

  1. This is nothing but a cloud in contact with the ground.

    Fog

  2. A light rain precipitation consisting of liquid water drops smaller than those of rain, and generally smaller than 0.5 mm (0.02 in.) in diameter.

    Drizzle

  3. There are six different forms of lightning but these 2 are the most common.

    Sheet and fork

  4. Hurricanes have these names in NW Pacific, Indian Ocean and Australia .

    Typhoons, Cyclones, Willy Willies

  5. TIROS, the first weather satellite launched in 1960 stands for this.

    Television and Infrared Observation Satellite

  6. An unusual and very complex form of mirage named for the half-sister of King Arthur.

    Fata Morgana

  7. This fancy name for a weather chart starts with 'syn.'

    Synoptic chart

  8. According to tradition, the weather on this saint's feast day (15 July) will continue for forty days.

    St. Swithun

  9. In the US, this is a period of a month or more with less than 30 percent of normal rainfall.

    Drought

  10. Type of macro-scale storm along the East Coast of the United States and Atlantic Canada, so named because the winds come from this direction.

    Nor'easter

  11. Essentially a tornado at sea, this is funnel-shaped mass of cloud and water.

    Waterspout

  12. Unlike the toy stick of the same name, this dense winter ice fog does not go up and down, it stays down.

    Pogonip

  13. There are 2 main types of floods - river or mainstream floods and these.

    Flash floods

  14. This thunderstorm with a name that sounds like a battery is a severe long-lived storm within which the wind speed and direction changes with height.

    Supercell

  15. Bush fires are most associated with this country.

    Australia

  16. The number of seconds between flash and thunder divided by these numbers gives the distance of lightning in kilometers and miles.

    3 and 5

  17. Hurricane categories are measured on this scale.

    Saffir-Simpson

  18. As the strong winds approach the land during a hurricane, this final and deadly component takes shape.

    Storm surge

  19. Temperature at which air reaches 100% relative humidity and condensation occurs.

    Dew point

  20. Though no consensus exists, this phenomenon is believed to be due to collisions between ice crystals.

    Lightning

  21. Warm dry westerly wind off the Rocky Mountains named for a tribe.

    Chinook

  22. This unique type of lightning is named after the patron saint of sailors. The phenomenon sometimes appeared on ships at sea during thunderstorms and was regarded by sailors with religious awe for its glowing ball of light. Also a 1975 hit song by John Parr.

    St. Elmo's fire

  23. Starting point for any storm is differentially heated air; the rising air is called this.

    Updraft

  24. Term for the place where a hurricane touches the coast is this.

    Landfall

  25. This wind that blows in Southern California has the same name as a Mexican dictator.

    Santa Ana

  26. The 5 categories of hurricanes have these velocity thresholds - Category - 1 (74-95MPH), 2 (96-110), 3 (111-130), 4 (131-155), 5 (156+). Below 74MPH, it is no longer a hurricane and becomes this.

    Tropical storm

  27. Different definitions exist for this term but the common one states that visibility must be down to a quarter mile for at least four consecutive hours and must include snow or ice and wind speeds of at least 35 mph.

    Blizzard

  28. They are measured on the Fujita or F-scale.

    Tornadoes

  29. This 10-letter word is a unit for use in weather balloons that measures various atmospheric parameters and transmits them to a fixed receiver.

    Radiosonde