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26 Powerful Weather Trivia Questions and Answers

Reviewed by Stefanie Zaldarriaga, Author·Updated Aug 2025·3 min read

Test your knowledge of the skies with Weather Trivia! From hurricanes and tornadoes to lightning, rainbows, and record-breaking temperatures, this trivia will challenge what you know about the forces of nature. Perfect for students, science buffs, and anyone fascinated by the power and unpredictability of weather.

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  1. 1How can you estimate the current temperature using cricket chirps?

  2. 2What is virga?

  3. 3Which cloud type produces hail due to strong updrafts?

  4. 4Where was the highest air temperature ever recorded?

  5. 5Which city averages the most annual snowfall?

  6. 6Can lightning strike the same place twice?

  7. 7How far away is a lightning strike if thunder follows it by 5 seconds?

  8. 8What causes wind?

  9. 9How much water falls on Earth every minute?

  10. 10Why is Antarctica considered a desert despite being covered in ice?

  11. 11Where on Earth is the windiest place?

  12. 12What’s the wettest place on Earth?

  13. 13Why does rain smell so unique after a dry spell?

  14. 14Why do frogs croak loudly before rain?

  15. 15What extreme weather phenomenon can form from wildfires?

  16. 16True or False: Wind itself is silent.

  17. 17How fast can a raindrop fall before it breaks apart?

  18. 18What caused the U.S. military's weather intervention during the Vietnam War?

  19. 19Who studied cloud seeding as a form of weather manipulation?

  20. 20How long did the first numerical weather forecast take to compute?

  21. 21What is the Great Red Spot on Jupiter?

  22. 22Where does molten iron rain occur?

  23. 23What caused a persistent smoke vortex in the stratosphere during the 2019/20 Australian wildfires?

  24. 24What record occurred during COVID‑19 in Western Europe?

  25. 25Why was Western Europe warming faster than climate models predicted?

  26. 26How much global sea level rose over a recent decade?

Answer Key

  1. 1. Count the number of chirps in 14 seconds and add 40 to get the Fahrenheit temperature.
  2. 2. Precipitation that evaporates before reaching the ground.
  3. 3. Cumulonimbus.
  4. 4. Furnace Creek, Death Valley, USA (1913: 134 °F).
  5. 5. Aomori, Japan.
  6. 6. Yes—it can and often does.
  7. 7. Approximately 1 mile away.
  8. 8. Temperature and pressure differences moving air from highs to lows.
  9. 9. Around one billion tons.
  10. 10. It receives very little precipitation.
  11. 11. Mount Washington, New Hampshire, USA.
  12. 12. Mawsynram, India.
  13. 13. Petrichor—the scent released when rain hits soil.
  14. 14. They anticipate rain, which helps provide breeding grounds.
  15. 15. Fire whirl or fire tornado.
  16. 16. True—sound comes from items the wind moves.
  17. 17. About 18 mph.
  18. 18. Cloud seeding to increase rainfall (Operation Popeye).
  19. 19. Bernard Vonnegut, Kurt Vonnegut’s brother.
  20. 20. Six weeks for a six-hour forecast.
  21. 21. A massive, century-old storm bigger than Earth.
  22. 22. On the rogue planet PSO J318.5‑22.
  23. 23. Bushfire smoke created a 1,000‑km-wide vortex.
  24. 24. Sunlight irradiance reached record highs.
  25. 25. Models underestimated changes in soil, clouds, and circulation.
  26. 26. About 2.4 cm.

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