Weather Quiz (Quiz: ABC Science)

Last updated: Thursday, 2 October 2008Quiz

When umbrellas go terribly wrong. (Source: Reuters)

Weather Quiz

Everyone talks about the weather and everyone’s an expert, right? Take this quiz to find out how good your meteorological knowledge really is.

Question 1 1. If it's 20 degrees during the day and the air pressure is high, what type of weather conditions are likely to leave you reaching for the doona at night?

a) Cloudy
b) Rainy
c) Clear conditions
d) None of the above

Question 2 2. Orographic rain occurs when:

a) Air is cooled by a cold front
b) Air is pushed up because of a barrier of mountains or hills.
c) Warm ocean air reaches the continent
d) La Nina conditions are in place over the south Pacific.

Question 3 3. Which of the following is generally true for a cold front in Australia?

a) A cold front occurs when a body of cold dense air moving towards and beneath a body of warm air, forcing it upwards.
b) It brings a cool change
c) It's accompanied by south-westerly winds
d) All of the above

Question 4 4. Does lightning…

a) Travel from the ground to the cloud
b) Travel from the cloud to the ground
c) Travel between clouds
d) All of the above

Question 5 5. The lines on a weather map or synoptic chart are called isobars. What do they join?

a) Wind speed
b) Places of the same temperature
c) Places of equal air pressure
d) Spots of similar climate

Question 6 6. When isobars are close together it means…

a) There will be no wind
b) It will be very windy
c) There will be no clouds that day
d) Expect a cold night

Question 7 7. Which clouds are made up of ice and look like white filaments in the sky?

a) Stratocumulus
b) Altostratus
c) Stratus
d) Cirrus

Question 8 8. What type of cloud often heralds an oncoming thunderstorm…

a) Cirrus
b) Stratus
c) Cumulonimbus
d) Altostratus

Question 9 9. What kind of weather does a high pressure system bring?

a) Dry, stable conditions with little cloud
b) Hot, humid days with high winds
c) Rainy conditions
d) A rapid increase in temperature

Question 10 10. A thunderstorm is coming. Which of the following features that you can observe with the human eye may indicate it's going to be a severe thunderstorm?

a) An anvil head with a diffuse edge
b) A large solid boiling cloud mass with a cloud top that overshoots the anvil head
c) Lightning
d) Rain that starts off heavy and gets lighter

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