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Weather and Climate Vocabulary

Based on the definition, guess these words related to climate and weather.
To make it easier, we give you a first letter
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: March 4, 2022
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First submittedDecember 19, 2017
Times taken26,792
Average score70.0%
Rating4.43
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Definition
 
Word
Prolonged period of dry weather
D
Drought
Term for when clouds obscure at least 95% of the sky
O
Overcast
Severe snowstorm
B
Blizzard
Metal that can be found inside thermometers
M
Mercury
Branch of science dealing with weather forecasting
M
Meteorology
Wispy cloud that forms at high altitude
C
Cirrus
Seasonal shift in wind direction, bringing wet or dry air, especially in India
M
Monsoon
Boundary between two different air masses
F
Front
Sustained winds of 50-102 km/h
G
Gale
Tropical cyclone that occurs in the western Pacific or Indian oceans
T
Typhoon
Measure of the amount of water vapor in the air
H
Humidity
Region of calm weather at the center of a tropical cyclone
E
Eye
Brief, light snow shower
F
Flurry
Device used to measure air pressure
B
Barometer
Type of cloud that produces thunderstorms
C
Cumulonimbus
Second lowest layer of the atmosphere, beginning 8-18 km above the surface
S
Stratosphere
Term for when, contrary to normal, temperature increases with altitude
I
Inversion
Layer of the atmosphere, with high levels of O3, that blocks UV radiation
O
Ozone
Measure of how much sunlight is reflected
A
Albedo
Gas, emitted by cows, that contributes to global warming
M
Methane
+2
Level 82
Dec 19, 2017
Ands so I finally learn how to spell and pronounce drought ...
+1
Level 75
May 3, 2018
When I was young in my area we spelled it drouth, and according to most dictionaries that's now considered a regional variation. Apparently drought is the standard now.
+5
Level 69
Jan 2, 2018
Um... more methane emitted by Natural gas and petroleum systems than by cows or all animal digestive systems combined in the US at least. https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/styles/medium/public/2017-04/methanea.png
+26
Level ∞
Jan 2, 2018
Methane, emitted by cows, contributes to global warming. Nowhere does this quiz say that cows are the largest source of methane.
+3
Level 60
May 3, 2018
Cows release methane. Oh my god, i can see where this goes.
+1
Level 75
May 3, 2018
Yup, the clue is uncontroversial.
+2
Level 60
Aug 2, 2019
Decent quiz until I got the methane question. MAJOR, eye roll. Try education on for a challenge
+5
Level 74
Mar 7, 2021
what?
+5
Level 58
Mar 8, 2022
methane contributes to global warming, cows emit methane, cows therefore contribute to global warming, it's not difficult to understand, not sure why the eye roll was needed? the question contained no judgement or implications, you've projected your own onto the question possibly?
+4
Level 65
Mar 8, 2022
"Global warming" is a term that some climate scientists have abandoned in favor of the term "climate change" due to the fact that temperatures aren't rising everywhere around the globe. In some areas temperatures are cooling which creates a problem for the term "global warming. Yes, methane is considered a greenhouse gas, and yes it has the theoretical possibility of causing warming around the globe. However, there is no hard evidence linking methane emissions with a recordable increase in temperature that can be proven to be causing global warming. I agree that things are changing in our climate, but the "evidence" that is often quoted is circumstantial. There is just too much disagreement within the scientific community about climate change, and whether or not it really is a problem threatening our existence. If the media would stop exaggerating the problem then maybe more people would be willing to believe it is something to take seriously.
+4
Level 88
Mar 9, 2022
Actually, a consensus on climate change and its human cause does exist, as established by multiple studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Here are a few sources for you: 1 2 3. Rather than accusing "the media" of exaggerating the problem, perhaps you should look critically at your own sources of information.
+3
Level ∞
Mar 9, 2022
You're both right. There is a scientific consensus and the media does exaggerate the problem.
+3
Level 68
Mar 9, 2022
All this says is that you have not read much peer-reviewed literature on this topic. There really is very little disagreement among climatologists that climate change is a problem and it is caused by human emissions. (Beyond that there is a lot of debate, I think the current big issue is low altitude cloud modeling and if it amplifies or decreases the effect of anthropocentric warming) To put it as bluntly as possible, the only disagreements with this view are drummed up by various interest groups, and it is a ratio of like 98%+ of climatologists on one side, and a handful of denier climatologists on the other, to the point where the belief that the climate is not caused by humans simply does not exist in credible academic journals outside of a handful of papers.

I suggest reading the various IPCC reports, each representing the majority view of climatologists at the time they were written as each is a concatenation of dozens of different climate models from hundreds of scientists

+1
Level 67
Mar 8, 2022
All animals produce methane but cows produce the most, in total and per capita.
+9
Level 72
Feb 6, 2018
I have a general question: sometimes I know the answer in my mother tongue, but not in English. When it's not a vocabulary quiz, I look it up in a dictionary and type in the answer. Do you think that's cheating? After all I do know the answer just not in the right language... I'm curios what is your opinion on the topic.
+9
Level 63
Feb 20, 2018
I try not to do it but if anwers and time remain when I'm through I look up the translations too. I mean I learn new words this way too so it can't be that bad to do it.
+3
Level 75
May 3, 2018
Exactly.
+8
Level 70
May 3, 2018
I do the same, reasoning it's the knowledge that counts. And generally I don't pause so I give up some quiz time for it. :)
+11
Level 75
May 3, 2018
I don't think that's cheating. On rare occasions I look up a spelling if I know the word but just can't seem to find the right combination of letters. (I never had trouble spelling when I was younger, it's only since I'm in the grandma years that it has become a problem.) If you type in the clue or search the comments for answers, that's cheating IMO. But if you type the word you know for correct spelling or translation, I don't think it is. Usually I find that taking the extra effort commits the word to memory for the next time it shows up. I'm in the camp that it's the knowledge that counts, not the correct spelling or translation, but I know there are others here who will disagree.
+8
Level 82
May 3, 2018
This is just for entertainment. Do what makes you happy. Once in a while if I'm sure I know the answer to something and can't get the answer to fill in I'll look it up and find out I was spelling something wrong or something like that.
+4
Level 15
May 5, 2018
Its not a spelling test, nor is it a language test, therefore I do not consider it cheating.
+3
Level 73
Jul 6, 2018
I agree with the majority on this one - it's how I finally learned how to spell "Tegucigalpa". I knew the word that I wanted, but I just could not come up with the correct combination of letters.
+3
Level 66
Jan 14, 2020
When you know the answer, but only in your mothertongue, I dont consider it cheating, you still have the knowlegde that is asked for, just not full command of the english language. As long as it isnt on vocabulary quizzes like you said. But looking up spelling when english is your mothertongue is a different matter. It is more a grey area, I wouldnt call it flat out cheating, but well you didnt really know the answer either.

I guess it depends on the word and if it is one that you never really see written down or not. I think if you look up the spelling of yacht you are cheating, but if you look up Tegucigalpa or something I would not really consider it cheating (though I am against it personally. Whether you see the correct spelling during or after the quiz, in both cases you can learn from it. And actually getting it wrong is a good reminder of how to spell it)

I guess looking up spelling of places and names feel less like cheating than looking up objects terms and verbs

+6
Level 75
May 3, 2018
I don't believe I ever heard the word albedo in my entire life. Thanks for my new word of the day, QM.
+1
Level 82
May 3, 2018
That's the one I missed, too.
+2
Level 60
Mar 8, 2022
It is often used in astronomy,
+2
Level 52
May 3, 2018
I'd argue that obscured could also work for overcast
+1
Level 58
May 3, 2018
Blizzards are defined by the wind speed and visibility in combination with snow, not the severity or rate of snowfall. Technically, there could be a blizzard with just blowing snow and no actual snowfall.
+2
Level 68
May 3, 2018
Accept "inverse"?
+1
Level 44
Apr 15, 2019
If cow farts contribute to global warming, I'm moving to Canada! I mean Mars!
+2
Level 66
Jan 14, 2020
Bah I typed cumulus nimbus.. (though cunnilingus wanted to interfere...) also mistyped inversion guess maybe I tried invertion ? (English isnt my language, so eventhough I thought of invert, the word inversion didnt immediately pop up. But if I had time to think about it I would gave spotted my mistake.
+1
Level 72
Nov 8, 2020
"cumulus nimbus" is the original latin term for the cloud formation, that apparently then English deformed into "cumulonimbus" that is the answer. I think the original should be accepted.
+2
Level 79
Feb 21, 2021
Yay, got all of them! Learning Geography in school helps I guess.
+1
Level 73
Mar 8, 2022
Best quiz on the site, in this meteorologist’s humble opinion
+1
Level 76
Mar 9, 2022
'Typhoon' is only used in the western Pacific and Indian Oceans north of the equator. South of the equator the word 'cyclone' is used.
+1
Level 63
Mar 9, 2022
I thought the answer to the first one was "dry spell" until the correct answer finally occurred to me.
+2
Level 51
Mar 10, 2022
ozone isn't an actual layer in the atmosphere. The layers being troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere and thermosphere. Within the stratosphere there is a high concentration of ozone hence you get the slang term 'ozone layer'. But since the question asks 'what layer of the atmosphere has a high concentration of ozone' the answer is stratosphere.
+2
Level 86
Nov 20, 2022
Hi. Very instructive quiz, kudos! For "measure of the amount of water or vapor in the air", wouldn't "Hygrometry" work ?
+1
Level 87
Feb 26, 2023
Excellent quiz, even gets the correct definition of monsoon!
+1
Level 46
Jan 9, 2024
Typhoons actually typically form in the Northern Pacific Oceans. Cyclones form over the Indian Ocean and the Southern Pacific.