Snow & Winter Weather Trivia Trivia Quiz - Trivia Quiz

1 What basic geometric shape do individual snow crystals most commonly exhibit?

A. Hexagonal symmetry

B. Triangular symmetry

C. Pentagonal symmetry

2 In U.S. weather criteria, blizzard conditions require sustained or frequent gusts of at least what wind speed?

A. 35 mph (56 km/h)

B. 20 mph (32 km/h)

C. 50 mph (80 km/h)

3 What distinguishes sleet from freezing rain?

A. Sleet stays liquid and freezes on contact with surfaces

B. Sleet forms only over lakes

C. Sleet refreezes into ice pellets before reaching the ground

4 What primarily causes lake-effect snow?

A. Cold air sinking in desert regions

B. Cold, dry air moving over a warmer lake, picking up heat and moisture

C. Warm fronts lifting moist tropical air over mountains

5 Fresh, clean snow typically reflects about what percentage of incoming sunlight (albedo)?

A. 80–90%

B. 10–20%

C. 40–50%

6 What is a snow roller?

A. A machine used to compact ski slopes

B. A layer of snow that collapses underfoot with a 'whump' sound

C. A naturally formed cylinder of snow blown and rolled by wind

7 Which icing forms when supercooled fog droplets freeze on the windward side of objects, building feathery, opaque ice?

A. Glaze ice

B. Rime ice

C. Hoarfrost

8 Approximately how much snow fell in the U.S. 24-hour snowfall record set at Silver Lake, Colorado (1921)?

A. 100 inches (2.5 m)

B. 36 inches (0.9 m)

C. About 76 inches (1.9 m)

9 Which snow-to-liquid ratio best describes dry 'powder' snow?

A. 20:1

B. 5:1

C. 10:1

10 A nor'easter gets its name because...

A. It always forms in the northeastern United States

B. It occurs only near the winter solstice

C. Coastal winds blow from the northeast toward land

11 What causes snow blindness?

A. UV radiation reflected by snow inflaming the cornea

B. Microscopic ice crystals scratching the eye

C. Cold air freezing the surface of the eye

12 Which process explains how ice crystals grow at the expense of supercooled droplets in cold clouds, leading to snow?

A. Coriolis effect

B. Adiabatic compression

C. Bergeron–Findeisen process

13 Why does your breath look like a cloud on very cold days?

A. Water vapor in your breath condenses into tiny droplets/ice

B. Air impurities become visible when chilled

C. Carbon dioxide turns white in cold air

14 Why does a field of snow appear white, even though ice is clear?

A. Snow contains trapped air that produces bioluminescence

B. Snow absorbs blue light, leaving only white

C. Light is scattered many times by tiny ice crystals, reflecting all wavelengths

15 What is 'black ice' on roads?

A. Dark volcanic glass used for de-icing

B. A layer of soot that reduces traction

C. A thin, nearly invisible glaze of ice that looks like wet pavement