Ever heard of ball lightning? How about a chinook? If you think asking about the weather is boring, then Kidzworld has got some fun facts that'll take you by storm!
Hurricanes, Tornadoes and Rain
- The word "Hurricane" comes from the Taino Native American Word "hurucane", which means "evil spirit of the wind."
- In just ten minutes a hurricane can unleash more energy than all the world's nuclear weapons combined.
- Texas gets the most tornadoes a year out of any state at an average of 110 a year.
- A "fire whirl" is when a tornado spins too close to a forest fire.
- Rain contains Vitamin B12.
- In 1894 in Bath, England, loads of jellyfish rained from the sky, and in 1887 in South Carolina 8 alligators dropped from the sky!
- Ever heard of "bloody rain"? It's not from a horror movie, it's a real thing, but it's not really blood making the rain red, just red sand picked up from the desert.
Rain contains Vitamin B
Lightning
- "Ball Lightning" moves slower than normal lightning, and can be as big as 8 feet in diameter - they cause huge amounts of damage.
- 9 out of 10 lightning victims survive.
- There are 760 lightning storms an hour one earth.
- Oak trees are struck by lightning more than any other tree.
- Socks and shoes can be knocked off by lightning.
- The Empire State building once got struck by lightning 9 times in 20 minutes.
You have good chances of surviving a lightning strike
Did You Know
- In the Winter of 1932 it was so cold in the US that Niagra falls froze completely solid!
- A "chinook" is a warm wind that comes from the ocean - they have been known to melt piles of snow in a day.
- Different colored moons are due to changes in the atmosphere - but as the saying goes, they only happen once in a "blue moon."
Forget rainbows, moonbows are what you want to see!
- You've heard of rainbows, but did you know there are "moon bows"? This rare occurrence can happen when the moon is low and almost full.
- Port Martin, Antartica is the windiest place on earth, winds can get up to 40 miles per hour.
- The heaviest hailstone in history weighed one kilogram.
Different weather conditions
Have Your Say
What's the weirdest weather you've ever seen? Let us know in the comments section below!
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