.png){kind=logo}
Weather trivia questions are a great way to test your knowledge of meteorology and all things related to the weather.
From hurricanes to thunderstorms and everything in between, see how far you can get with these 161 weather trivia questions.
Here's a quick question to get you started:
Question: The Avalanche and Lightning are professional sports teams that play what sport in the United States? These teams play in a league considered the best in the world for its sport.
Answer: Hockey
Before we get into the weather trivia questions, we want to tell you about Water Cooler Trivia.
Water Cooler Trivia is the perfect platform for users who are looking to test their knowledge with original questions.
Don't waste your time aimlessly scrolling through the internet for trivia questions anymore.
Take Water Cooler Trivia for a test drive and get fun quizzes delivered straight to your inbox instead.
If you're interested in taking Water Cooler Trivia for a spin, consider signing up for our four-week free trial with no further commitments.
1. Two years before Martin Handford launched a series of books about a hidden guy in a striped shirt, 1985 saw West Texas hit by a category two hurricane with what seekable W-name?
Answer: Waldo
2. Answer in English, por favor: If someone looked at the weather outside and described it using the Spanish words “gatos” and “perros,” what is likely to be happening?
Answer: Rain
3. Sure to mess up Star Wars Day, 63.4% of Texas tornadoes between 1951 and 2016 struck during what month of the year?
Answer: May
4. Ask “X-Men” era Halle Berry: “A disturbance of the normal condition of the atmosphere, manifesting itself by winds of unusual force or direction, often accompanied by rain, snow, hail, thunder, and lightning, or flying sand or dust" is a definition of what very, very generic meteorological word?
Answer: rainstorm
5. Although known as the first major indoor sporting venue in the world (and occasionally hailed as "the eighth wonder of the world"), there was in fact a rainout on June 15, 1976 after significant rainfall caused flooding at what venue?
Answer: Astrodome
6. In April 2023, the town of Dickens, Texas experienced hail the size of what fruit, grown in South Texas in its "Ruby Red" variety?
Answer: Grapefruit
7. When Hurricane Celia hit Texas in August 1970 it was the state's costliest storm at that time. The storm caused most of its damage in Robstown, Aransas Pass, and Port Aransas which are all towns in what larger city's metro area?
Answer: Corpus Christi
8. Since 2020, warm and dry conditions across Texas and the southern United States have been attributed to what "girlish" weather pattern, which results from cooler water temperatures in the Pacific?
Answer: La Niña
9. Which Hurricane with a spicy (or Spice Girl) name hit Texas in the fall of 1971, and was the last storm targeted by Project Stormfury?
Answer: Ginger
10. The Great (that is, devastating) Houston Flood in 1935 prompted the creation of the Flood Control District of what Texas County?
Answer: Harris
11. West Texas drought in 2024 has sent the two major Rio Grande reservoirs to historic lows. Those reservoirs are Falcon and what other one that shares an A-word name with what Spielberg courtroom drama about an uprising on a slave ship?
Answer: Amistad
12. A 1995 storm known as the Mayfest Storm thunderstorm escalated dramatically and caused almost $2 billion of damage in Texas when it deposited 18 inches of what type of precipitation on the citizens of Palo Pinto and Parker Counties?
Answer: Hail
13. In 2011, what “B” Texas county was hit with the worst wildfire in the state’s history?
Answer: Bastrop County
14. The Central Texas city of Jarrell was hit by what weather phenomenon in 1997, killing 27 people and injuring another 12? Forecasters initially thought it was going to be a wind and hail storm.
Answer: tornado
15. At the time that Goliad was hit with a devastating one in 1902, it was a common belief that electromagnetism caused what type of weather event?
Answer: Tornado
16. According to the tall tale, what did Pecos Bill throw over a tornado that ended up in Texas?
Answer: Lasso
17. Some researchers believe that increased oil and gas production in what large basin, named for a geologic time period, has caused a marked increase in Texas earthquakes?
Answer: Permian Basin
18. On December 29, 2006, Texas experienced a rare winter outbreak of which weather event—recording 26 that day?
Answer: Tornado
19. In 2004, a winter snowstorm put a damper on many North Texas couples’ plans when it moved in on which holiday?
Answer: Valentine's Day
20. Since 2000, what county in Texas has recorded the most number of tornados with 247? (Hint: Houston’s there)
Answer: Harris
21. Don't get it twisted: the Spanish for “to turn” is the root word for what violent weather thing that gets measured on the Fujita scale?
Answer: Tornado
22. What colloquial term for an area of the United States with a relatively high rate of a specific type of severe weather includes Arkansas along with 10-12 other states? The term was first used in 1952 and is considered by climatologists to largely be an imprecise, media-driven term.
Answer: Tornado Alley
23. What “M” Texas city, part of the Permian Basin and home to the George W. Bush Childhood home, suffered shutdowns due to record low freezing temperatures in 2021? Its name implies it has a central location.
Answer: Midland, Texas
24. Before it became synonymous with the Branch Davidians, which Texas city was known for being the site of one of the worst tornados in the state’s history (which caused hundreds of deaths on May 11th, 1953)?
Answer: Waco
25. What weather event, translating to “little girl” in Spanish, brings stronger trade winds and potentially harsher hurricane season?
Answer: La Nina
26. The highest temperature ever recorded in Texas happened twice, in 1936 and 1994. What temperature, in degrees Fahrenheit and ending in "0," did the thermometer hit in these years?
Answer: 120
27. What disastrous weather phenomenon is sometimes known in Texas as a "toad strangler"?
Answer: Flood
28. In 2022, a tornado uprooted a BBQ and flung it into a bathtub in what E-word Texas town that calls itself the Sausage Capital of Texas?
Answer: Elgin
29. The flood of July 1869 caused flooding in several towns south of Austin after which river, the longest in Texas, accumulated water to a whopping 55 feet high?
Answer: Colorado River
30. Some 2010 flash floods in Texas caused the waters to rise over 20 feet in a day on what New Braunfels river named for a sacred virgin?
Answer: Guadalupe River
31. In 1933, the lowest temperature in Texas history of -23 degrees Fahrenheit was tied in what “S” small town, the eventual birthplace of Tanya Tucker? It shares its name with a Native American tribe that attempted to defend Georgia and Florida from U.S. expansion.
Answer: Seminole
32. Texas is vulnerable to the reach of what kind of cyclone, which increases pressure by 24 millibars in 24 hours? It is named after a container filled with incendiary device, designed to explode at a particular target.
Answer: Bomb Cyclone
33. Characterized by a rapid drop in temperature, strong winds, and dark blue or "black" skies, the Texas Norther is a cold front known to cause snow in Texas. It is more commonly known by a different name—a "Norther" of what color?
Answer: Blue (Blue Norther)
34. The extreme drought experienced in Texas in 2023 resulted in the exposure of what evidence of dinosaurs in Dinosaur Valley State Park?
Answer: Dinosaur tracks
35. What region shared between Texas and Louisiana is characterized by mostly conifer forest (as its name implies) and, with up to 50 inches of yearly rain, is among the rainiest parts of Texas?
Answer: Piney Woods
36. The Texas A&M Forest Service maintains an interactive map forecasting and reporting the potential for what natural disasters?
Answer: Wildfire
37. Weather scale analogy! The Fujita scale is to measuring the intensity of tornadoes, as the Beaufort scale is to measuring the speed of what natural thing?
Answer: Wind
38. With an average of 139 per year, Texas ranks first compared to all U.S. states in what type of specific weather event?
Answer: Tornadoes
39. When authorities slap a PDS on a tornado watch, that means it's a Particularly what “D” term Situation?
Answer: Dangerous
40. Texas tornadoes occur with greatest frequency in the valley of what river that lends its name to the annual UT-OU football rivalry?
Answer: Red River
41. What “W” practice involves protecting a building and its interior from the elements, such as sunlight, precipitation, and wind, thereby reducing energy consumption and optimizing energy efficiency?
Answer: Weatherization
42. A flood, brought on by 24 inches of rain in the Houston area over a two day period in April 2016, was named for what little-loved "holiday?"
Answer: Tax Day
43. Alee means away from the direction of which weather phenomenon that’s important for sailing?
Answer: Wind
44. What famous pirate of the Gulf of Mexico offered his house as a hospital when a deadly hurricane struck Galveston in 1818?
Answer: Jean Lafitte
45. Which city in Texas that begins with the letter “A,” tops the state in average yearly snowfall with on average 17.2 inches annually?
Answer: Amarillo
46. Tornadoes might be the most likely to make the news and the history books, but according to the Texas Department of State Health Services, which wet 'n wild natural disaster is the most common in the state?
Answer: Flood
47. To the nearest degree Fahrenheit, what is the average temperature in the city on San Antonio?
Answer: 81
48. From 1949 to 1957, Texas got between 30-50% less rainfall than was typical and temperatures soared. This led to what experts called “the most costly and one of the most devastating” of what kind of weather event “in 600 years”—?
Answer: Drought
49. 60% of the homes on what peninsula, which lies northeast of Galveston and which is named for a famed Venezuelan political leader, were damaged by Hurricane Ike in 2008?
Answer: Bolivar Peninsula
50. According to Kurz Wind, the windiest city in Texas and the whole nation is what "Yellow Rose" of the Panhandle?
Answer: Amarillo
51. Only steel-framed buildings like the ALICO Building and the Dr. Pepper bottling plant withstood a devastating 1953 F5 tornado that hit what Central Texas city?
Answer: Waco
52. During 2021's Winter Storm Uri, many powerless Texans cursed grid operator ERCOT. Somewhat ironically, what does the “R” stand for in ERCOT?
Answer: Reliability
53. In 1956, what “V” Texas city received 61 inches of snowfall during a storm? It is also the last name of John Travolta’s character in “Pulp Fiction,” as well as a Spanish masked fighter from the “Street Fighter” games.
Answer: Vega
54. Texas tends to get a lot of hurricanes because it’s close to which basin of the Atlantic Ocean/Caribbean Sea?
Answer: Gulf of Mexico
55. What name was given to the slow moving Category 1 Hurricane which hit Texas on September 14, 2021?
Answer: Nicholas
56. "Pelo de gato" colloquially refers to what type of Costa Rican weather event?
Answer: Rain
57. There is an interstate highway in Texas that generally is considered to bisect the state into a section that has a subtropical climate and the other section has an arid desert climate. What is this interstate?
Answer: I-35
58. An 1818 hurricane ruined the Galveston Island encampment of what French pirate who helped defend New Orleans during the War of 1812?
Answer: Jean Lafitte
59. Hurricanes that strike Texas, like the catastrophic Hurricane Alice in 1954, can sometimes form in what bay on the southern end of the Gulf of Mexico, west of the Yucatan Peninsula?
Answer: Bay of Campeche
60. In October of 1990, which tropical storm that shares a name with a Friend washed out some roads near Big Bend National Park?
Answer: Rachel
61. Abnormally wet weather in early July 2023 caused up to 10 inches of flooding in what region of Texas centered on Corpus Christi, and named for the "curve" in Texas's Gulf Coast?
Answer: Coastal Bend
62. The town of Deweyville, Texas got over 20 inches of rain in just 24 hours in 1963, thanks to a tropical storm that remained stationary over East Texas that was given what name? It's the same as certain supermodel with a trademark mole over her lip.
Answer: Cindy
63. Located on the Gulf Coast of Texas just 2.4 degrees north of the Tropic of Cancer, what is the Texas city that was ranked the fifth-hottest city in the U.S. in 2016 and had its first instance of measurable snow in 109 years when there was a White Christmas in 2004?
Answer: Brownsville
64. Lasting for four days in October, what 1981 hurricane caused over $50 million in damage in Texas and also includes Marilyn Monroe’s legal first name?
Answer: Hurricane Norma
65. In 1943, communications—even weather alerts—were heavily censored due to WWII. So when the residents of Galveston, Texas got no warning about severe weather that ripped through town, they naturally applied which unexpected term to the hurricane?
Answer: Surprise
66. "Rotational load shedding" is another word for what two-word power management term? ERCOT, for example, ordered these take place during 2021's Texas winter storms to manage strain on the power grid.
Answer: Rolling Blackouts
67. In July 2008, which hurricane that shares a name with a country music legend swept through Texas, causing damaging high winds and tides in Corpus Christi?
Answer: Dolly
68. When the hottest towns or cities were collated in 2019, which Texas border town beginning with “D” came in fourth on the list, being the highest Texas location?
Answer: Del Rio
69. The highest velocity wind gust ever recorded in Texas was in the town of Robstown during Hurricane Celia which hit in which year?
Answer: 1970
70. What wildfire that was made even worse by a 2011 drought was the most destructive and expensive wildfire in Texas history, destroying more than 1600 structures and causing $350 million in damage?
Answer: Bastrop County Complex Fire
71. While the cold fronts don’t get as far as Mexico when they move down from Canada, Texans know that a “Blue Norther” means they might be experiencing temps that are up to 50 degrees below those of a city just miles away. These weather events have been recorded year-round, but they’re most likely to occur between November and what other transition month?
Answer: March
72. Most weather phenomena occur in what lowest layer of the Earth's atmosphere, which begins at the surface and extends three to eleven miles above the earth, depending on latitude?
Answer: Troposphere
73. A derecho is a rare kind of thunderstorm where the speed of what gusty weather phenomenon gets above 58 mph?
Answer: Wind
74. In 1900, a hurricane known as "the Great Storm" made landfall in the U.S. and quickly became the deadliest natural disaster in American history with an estimated 8,000 fatalities. In what coastal Texas city is this storm most frequently associated with?
Answer: Galveston
75. In late May 2015, there was extensive flooding in Texas and nearby states killing dozens of people. In part the flooding was caused by the overflowing of what "colorful" Texas river?
Answer: Blanco River
76. What city in West Texas received a surprising and record-setting 22 inches of snow during a 24-hour period December 13–14, 1987?
Answer: El Paso
77. The state of Texas has an initiative to help reduce atmospheric emissions by offering grants to purchase new equipment with less of an environmental impact. The plan is often abbreviated by a four-letter acronym that sounds like slang for a turtle. What is this acronym?
Answer: TERP (Texas Emissions Reduction Plan)
78. Lasting for one week in March 2006, what is the name of the "B" wildfire that started near its eponymous town and burned nearly a half million acres and caused almost $100 million of damage?
Answer: Borger
79. Hillsboro, Texas had a record 26-inch snowfall in December of what year?
Answer: 1929
80. What was the name given to the 2017 Hurricane that hit Texas as well as Louisiana? It shares its name with a 1950 film about James Stewart having visions of an invisible giant rabbit.
Answer: Harvey
81. The ENSO cycle has a major impact on the weather in Texas, affecting the jet stream and sea-surface temperatures. The “SO” in the ENSO cycle stands for Southern Oscillation. What does the “EN” stand for?
Answer: El Niño
82. February 2021 saw Texas hit with a major winter and ice storm with what “U” name? The three-letter name is spelled the same as the abbreviation of a northeastern college in the city of Kingston.
Answer: Winter Storm Uri
83. Hurricane Ike devastated parts of southeast Texas in 2008, causing tremendous damage to cattle ranchers, timberlands, and growers of what most common crop in the world, but primarily only grown in coastal Texas and the Mississippi River Delta in the United States?
Answer: Rice
84. A 1935 flood in what “H” Texas county, a part of the Houston area, drowned at least seven people and forced reforms in flood control in the area? The county’s name is the same as the last name of the actor who played Mission Control’s Gene Kranz in “Apollo 13.”
Answer: Harris County
85. What term beginning with “G”, from German meaning “pearl barley,” is used for small particles of snow with a fragile crust of ice?
Answer: Graupel
86. On May, 6, 1930, an F-4 tornado devastated a teensy Texas town with what chilly five-letter name that it shares with a San Antonio-based bank?
Answer: Frost
87. In what month of 2021 did a winter storm cripple Texas, causing an unprecedented power crisis and 246 deaths?
Answer: February
88. What natural disaster occurred in 1967, as a result of Hurricane Beaulah, leading many to say that it was the worst of its kind in the 20th century (so far)?
Answer: Flooding
89. In what month was the hottest day in Houston, Texas history? The event occurred in 2000, when Enron Field registered a temperature of 109 degrees F.
Answer: September
90. What was the most destructive hurricane in Texas in the last 30 years?
Answer: Hurricane Ike
91. In 1951, an ice storm hit what Texas city, home to MLB’s Astros franchise?
Answer: Houston, Texas
92. In 1989, Galveston, Texas had extremely cold temperatures and high snowfall, in weather conditions that were described as what “A” adjective? It is a word meaning relating to regions around the North Pole.
Answer: Arctic
93. In 1917, what two-word Texas town, home to Texas A&M, with an appropriate partially academic name, recorded five days with temperatures over 106 degrees, with one day achieving an all time record of 110 degrees F?
Answer: College Station, Texas
94. The Central Texas Flood of 1998 occurred during one of the most expensive storms that ever hit the U.S. What name did meteorologists give the hurricane that caused more than $750 million in damage?
Answer: Madeline
95. What 1998 tropical storm killed 13 people in Texas, making it the state's deadliest tropical storm of the 1990s?
Answer: Tropical Storm Charley
96. During a tornado outbreak in March 1953, a category F4 tornado touched down in which Texas “ghost town” before tearing through the rest of Haskell County?
Answer: Jud
97. During the history-making blizzard of 1956, which small northern Texas city reportedly got over 60 inches of snow?
Answer: Vega
98. Every year, Texans prepare themselves for possible hurricanes and tropical storms. Some storms cause little to no damage, but some cause major damage. What "H" named hurricane hit Texas in August 2017 and became the costliest hurricane in Texas history, causing $125 billion in damages?
Answer: Harvey
99. On October 12, 2001, an F2 tornado blew through which city in Texas’ Medina County and caused more than $20 million in damage, primarily to the National Guard and local airport?
Answer: Hondo
100. Popular in Northern Mexico and among Spanish-speaking Texans, “La Canícula” refers to the rainless, hot, stagnant days between July and August. It's equivalent to what 2-word alliterative idiom that's more common to English speakers?
Answer: Dog days
101. The Texas Panhandle counties of Dallam and Sherman were the location of some of the worst soil erosion that took place during what catastrophic weather event, which took place over three "waves" in the 1930s?
Answer: Dust Bowl
102. In February of 2012, two tornadoes touched down in which town in Burleson County, Texas, and caused over $500,000 in damage?
Answer: Snook
103. The worst tornado to ever hit Texas ripped through Waco in May 1953 as an "F5," meaning a category five on what scale named for a Japanese-American meteorologist?
Answer: Fujita
104. In April of 2021, which Medina County, Texas city set the state record for the biggest hailstone, weighing 1.26lbs and 6.4 inches in diameter?
Answer: Hondo
105. A 1909 tornado that killed 34 formed near what ironically named Texas town, a word meaning "light wind" named for the Greek god of the west wind?
Answer: Zephyr
106. The Florida city of St. Petersburg set a Guinness World Record from 1967 to 1969 of 768 straight days of what, specifically?
Answer: Sunshine
107. In May of 1982, Texas recorded more than 100 of which spinning, destructive weather event?
Answer: Tornadoes
108. In May of 1987, a tornado killed 30 of the then-183 residents and destroyed 85% of which Reeves County Texas community's structures?
Answer: Saragosa
109. In 1964, a news crew in Wichita Falls became the first ever to catch what weather event on live TV?
Answer: Tornado
110. Which city in western Texas tied the record for the hottest day even recorded in Texas at 120 degrees Fahrenheit in 1994?
Answer: Monahans
111. Which Texas city holds the state record for the most snowfall in 24 hours, getting 26 inches of the white fluffy stuff on December 21-22, 1929?
Answer: Hillsboro
112. In 1909, one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks in the history of Texas swept through which town near Dallas-Fort Worth and killed at least 10 people?
Answer: Grand Prairie
113. In July 1995, which hurricane that made its way to Texas after pummeling Florida was the first to hit the continental U.S. since Hurricane Andrew back in ‘92?
Answer: Erin
114. What 2000 film described the loss of the Gloucester, Massachusetts-based fishing vessel Andrea Gail in the titular weather event?
Answer: The Perfect Storm
115. Texas is second only to Florida in the incidence of hurricanes that hit it. Texas is second only to California in the incidence of what other natural disaster?
Answer: Wildfire
116. In 2011, only about 14.8 inches of rain fell in Texas, making it one of the driest years the state has on record. What’s the weather term for such a particularly parched period?
Answer: Drought
117. In September of 1971, Texas was caught up in which Hurricane that was given a floral “F” name and proved hard for forecasters to track since it took an unpredictable path leaving floods in its wake?
Answer: Fern
118. According to multiple weather websites, what is the hottest month of the year in Texas’ state capital city of Austin?
Answer: August
119. The hottest day in the history of Texas’ state capital Austin came on August 28, 2011, when the temperature reached how many degrees Fahrenheit?
Answer: 112
120. In July 2023, a massive dust cloud turned skies in Texas and some other southern states orange and hazy after drifting over 5,000 miles across the Atlantic from what desert?
Answer: Sahara Desert
121. What was the name of the winter storm that devastated Texas in 2015, the largest blizzard in the state's history?
Answer: Goliath
122. According to Anthony Franze, the newsroom meteorologist at the "San Antonio Express-News," out of the five Texas cities with the highest population, which has the worst weather?
Answer: Fort Worth
123. As of early October, 2023, nearly one eighth of all Texas land was in "D4" conditions, meaning they are experiencing an "exceptional" version of what weather-related state?
Answer: Drought
124. In what decade was the Waco tornado outbreak, which resulted in 144 deaths, making it the deadliest tornado in Texas history?
Answer: 1950s
125. On June 28th, 1994, which city in West Texas hit a record-breaking temperature of 128 degrees F, the hottest day ever recorded in the state’s history?
Answer: Monahans
126. High floodwaters in 1864 caused the Rio Grande to shift, creating a "banco" of land that would be disputed for 100 years between Texas and Mexico. What was the name given to the disputed area, which is marked by a memorial and museum today?
Answer: El Chamizal
127. In September 1961, what enormous hurricane made landfall near Port O’Connor in Texas, bringing eight tornados with it, and went down in history as one of the most intense hurricanes to ever hit the state?
Answer: Carla
128. Which northern Texas town beginning with “P” was subject to a tornado on June 15, 2023?
Answer: Perryton
129. What extremely rare weather event, also called a "snow devil," was seen on Cedar Creek Lake near Barrel City in East Texas on February 15, 2021?
Answer: Snownado
130. The destruction from what storm was so severe that it led the Texas state government to create the Texas Catastrophe Property Insurance Association, known today as the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association?
Answer: Celia
131. In October 1837, what infamous tropical cyclone exacted damage throughout Texas and got named after a Royal Naval ship that got caught up in?
Answer: Racer's hurricane
132. The greatest 24-hour rainfall ever recorded in Texas at an official observing site occurred on August 4, 1978, where 29.05 inches fell at Albany, in which Texas county?
Answer: Shackelford
133. Whew, that's hot...What Texas town was the first in 2024 to experience 100F-degree temperatures?
Answer: Fort Cavazos
134. Thanks to warm, dry, and gusty conditions, what fire has burned over a million acres as of March 2024, making it the largest wildfire in Texas history?
Answer: Smokehouse Creek Fire
135. Much of East Texas is categorized as Cfa (humid subtropical), while West Texas has regions of BWk (cold desert) and BWh (hot desert) according to the climate classification system named for what German climatologist?
Answer: Wladimir Koppen
136. On May 26, 1976, two tornadoes hit what “B” town in Texas that had suffered millions of dollars in damages from a major tornado just a few years earlier in 1973?
Answer: Burnet
137. Which month of the year on average has the lowest precipitation in San Antonio, Texas?
Answer: January
138. Over the 4th of July in 2010, South Central Texas got hammered by what hurricane that dropped between 12-14 inches of rain throughout the state, leading to flooding in Val Verde and Maverick County?
Answer: Alex
139. In May 1902, what wily weather event tore through Goliad, Texas, destroying homes and churches and killing 114 people?
Answer: Tornado
140. In April of 1947, what Texas town was nearly destroyed by an F5 tornado—the only one ever recorded in the Panhandles?
Answer: Higgins
141. Most water is rated around a 7 on the pH scale. If it's 5 or lower and is falling from the sky, it has high levels of hydrogen ions and is considered what phenomenon, known to cause soil weathering?
Answer: Acid rain
142. The hottest temperature ever recorded in Texas was 120 degrees Fahrenheit, making August 12, 1936, a historic day for what small, and apparently quite humid, city in Baylor County?
Answer: Seymour
143. In April 1919, an outbreak of seven of what weather event descended on the South overnight and killed at least 90 people, many of whom were in East and North Texas?
Answer: Tornado
144. In 1958, a mega-version of what catastrophic weather event hit Lituya Bay after a 7.8 to 8.3 earthquake, washing out trees as high as an elevation of 524 meters (1,719 feet)?
Answer: Tsunami
145. The Great Gulf Coast Snowstorm of 1895 dumped double-digit snow totals across southeastern Texas, in some places burying cattle up to their horns. On what lovely holiday did the storm take place place?
Answer: Valentine's Day
146. Between 1949 and 1957, Texas got 30 to 50% less rain than normal with above-average temperatures, leading to a period of what type of very dry weather event that devastated the state’s economy and environment?
Answer: Drought
147. The 2011 Texas drought led to the spontaneous combustion of deposits of what naturally occurring underground formations, causing wildfires that burned for months?
Answer: Peat
148. In early April of 1964, an F5-scale of which kind of major weather event struck Wichita Falls and caused $15 million in damage even though it only lasted about a half hour?
Answer: Tornado
149. A 2008 hurricane that caused $14 billion worth of damage along the Gulf Coast of Texas had what name that happened to be the nickname of the like-able first Texan elected as U.S. president?
Answer: Ike
150. “A weather phenomenon in which luminous plasma is created by a corona discharge from a rod-like object such as a mast, spire, chimney, or animal horn in an atmospheric electric field” is also the name of what 1985 movie?
Answer: St. Elmo's Fire
151. The Fujita scale is used for rating tornado intensity, and it is mostly based on the damage inflicted by the tornado on human-built structures and vegetation. What is the maximum value on the scale?
Answer: F5
152. High-speed swirling winds in Texas can sometimes combine with a hot and deadly element to create what portmanteau natural disaster?
Answer: Firenado
153. In September 1980, Tropical Storm Danielle caused floods throughout Southeast and Central Texas. Which city in Jefferson County was especially hard hit, getting 17 inches of rain that washed out streets?
Answer: Beaumont
154. On May 4, 1989, a thunderstorm with very high gusting winds cut a swath from the Texas Panhandle to Louisiana. What are these sort of windstorms called?
Answer: Derecho
155. Because of Texas's size, it has multiple different climates in different regions of the state. One of these regions is considered a humid subtropical zone with a climate similar to Taiwan, the Philippines, and much of the Southern parts of Queensland, Australia. What region of the state is this?
Answer: Piney Woods
156. The alliterative name for the hurricane of 1900 probably meant to imply “very large and historic” and not “extremely pleasant,” because surely no one in the island city of the Gulf would have fond memories of it. What massive meteorological event was it?
Answer: Great Galveston Hurricane
157. In 1979, which Texas city endured the Red River Valley Tornado Outbreak? At least 22 tornadoes were documented on April 10, two of which got an F4 rating.
Answer: Wichita Falls
158. Sporting the same name as the lady after Sandra in Lou Bega's "Mambo No. 5," what hurricane forced a Houston evacuation less than a month after Katrina?
Answer: Rita
159. The North American Cold Wave of February 2021 hammered most of the Midwest and south with extreme cold temperatures. In fact, it reached a recorded low of -2 Fahrenheit in Dallas, Texas on February 16th, 2021, causing power outages and frozen pipes. What term is used to describe this weather system that originates near the north pole and causes these frigid conditions when it occurs?
Answer: Polar vortex
160. In early February 2022, Texas was just one of the states that were witness to the new longest lightning bolt in history—almost 500 miles. The bolt spanned from Texas, all the way to what other State to the east?
Answer: Mississippi
161. A 2011 wildfire destroyed hundreds of buildings around what two-word Brazos River-adjacent lake that lent its name to the biggest hit song of The Toadies?
Answer: Possum Kingdom
162. What region of Texas, defined by the three cities of Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Orange, sustained extensive wind damage during 2005's Hurricane Rita?
Answer: Golden Triangle
163. The National Weather Service’s office that serves North Texas is in which city?
Answer: Fort Worth
164. What 110-mile-per-hour air currents circle Earth's tropopause in a westerly direction?
Answer: Jet stream
165. The great storm of 1900 was the deadliest natural disaster in United States history and destroyed almost every building in which Texas city?
Answer: Galveston
166. Also a term in neurology meaning a structure that conducts nerve impulses, what D-word means a single branch in a six-branched snowflake?
Answer: Dendrite
167. KHB40 is the National Weather Radio call sign for what Texas port city that was named after an 18th century Spanish military and political leader?
Answer: Galveston
168. The largest earthquake in the history of Texas occurred in what city? It shares its name with a Roman Saint often associated with courtly love.
Answer: Valentine
169. What was the first tropical storm to have its name retired before reaching hurricane status? The storm hit Southeast Texas in June 2001, and was particularly damaging in the Houston area.
Answer: Allison
170. Flooding in Texas is most likely along an escarpment, a long geographic slope, running from Del Rio on the U.S.-Mexico border to Dallas-Fort Worth. What's the name of this escarpment, which comes from the Spanish word for features you might look for in the upper story of a house?
Answer: Balcones Escarpment
171. A 1988 wildfire, the second-biggest in Texas history, was named for what informal Texas region that shares a name with a one-hit wonder Scottish rock band, also from the 80's?
Answer: Big Country
172. Just one letter off from "Julia," what panhandle town had the lowest temperature ever recorded in Texas—23 degrees below zero—on February 12, 1899?
Answer: Tulia
173. In June 1980, the hottest day ever was recorded in Dallas, Texas. To the nearest degree Fahrenheit, what was the temperature?
Answer: 113
174. Famously having a namesake town in a Monkees song, which Texas town had an annual rainfall of 109.38 inches in 1874, a state record?
Answer: Clarksville
175. Just two weeks after Katrina, what tropical storm got the attention of meteorologists along the Gulf as “she” went from a category 2 to 5 storm in just one day?
Answer: Rita
176. In an attempt to create an oasis in west Texas, cereal magnate C.W. Post tried to kickstart a rainstorm by igniting dynamite strapped to what kind of child's toy that always seems to find its way into science experiments?
Answer: Kite
177. A 5.7 magnitude earthquake that occurred in Alpine, Texas in 1995 is known by what name that it shares with an Olympic running event?
Answer: Marathon earthquake
178. What is the name of the Category 3 hurricane that hit Texas in 1983, causing $3 billion in damages and earning the title of "costliest tropical cyclone in U.S. history" at the time it made landfall?
Answer: Alicia
179. A torrential 1899 rainstorm caused the worst flooding ever recorded along what river, which is sometimes used as the border between East and West Texas?
Answer: Brazos River
180. What was the first hurricane named after a woman to hit Texas? The hurricane hit in June, 1954 south of Brownsville, causing extensive flooding.
Answer: Alice
181. Some teenagers were thrown almost a thousand yards away and severely injured, but there were miraculously no fatalities from the F5 tornado on April 19, 1976 that struck just north of what Texas city? Aptly enough, it's the county seat of Brown County.
Answer: Brownwood
182. In 2011, El Paso was one of the cities hit by a blizzard which affected much of the Northeast and Midwest, Oklahoma, and parts of Texas, and that happened around what annual holiday?
Answer: Groundhog Day
183. The shallow, terraced falls of what river 25 miles west of Austin are known for their rapid flash floods, which have led to several deaths at their namesake state park?
Answer: Pedernales River
184. What is the weather phenomena that blew down section houses along railway tracks in 1895 and ruined $6 million worth of wheat in the Texas panhandle while also injuring 20 people in 1977?
Answer: Dust storm
185. What is the name of the Texas ghost town that had a population of 5,000 in 1875 before a hurricane killed hundreds? After the town was rebuilt, another hurricane came only 11 years later, resulting in the abandoned efforts to re-build yet-again.
Answer: Indianola
186. Killing over 50 people, what 1967 "B" hurricane in Texas made landfall just north of the mouth of the Rio Grande River as a Category 3 storm and then spawned 115 tornadoes across Texas?
Answer: Hurricane Beulah
187. The largest wildfire of the 2022 season in Texas is named for the "Complex" of what county, ironically located in central West Texas?
Answer: Eastland
188. The weather at Texas's massive Big Bend National Park can be variable: the desert floor can approach 100 degrees Fahrenheit, while the basin of what mountains in the park's center can be 10-20 degrees cooler?
Answer: Chisos Mountains
189. On August 23, 1980, what major Texas city scored its record-highest temperature, 107 degrees F, during a heatwave when daily temps rose above 100 degrees F for 14 days in a row?
Answer: Houston
190. The E-motion cone, sitting atop Pittsburgh's Carnegie Science Center, lights up in different colors to alert residents about the weather. What color does the E-motion cone turn to warn of severe weather?
Answer: Yellow
191. "Weather in Texas is crazy. Monday it's sunny. Then Tuesday, it's raining like it's gonna snow the next. And then Wednesday, it's freezing cold!" is a quote from 9-year-old Taylor Michelle from Pearland, TX who went viral with her youthful rants about the craziness of Texas weather on what social media platform?
Answer: Instagram
192. One victim of the 2011 wildfires in Bastrop, Texas was the filmmaking archive of what "Dazed and Confused" and "School of Rock" director?
Answer: Richard Linklater
193. In what city of Texas did it rain fish in 2021? The phenomenon is called "animal rain," occur when small animals are swept up in waterspouts and then come down when it rains.
Answer: Texarkana, TX
194. With an average of 7.8 wet days, what is the wettest month in the Texan city of El Paso, Texas?
Answer: August
195. What color ocean effect can occur over wet, water-logged ground when a tropical storm or cyclone maintains—or even increases—strength after it makes landfall? Tropical Storm Bill in 2015 was an example of this rare weather phenomenon.
Answer: Brown
196. What is the name of the tropical cyclone that flooded Eastern Texas in 1979? It shares its name with the first name of the Best Actress Oscar winner for “It Happened One Night” in 1935.
Answer: Claudette
197. Hurricane Claudette was a Category 1 storm when it made landfall in 2005 on what Texas barrier island, whose name means "thick brush" in Spanish?
Answer: Matagorda Island
198. Which month of the year is the wettest one on average in the capital of Texas, Austin?
Answer: May
199. The coldest day in Houston, Texas was in 1930, when the temperature dropped to 5 degrees. In which month did this occur?
Answer: January
200. Flooding in 2018 caused a flow rate as strong as Niagara Falls just north of Enchanted Rock on what Central Texas tributary river of the Colorado?
Answer: Llano River
201. The hottest day in San Antonio’s history was 19 August 1949. In degrees Fahrenheit, what was the temperature recorded that day?
Answer: 108
202. In May 2024, what South Texas town shattered heat records and recorded possibly the hottest-ever temperature in the spring month at 116 F?
Answer: La Puerta
203. In 1967, which hurricane (the third-largest on record) pummeled the Brownsville, Texas area and led to 115 tornados—the most associated with any one hurricane in the state’s history?
Answer: Beulah
204. With regards to overall precipitation, on average, what is the wettest month of the year in Houston, Texas?
Answer: June
205. What "speedy” 1837 hurricane, named after a Royal Navy ship in the Caribbean, is the first known storm to have affected the entire Texas coastline?
Answer: Racer's Hurricane
206. Hurricane Harvey whipped up sustained winds reaching category 4 on the SSHWS, or what two-word Hurricane Wind Scale?
Answer: Saffir-Simpson
207. The deadliest tornado in Texas history struck in May 1953. Nearly one-third of a mile wide, the massive tornado killed 114 persons and injured 597. What Texas city crossed paths with this deadly weather formation and thus gave the twister its name?
Answer: Waco
208. Also known as Big Bend Country, what is the "TP" region in western Texas which consists of the most clear weather days statewide each year?
Answer: Trans-Pecos
209. What is the name of the cloud, sometimes spotted over areas of Texas, that forms on the underside of other clouds as they begin to sink in the sky? When formed on a cumulonimbus, it is a sign that a particularly bad storm is approaching.
Answer: Mammatus
210. On “Terrible Tuesday” April 10, 1979, what Texas city suffered over $400 million in damages, 42 deaths and more than 1,700 reported injuries due to the destruction caused by an F4 tornado?
Answer: Wichita Falls
211. In 2018, Tropical Storm Gordon blew up from the gulf and poured rain down on Texas—specifically, Ruston, Longview, and El Dorado, three towns in a tri-state region known by what eight-letter hyphenated name?
Answer: Ark-La-Tex
212. Although technically not a hurricane, what is the name of the storm that struck the Houston area in 2001 and deposited more than 80% of the area's average rainfall in a period of a few days? The storm flooded nearly 100,000 cars and was responsible for 41 deaths and $5 billion in property damage.
Answer: Allison
213. Affectionately known as "The World's Greatest TV Weatherman" and "The Dean of TV Meteorologists," who was the first TV meteorologist west of the Mississippi River? He was was also heard on the radio in Texas for more than 40 years.
Answer: Harold Taft
214. Although the area is not known for a large number of tornadoes, one month has been the most common time for these extreme weather events in Washington since records began in 1950. What is this tornado-laden month?
Answer: May
Weather trivia questions are great for learning about the atmosphere and the meteorology of the planet.
From how storms form to the cause of thunder and lightning, there's something for everyone in this list of questions.
Aside from Water Cooler Trivia, you can find weather trivia questions online or in educational books and magazines.
Water Cooler Trivia can become your go-to source for all things trivia.
Our team of trivia nerds is ready to provide you with everything you need for your next event.
Water Cooler Trivia can deliver original trivia quizzes on a broad range of different topics, including the weather.
Creating a bespoke quiz is easier than you think.
All you have to do is let us know what type of questions and topics you'd like to include in your quiz, and we'll take care of the rest.
Get started with a free four-week trial today!
You may also like:
We do everything we can to ensure that Water Cooler Trivia's questions are appropriate, relevant, and accurate. Our database has tens of thousands of questions, so we don't always get it right. If you see a question that needs editing, we would love if you let us know here or email [email protected].
.png)