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Cold Weather Quiz
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Why does cold weather make your nose run?

Answer: When cold air is inhaled, the blood veins or capillaries in the nose constrict. After a short period of constriction the capillaries dilate or expand again naturally. This process encourages the release of mucous from adjacent glands and we end up with a runny nose. (Courtesy Utah Education Network)

Is it ever too cold to snow?

Answer: No! No matter how cold it gets there is always moisture in the air. We often associate very cold air with no snow because invasions of air from the northern latitudes are generally associated with clearing conditions. This air is very dense and has little room for moisture. On the other hand, we generally associate heavy snows with air just below the freezing mark. (Courtesy Utah Education Network)

True or False. It must be 32°F or colder for it to snow.

Answer: False. It has been known to snow with temperatures in the mid 40°s. Temperatures are below 32°F up in the clouds where the snow is forming. (National Weather Service Forecast Office)

What is the difference between snow, sleet and freezing rain?

Snow: frozen precipitation in the form of six-sided ice crystals form within the cloud. Snow requires below freezing temperatures in all or most of the atmosphere, from the surface to cloud level.

Sleet: frozen precipitation falls as ice pellets. Snowflakes melt into raindrops as they pass through a thin layer of warmer air. Raindrops then refreeze into ice before hitting the ground. Freezing rain occurs when raindrops do not refreeze until they hit the ground.

Freezing rain: rain droplets fall into a shallow layer of cold air near the surface and freeze upon contact with the ground.

 What is the coldest temperature ever recorded in Washington, DC?

 a. -10°F         b. -7°F         c. 0°F         d. -15°F

 Answer: After a snowstorm left a foot of snow over the city on February 8, 1899, a record cold wave struck. On February 11, the temperature dipped to -15°F in the District. It was followed by a second great storm called "The Great Valentines Day Blizzard" which dumped another 20.5 inches of snow. That year DC saw a record 54 inches of snow. (National Weather Service Forecast Office)

 On the average, one inch of rain is equivalent to how many inches of snow?

 a. 10 inches         b. 1 inch         c. 5 inches         d. a foot

 Answer: a. 10 inches of snow melts down to about an inch of liquid rain.  (National Weather Service Forecast Office)

 Can it snow from clear skies?

 Answer:  Yes. Ice crystals sometimes fall from clear skies when temperatures are in the single digits or colder. (National Weather Service Forecast Office)

 What is more hazardous to trees and power lines?

 a. One inch of wet snow         b. One inch of ice

 Answer: b. An inch of ice is heavier than wet snow and is hazardous enough to cause power lines and trees to come down.  (National Weather Service Forecast Office)

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