Patty Thundersnow

Alright, here's the answer to the trivia question from Saturday/Sunday.

Sticking with geography here. During and following the most recent ice age, enormous lakes were formed all over North America. Which of the following prehistoric lakes was the biggest?

Answer: A. Lake Agassiz covered southern Manitoba and Ontario, eastern North Dakota and northern Minnesota during the ice age several thousand years ago. 

Monday/Tuesday's question

Sticking with geography here. Which of the following lakes is the deepest based on depth in the US?

A: Lake Chelan
B: Lake Tahoe
C: Crater Lake 
D: Lake Superior

Answer will be posted around 10 pm Tuesday.

Alright, here's the answer to the trivia question from Thursday/Friday.

Sticking with geography here. Rivers meander over time, switching paths and channels with time. What type of lake is formed when a wide meander of a river is cut off from the main channel?

Answer: D. There are dozens of Oxbow lakes along the Mississippi River, with one sitting in the Metro East of St Louis. Every river in the world creates these through processes of erosion.

Saturday/Sunday's question

Sticking with geography here. During and following the most recent ice age, enormous lakes were formed all over North America. Which of the following prehistoric lakes was the biggest?

A: Lake Agassiz
B: Lake Kankakee
C: Lake Monongahela
D: Lake Bonneville

Answer will be posted around 10 pm Sunday.

Alright, here's the answer to the trivia question from Tuesday/Wednesday.

Switching to geography here. Several pieces of the states that have the Mississippi river have pieces of land cut off from part of their mother state. What are these cut off areas of states called?

Answer: C. There are dozens of exclaves along the banks of the Mississippi River, including former Illinois capital Kaskaskia.

Thursday/Friday's question

Sticking with geography here. Rivers meander over time, switching paths and channels with time. What type of lake is formed when a wide meander of a river is cut off from the main channel?

A: Fluviatile lake
B: Lateral lake
C: anthropogenic lake
D: oxbow lake

Answer will be posted around 10 pm Friday

Alright, here's the answer to the trivia question from Sunday/Monday.

Continuing with weather theme here. The question above with the new damage tags were added in response to a very damaging severe weather outbreak. Which severe weather outbreak sparked this addition to the severe thunderstorm warning?

Answer: A. THe worst thunderstorm (the August 2020 Midwest derecho) in the history of the US brought about the enhanced wording for severe thunderstorms. 

Tuesday/Wednesday's question

Switching to geography here. Several pieces of the states that have the Mississippi river have pieces of land cut off from part of their mother state. What are these cut off areas of states called?

A: isthmus
B: peninsula 
C: exclave
D: islands

Answer will be posted around 10 pm Wednesday.

Alright, here's the answer to the trivia question from Friday/Saturday

Continuing with weather theme here. Early in August 2021, the National Weather service began adding a new 'damage threat' tag to severe thunderstorm warnings, similar to the existing tags on flash flood and tornado warnings respectively. What are the names these two new damage threat tags?

Answer: D. The considerable tag is used for a severe thunderstorm that has golf ball (1.75 Inch) hail and/or 70 mph wind gusts. Destructive is used when a severe thunderstorm produces baseball (2.75 inch) hail and/or 80+ mph wind gusts.

Friday/Saturday's question

Continuing with weather theme here. The question above with the new damage tags were added in response to a very damaging severe weather outbreak. Which severe weather outbreak sparked this addition to the severe thunderstorm warning?

A: August 2020 Midwest Derecho
B: April 2011 Superoutbreak
C: June 1998 Corn Belt Derecho
D: The May 2004 Tornado Outbreak Sequence

Answer will be posted around 10 pm Monday

Alright, here's the answer to the trivia question from Wednesday/Thursday.

Continuing with weather theme here. As mentioned on a few of these questions, the National Weather Service uses the 'Tornado Emergency' Tornado Warning when there are severe enough tornadoes to warrant it. What was the first tornado to be given the 'Tornado Emergency' tag?

Answer: C. The first usage of the tornado emergency tag was on the fly, used to describe how dangerous the Bridge Creek-Moore F5 was. It was one of the most powerful tornadoes to ever be observed, and invented a whole new type of warning when it comes to tornadoes.

Friday/Saturday's question

Continuing with weather theme here. Early in August 2021, the National Weather service began adding a new 'damage threat' tag to severe thunderstorm warnings, similar to the existing tags on flash flood and tornado warnings respectively. What are the names these two new damage threat tags?

A: Damaging, Destructive
B: Considerable, very damaging
C: Very damaging, destructive
D: Considerable, Destructive

Answer will be posted around 10 pm Saturday.

Alright, here's the answer to the trivia question from Monday/Tuesday.

Continuing with weather theme here. The Storm Prediction Center has a multi-level severe weather outlook they post every day, with the highest level being high risk. Which of the following days is the most recent severe thunderstorm high risk day?

Answer: A. March 25th, 2021 was the most recent use of the SPC High risk, with 20 tornadoes and 6 deaths occurring during that day. The strongest tornado of that day, however, did not form until a few hours after the high risk was downgraded to an enhanced risk (it was the Newnan, Georgia EF-4). 

Wednesday/Thursday's question

Continuing with weather theme here. As mentioned on a few of these questions, the National Weather Service uses the 'Tornado Emergency' Tornado Warning when there are severe enough tornadoes to warrant it. What was the first tornado to be given the 'Tornado Emergency' tag?

A: November 10th, 2002 Carbon Hill, Alabama F3 
B: May 4th, 2007 Greensburg, Kansas EF5
C: May 3rd, 1999 Bridge Creek-Moore F5
D: May 8th, 2003 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma F4

Answer will be posted around 10 pm Thursday.

Alright, here's the answer to the trivia question from Saturday/Sunday.

Continuing with the theme of weather. Back on December 15-16th, 2021, the upper midwest was struck by a damaging QLCS derecho event, producing many tornadoes and the first ever tornado warning and confirmed tornadoes in the month of December for Minnesota. How many tornadoes did this event produce?

Answer: C. 120 tornadoes were produced by this forward progressive derecho over the span of approximately 8 hours. All tornadoes were EF-2 or below. This tornado outbreak is the largest for December in recorded history. 

Monday/Tuesday's question

Continuing with weather theme here. The Storm Prediction Center has a multi-level severe weather outlook they post every day, with the highest level being high risk. Which of the following days is the most recent severe thunderstorm high risk day?

A: March 25th, 2021
B: May 20th, 2019
C: January 22nd, 2017
D: November 17th, 2013

Answer will be posted around 10 pm Sunday.

Alright, here's the answer to the trivia question from Tuesday/Wednesday.

Continuing with the team of weather. What state in the US (on average) sees the most tornadoes every year?

Answer: B. Texas averages 151 tornadoes per year, mainly because of vast area the state covers. Kansas comes in at second with 91, and Oklahoma third with 68. Illinois averages 54 per year.

Saturday/Sunday's question

Continuing with the theme of weather. Back on December 15-16th, 2021, the upper midwest was struck by a damaging QLCS derecho event, producing many tornadoes and the first ever tornado warning and confirmed tornadoes in the month of December for Minnesota. How many tornadoes did this event produce?

A: 88
B: 144
C: 120
D: 66

Answer will be posted around 10 pm Sunday.

Alright, here's the answer to the trivia question from Tuesday/Wednesday.

Going back to weather here. Which of the following severe weather conditions is the most deadly every year in the US?

Answer: D. Extreme/excessive heat (or in other words, heatwaves) on average kills around 150-200 people per year in the US, with some years (1995 for example) having higher amounts due to huge heatwaves.

Tuesday/Wednesday's question

Continuing with the team of weather. What state in the US (on average) sees the most tornadoes every year?

A: Illinois
B: Texas
C: Oklahoma
D: Alabama

Answer will be posted around 10 pm Friday.

Alright, here's the answer to the trivia question from Friday thorugh Monday

Geography question here. What is the smallest county (based on geographic size) in the state of Illinois?

Answer: A. Putnam county covers an area of only 172 square miles of land in north central Illinois. 

Tuesday/Wednesday's question

Going back to weather here. Which of the following severe weather conditions is the most deadly every year in the US?

A: Tornadoes
B: Flooding
C: Wildfires
D: Extreme/excessive heat

Answer will be posted around 10 pm Wednesday.

Repost of Friday/Saturday's question

Alright, here's the answer to the trivia question from Wednesday/Thursday.

Geography question here. What is the largest county (based on geographic size) in the state of Illinois?

Answer: C. McLean County covers 1,183 square miles of area in central Illinois, making it the largest in the state by a fairly sizable margin. 

Friday/Saturday's question

Geography question here. What is the smallest county (based on geographic size) in the state of Illinois?

A: Putnam County
B: Calhoun County
C: Scott County
D: Gallatin County

Answer will be posted around 10 pm Monday.

Alright, here's the answer to the trivia question from Wednesday/Thursday.

Geography question here. What is the largest county (based on geographic size) in the state of Illinois?

Answer: C. McLean County covers 1,183 square miles of area in central Illinois, making it the largest in the state by a fairly sizable margin. 

Friday/Saturday's question

Geography question here. What is the smallest county (based on geographic size) in the state of Illinois?

A: Putnam County
B: Calhoun County
C: Scott County
D: Gallatin County

Answer will be posted around 10 pm Saturday.

Alright, here's the answer to the trivia question from Monday/Tuesday.

Geography question here. Which of the following cities is the largest city in central Illinois?

Answer: A. Springfield has approximately 114,500 people living in the city. THe only other city out of the answers here that is within striking distance is Peoria, with just over 113,000 people living there.

Wednesday/Thursday's question

Geography question here. What is the largest county (based on geographic size) in the state of Illinois?

A: Christian County
B: Pike County
C: McLean County 
D: DeKalb County

Answer will be posted around 10 pm Thursday.

Alright, here's the answer to the trivia question from Saturday/Sunday.

The current gen Nexrad radars produce a couple dozen of radar products. What does VIL (vertically integrated liquid) commonly show?

Answer: D. It is most commonly used to locate areas that could see large hailstones.

Monday/Tuesday's question

Geography question here. Which of the following cities is the largest city in central Illinois?

A: Springfield
B: Decatur
C: Peoria
D: Champaign

Answer will be posted at approximately 10 pm CDT Tuesday.

Alright, here's the answer to the trivia question from Thursday/Friday.

Continuing with the weather terms here. Which of the following terms fit the following definition: A radar signature within a thunderstorm that is seen when lower values in radar reflectivity are surrounded by higher reflectivities. 

Answer: C. A bounded weak echo region (also known as a donut hole) Is an area of a severe thunderstorm were an updraft has cleared out the heavy precipitation, and is surrounded by heavy precip. This is most commonly seen with supercell thunderstorms with either a developing tornado or a tornado on the ground.

Saturday/Sunday's question

The current gen Nexrad radars produce a couple dozen of radar products. What does VIL (vertically integrated liquid) commonly show?

A: Areas within storms that have the highest potential for large hail
B: Locating the strongest storms and heaviest rainfall
C: Prediction of damaging wind gusts
D: All of the above

Answer will be posted at approximately 10 pm CDT Sunday.

Alright, here's the answer to the trivia question from Tuesday/Wednesday

Continuing with the weather terms here. What is a "triple point"?

Answer: A. It is the intersection between a pair of boundaries. THese are often seen in the springtime, and are known for producing severe weather.

Thursday/Friday's question

Continuing with the weather terms here. Which of the following terms fit the following definition: A radar signature within a thunderstorm that is seen when lower values in radar reflectivity are surrounded by higher reflectivities. 

A: Three Body Scatter Spike (TBSS)
B: Vertically Integrated Liquid (VIL)
C: Bounded Weak Echo Region (BWER)
D: Storm Relative Velocity (SRV)

Answer will be posted at approximately 10 pm CDT Friday.

Alright, here's the answer to the trivia question from Sunday/Monday.

Continuing with the weather terms here. Which of the following terms is the term for which the temperature  reaches 100% relative humidity (also known as super saturation)?

Answer: B. The dew point is the point at which moisture in the atmosphere condenses out/becomes 100% saturated with moisture.

Tuesday/Wednesday's question

Continuing with the weather terms here. What is a "triple point"?

A: Intersection point of two boundaries (dry line, cold front, etc), normally a focus for thunderstorm development
B: THe leading edge of cold, dry air
C: The leading edge of a warm, moist air mass
D: Lines of equal temperature

Answer will be posted at approximately 10 pm CDT Wednesday.

Alright, here's the answer to the trivia question from Wednesday through Saturday.

Continuing with the weather terms here. Which of the following terms is a measure of the instability in the atmosphere that can be used for thunderstorms to form and continue to thrive?

Answer: D. CAPE, or Convective Available Potential Energy, is a measure of the energy that the atmosphere has to be used as fuel for thunderstorms. Higher CAPE days are known (when other weather parameters line up) to fuel severe weather and tornadoes.
The Lifted index is the temperature difference between the environment and a parcel of air that is lifted adiabatically at a given pressure height in the troposphere. 

Sunday/Monday's question

Continuing with the weather terms here. Which of the following terms is the term for which the temperature  reaches 100% relative humidity (also known as super saturation)?

A: Heat Index
B: Dew Point
C: Wind chill
D: Humidex 

Answer will be posted at approximately 10 pm CDT Monday.

Repost of Wednesday night's Question.

Alright, here's the answer to the trivia question from Monday/Tuesday.

Going back to meteorology with this one. What is the parameter that measures the change in wind direction with height in the atmosphere and/or wind speed with height?

Answer: C. Wind shear can be described by the change of direction (directional) with height and/or the change of wind speed (speed) with height.

Wednesday/Thursday's question

Continuing with the weather terms here. Which of the following terms is a measure of the instability in the atmosphere that can be used for thunderstorms to form and continue to thrive?

A: CIN (Convective Inhibition)
B: Lifted Index
C: LFC (Level of Free Convection)
D: CAPE (Convective Available Potential Energy)

Answer will be posted at approximately 10 pm CDT Saturday.

Alright, here's the answer to the trivia question from Monday/Tuesday.

Going back to meteorology with this one. What is the parameter that measures the change in wind direction with height in the atmosphere and/or wind speed with height?

Answer: C. Wind shear can be described by the change of direction (directional) with height and/or the change of wind speed (speed) with height.

Wednesday/Thursday's question

Continuing with the weather terms here. Which of the following terms is a measure of the instability in the atmosphere that can be used for thunderstorms to form and continue to thrive?

A: CIN (Convective Inhibition)
B: Lifted Index
C: LFC (Level of Free Convection)
D: CAPE (Convective Available Potential Energy)

Answer will be posted at approximately 10 pm CDT Thursday.

Alright, here's the answer to the trivia question from Saturday/Sunday.

Sticking with Geography here. The counties/equivalencies of the US come in many shapes and sizes. Which of the following counties is the largest (as in the physical size) in the US?

Answer: D. San Bernardino County, California is the largest county in the US on terms of physical size, measuring 20,105 square miles from the mountains east of Los Angeles all the way to the eastern border of California. 

Monday/Tuesday's question

Going back to meteorology with this one. What is the parameter that measures the change in wind direction with height in the atmosphere and/or wind speed with height?

A: CAPE (Convective Available Potential Energy)
B: Significant Tornado Parameter
C: Wind Shear
D: CIN (Convective Inhibition) 

Answer will be posted at approximately 10 pm CDT Tuesday.

Alright, here's the answer to the trivia question from Thursday/Friday.

Sticking with Geography here. The counties/equivalencies of the US come in many shapes and sizes. Which of the following counties is the smallest in the US?

Answer: A. Kalawao County, Hawaii covers an area of just under 12 square miles on the north shore of the island of Molokai. 

Saturday/Sunday's question

Sticking with Geography here. The counties/equivalencies of the US come in many shapes and sizes. Which of the following counties is the largest (as in the physical size) in the US?

A: Mohave County, Arizona
B: Harney County, Oregon
C: Elko County, Nevada 
D: San Bernardino County, California 

Answer will be posted at approximately 10 pm CDT Sunday.

Alright, here's the answer to the trivia question from Tuesday/Wednesday.

Sticking with Geography here. The US states/territories are subdivided into counties/equivalencies. How many of these are there in the US? 

Answer: C. A grand total of 3,243 counties/equivalencies are spread throughout the 50 states and territories of the US. Texas has the most at more than 200, and Delaware has the least, at 3. 

Thursday/Friday's question

Sticking with Geography here. The counties/equivalencies of the US come in many shapes and sizes. Which of the following counties is the smallest in the US?

A: Kalawao County, Hawaii
B: Arlington County, Virginia
C: Nantucket County, Massachusetts 
D: Bronx County, New York

Answer will be posted at approximately 10 pm CDT Friday.

Alright, here's the answer to the trivia question from Friday/Saturday

Going to geography here. It's common knowledge that the Mississippi RIver is the longest river in the US. What's the second longest river in the US?

Answer: B. THe Missouri River is 2,341 miles from its headwater in the Rocky Mountains in southwest Montana all the way to just north of St. Louis, Missouri.

Tuesday/Wednesday's question

Sticking with Geography here. The US states/territories are subdivided into counties/equivalencies. How many of these are there in the US? 

A: 5,440
B: 3,880
C: 3,243
D: 2,442

Answer will be posted at approximately 10 pm CDT Wednesday.