1. Clouds
   Snowflakes
2. Raindrops
   Winds

If there's one thing humans love to do, it's classify things. For that reason, there's a complex system of cloud classification, depending on a cloud's shape and its altitude in the atmosphere. There are a number of long, Latinate names for each cloud, sometimes a compound name — e.g. "cirrocumulus." It gets complicated fast.

1. A shift
   A front
2. A rearguard
   A vanguard

Changes in weather occur when masses of air with different densities, temperatures and humidities meet. The leading edge of theses air masses are called "fronts," a term you've undoubtedly heard on many, many weather reports.

1. Air pressure
   Volume of thunder
2. Wind direction
   Wind speed

Interpreted correctly, barometers can predict changes in weather, or indicate altitude (because atmospheric pressure gets lower the further one travels from sea level). The word has been borrowed by journalists to mean, generally, "indicator" (e.g. "a cultural barometer").

1. A wind shear
   A monsoon
2. A land vortex
   A tornado

Tornadoes are common in the American plains states and the Midwest. Tornado "chasers" were a subject of fascination in the 1990s, and some even had their own TV shows — but it helps if you remember that basic cable was expanding so fast back then that people would watch just about anything.

1. An eye
   A leg
2. A torso
   A wrist

Yes, we're talking about the "eye of the hurricane," or the center spot in which the wind and rain abate, and things are deceptively calm. (We think a hurricane also appears to have "arms," but nobody asked us).

1. Air pressure
   Rainfall
2. Temperature
   Wind speed

Of course, a thermometer measures temperature. You're probably as used to the medical type as the weather type. The name is derived from the Greek word "therme," which means, "related to heat."

1. An airport
   A bank
2. A forest
   A shopping mall

As we've noted elsewhere in this quiz, weather observation is critical to a number of fields ... but few more than aviation. That's why so many airports have weather stations. Data on wind direction and speed, cloud cover and precipitation right at the airfield is key to safe takeoffs and landings.

1. Yes, it does.
2. No, it really doesn't.

So what's the connection? It has to do with the Greek word "meteoron," which means "something high up in the air." Hence "meteorology," in which things high up in the atmosphere, like air currents, influence the weather close to the earth.

1. A spot between clouds that lets the sun through
   A warm day
2. A warm rain
   An updraft of warm air

We all learned in physics class that warm air rises. In the study of weather, "thermal" is the specific word for an updraft of heated air, rising from a warm spot on the earth below. A thermal is surrounded by cooler air, descending from the top. So it's part of its own cyclical system.

1. Cloud-to-cloud
   Cloud-to-ground
2. Solely within a cloud
   All of these

Lightning doesn't strike the ground as often as it stays within a single cloud. But we tend to think of lightning as cloud-to-ground, because it can be so destructive when it does move that way.

1. Doppler
   Pascal
2. Planck
   Van Zandt

Doppler radar is related to the well-known "Doppler effect" in physics, the one that explains why sirens sound higher-pitched when an emergency vehicle is approaching you and lower when past you. In Doppler radar, waves are bounced off moving objects in the atmosphere to provide information about their path and trajectory.

1. Forecasting the weather
   Improving our general understanding of the universe
2. Improving weather-related products (like rain gear)
   Providing jobs for TV weathermen/women

This is far and away the most common use of meteorology. Humans have sought to predict the weather from time immemorial, with references to forecasting appearing in the writings of Aristotle and the Christian gospels.

1. Cold front
   Warm front
2. Seaquake
   Thunderstorm

Thunderstorms come in four types: single-cell, multi-cell-line, multi-cell-cluster and supercell. The last one is the strongest, and poses a serious threat not only to aviation, but to people and structures on the ground.

1. Vapor
   Occultation
2. Precipitation
   Rain

The forms of precipitation that you're most likely familiar with are rain and snow, but there are several others. The verb "precipitate" is a flexible one that can mean "to cause suddenly" or "to throw down," with the second one obviously being closer in meaning to the meteorological concept.

1. El Nino
   Der Mittelschmerz
2. The Pineapple Express
   The Dry Tortugas

The story goes that Latino fishermen gave the pattern the name "El Nino" after the Christ child (because the pattern was most noticeable around Christmas). El Nino alternates with "La Nina," a period of cooling water temperatures and milder weather.

1. The air pressure
   The wind direction
2. The wind chill
   The wind shear

Thermometers only measure the temperature of the air. But air in motion conducts heat away from exposed skin, making it functionally colder than the temperature would indicate. We love this effect in summertime, but in the winter, it's a drawback. It's important to cover nearly all exposed skin on very cold days when there's a significant wind chill in effect.

1. Downspout
   Vortex
2. Waterspout
   Oceanado

People often confuse "downspout" with "waterspout," but the first is a feature of a building — it's the pipe that carries water from a rain gutter to the ground. Not-so-fun fact: A waterspout might have been to blame for the abandonment of the Mary Celeste, the ship found adrift off the Azores in the 19th century.

1. True
2. False

All cirrus clouds are, in fact, made of ice crystals. The cold temperatures at their altitude, 20,000 feet or above, necessitates it. This is also why their feathery, spiny structures might remind you of the opaque white formations seen inside ice cubes.

1. Cirrus
   Cumulus
2. Nimbostratus
   Stratus

"Cumulus" is the Latin word in question. It's related to the word "accumulate," a verb that means "pile up or gather." Tall, fluffy clouds tend to look like this sort of accumulation -- think of a laundry pile -- hence the name.

1. Cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons
   Hurricanes and waterspouts
2. Waterspouts and squalls
   Warm fronts and thermals

A cyclone is a type of storm, a spiral air mass that forms and travels over water, and breaks up once on large land masses. When a cyclone is the Atlantic or Northeast Pacific, it's a hurricane. When it forms in the Northwest Pacific, it's a typhoon.

1. Airline pilot
   Chef
2. Ship's captain
   Farmer

Meteorology has a wide range of applications, in military and civil life. So, OK, a very science-minded cook might tell you about how atmospheric pressure and humidity affect sensitive dishes (souffles might be a candidate here). But compared to the other three, we're comfortable saying "chef" here.

1. True
2. False

Fog and mist are both weather patterns. Both are fine water particles in the air, and a number of factors cause them to form. So what's the difference between fog and mist? Fog forms over, or right next to a body of water. Mist is land-locked.

1. An anemometer
   A disdrometer
2. A nephelometer
   A Stevenson screen

Did this word remind you of the simple sea creature, the anemone? It did us, too, so we looked into the relationship between the words. The Greek "anemos" means "wind," and "anemone" means "wind flower," presumably named for its movements in currents of water. Aww!

1. Balls
   Cups
2. Foil reflectors
   Flags

You could also describe a "cup anemometer" as a "dish anemometer," because the basic point is that one side is concave, to catch the wind. Therefore, you can easily see how hard the wind is blowing by how fast the vane is turning. Early ones (they go back centuries) were probably just visual indicators. Modern ones translate the movement of the vane into numerical data.

1. The altitude of the cloud ceiling
   Drop size of raindrops
2. Pellet size of hail
   Wind direction

As the name suggests, a "ceilometer" measures the height of the cloud cover. Often, it uses a laser beam to do this. That's why a ceilometer is not included in the retail weather stations you can buy at high-end toy stores or home and garden shops.

1. The angle of the sun's rays
   Humidity or water content
2. Rainfall
   Water temperature

Don't be confused: A hygrometer measures the water content in the soil, or air, or an enclosed space. But that's not the same thing as rainfall. That's measured by an instrument we usually call a "rain gauge."

1. Exceptionally humid
   Exceptionally warm
2. Still and calm
   Unstable and turbulent

In general, cumulus clouds don't form in a calm atmosphere. But the higher and more fluffy the cloud, the more you'll know you're looking at something created by atmospheric turbulence.

1. Disdrometer
   Lightning rod
2. Anemometer
   Ceilometer

You could probably guess this one without knowing what all the other things do. After all, a "meter" is always something that measures. A lightning rod, while weather-related, protects buildings from lightning strikes by directing the current into the ground.

1. Graupel
   Hail
2. Sleet
   Stroma

Really, "graupel"? Yes, really. Borrowed from the German, it's a term that means "soft hail" or "snow hail," and happens when water droplets freeze on snowflakes. Weather phenomena really are varied and complex!

1. Beaufort Scale
   Doppler scale
2. Glasgow scale
   Willford scale

Before Francis Beaufort, the observation of wind speed and force was fairly subjective. Beaufort created a ratings system based on agreed-upon phenomena that helped navigators and ship's captains communicate more clearly with each other.

1. Bars
   Nanograms
2. Pascals
   Either bars or Pascals

The official units are "pascals," after Blaise Pascal, who was one of many scientists/philosophers/great thinkers who studied weather phenomenon. One "bar," an unofficial but frequently used measure, is equal to 100,000 pascals.

1. Cirro-
   Cumulo-
2. Nimbo-
   Alto-

Surprised? We know that the prefix "alto-" suggests height, but it's misleading here. Cirrus clouds are the highest ones, forming above 20,000 feet. The name "cirrus" doesn't have anything to do with height, but refers to their thin, spiky shapes. In other branches of science, "cirruses" are cilia or slender appendages.

1. Their height from top to bottom
   The altitude of their base
2. The altitude of their highest point
   The density of their water vapor

Whether a cloud is "cirro-" or "alto-" (or just "low") depends on how high above earth its bottom point, or base, is. This, in turn, is measured from sea level. This basic distinction is known as the cloud's "family": high, medium or low.

1. Eaumeter
   Hydrometer
2. Pluviometer
   Galilei indicator

"Pluvia" is the Latin word for rain, which is reflected in both the Spanish "lluvia" and the French "pluvie." It's understandable if, when setting up your home weather station in the backyard, you just want to use "rain gauge."

1. Altocumulus
   Altostratus
2. Nimbostratus
   Stratus

Altocumulus, sometimes referred to in reports as "Alpha Charlie" clouds, form in wide fields of alternating clouds and sky. The metaphors that people use for them are things like "sand dunes" or "patchwork quilt."