Precipitation
Weather Idioms
Weather Wear
Weather "Events"
Biomes
100
This form of precipitation falls often on the west coast of British Columbia -- though not as often in Victoria because we're located in a ______ shadow.
RAIN
(A rain shadow is a geographic region that experiences significantly less rain than nearby regions because it's located on the leeward side of a mountainous region.)
100
Under the weather
To be under the weather means you are feeling a bit sick.
"I'm a bit under the weather today, I'm afraid."
100
Footwear you might adopt on a particularly wet day.
Will accept any of the following:
gumboots
rubber boots
rain boots
wellies
100
A series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake.
TSUNAMI
100
This biome or environment can be either "temperate" or "tropical" and is characterized by the large amount of precipitation it experiences.
RAINFOREST
(The west coast of BC is, in fact, a temperate rainforest!)
200
This type of precipitation typically forms when temperatures are below 0 degrees Celsius and can be moulded into fun sculptures.
SNOW
200
Raining cats and dogs
If someone says "it's raining cats and dogs" outside, that means it's raining A LOT.
200
A handy device you might use to shield you from the rain or snow.
UMBRELLA
200
The shaking of the surface of Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves.
EARTHQUAKE
200
The coldest of all the biomes. The name for this type of environment comes from a Finnish word that means treeless plain, which is a good description of the biome.
TUNDRA
300
This answer is not so much a form of precipitation as it is an "optical phenomenon" that requires the presence of water droplets and sunlight.
This phenomenon typically appears as an arc in the sky but can, occasionally, appear as a full circle.
RAINBOW!
300
Break the ice
To break the ice means to say or do something to make someone feel relaxed or at ease in a social or professional setting.
"Okay, class. Since it's the first day of term, let's break the ice with a game."
300
Hand-wear you might adopt on a particularly cold day.
Gloves or mittens.
(What's the difference?)
300
A violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud
TORNADO
300
The driest and hottest of the biomes -- an environment in which you'd expect to see cacti and lizards among other flora and fauna.
DESERT
400
This form of precipitation can do serious damage to crops and even sturdy objects like cars. Typically small frozen pellets, these little precipitous balls can be as large as a grapefruit!
HAIL
400
I'm on cloud nine!
To be on cloud nine is to be incredibly happy -- ecstatic, even.
E.G. "I just got my driver's license. I'm on cloud nine!"
400
A kind of headband with fuzzy flaps that cover your ears to keep them warm.
EAR MUFFS
400
A severe snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours.
BLIZZARD
400
This biome is found in mountain regions all over the world including the Andes, Alps, and Canadian Rockies!
You may have been to a [name of biome] lodge or gone [name of biome] skiing!
ALPINE
500
This type of precipitation is terrible a mixture of rain and snow. It makes for horrendous driving conditions...
SLEET
500
When it rains, it pours.
If someone says "when it rains it pours," what they mean is that it feels like many bad things are happening all at once (it's never just one thing -- one raindrop -- it's a deluge of bad things).
500
In Canada, the name/word for a type of hat you wear when it's cold outside.
TOQUE
"Toque" is a French word for a hat with a narrow brim or no brim at all. In Canada, it refers exclusively to a knit cap that you'd typically wear in the fall and winter. The Wikipedia entry for this term suggests that this usage, and the fashion, likely "originated with the coureurs de bois, French and Métis fur traders, who kept their woollen nightcaps on for warmth during cold winter days."
500
A weather event that occurs when strong high pressure atmospheric conditions remain stationary for an unusual amount of time, preventing ... precipitation and keeping hot air "trapped" within a region.
(Hint: Victoria experienced one of these weather events in the summer of 2021.)
HEAT DOME
500
This biome is comprised mostly of grasses and a few scattered trees and covers over half the surface of Africa. It experiences two distinct seasons: wet and dry.
SAVANNAH