These winter trivia questions and answers are about the season, not one holiday: the December solstice, how a snowflake forms, what makes a blizzard, animals that turn white, where winter sports began, festivals from Harbin to Quebec, and cold-weather words.
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Winter weather trivia questions and answers
Snow, ice and winter weather is the largest round. More than half of it follows the National Weather Service and NOAA: what a Blizzard Warning needs, how sleet differs from freezing rain, what the wind chill tells you, and how many inches of snow equal an inch of rain.
The other five rounds
The solstice and the winter sky, Animals in winter, Winter sports and where they began, Winter festivals around the world and Cold-weather words and sayings. After ten questions the card offers Print question sheet, a sheet of 20, and More options, which holds Topic and Print answer key.
Tips
The weather round uses United States definitions. A guest from Canada may know a blizzard by a different wind speed.
Questions and answers
What makes a snowstorm a blizzard?
Wind and low visibility, not the amount of snow. The National Weather Service issues a Blizzard Warning for frequent gusts of 35 miles an hour or more, with falling or blowing snow keeping visibility below a quarter of a mile for three hours or more.
How does a snowflake form?
It begins when an extremely cold water droplet freezes onto a pollen or dust particle in the sky. Water vapor then freezes onto that crystal and builds the six arms. The temperature at which the crystal forms decides its basic shape.
Is it ever too cold to snow?
Not really. When people say so, it means there is not enough lifting of air for snow to reach the surface, according to NOAA's National Severe Storms Laboratory. The question is in Snow, ice and winter weather.
Which are the easy winter trivia questions and answers?
Most rounds hold a few by our estimate: the date of Groundhog Day, what a hockey puck is made of, what cabin fever means. After the first ten, open More options and untick Shuffle questions and choices to meet them first in each round.
During the December solstice the Sun is directly over which line on the globe?Answer: The Tropic of Capricorn. Source: Wikipedia: December solstice
The Geminid meteors come from 3200 Phaethon. What kind of object is it?Answer: An asteroid. Source: Wikipedia: Geminids
The Geminids, one of the busiest meteor showers of the year, can be seen in which month?Answer: December. Source: Wikipedia: Geminids
In the Southern Hemisphere, the December solstice is the start of which season?Answer: Summer. Source: Wikipedia: December solstice
On the winter solstice, how high is the Sun's path across the sky?Answer: At its lowest of the year. Source: Wikipedia: Winter solstice
The stars of the Winter Hexagon belong to how many constellations?Answer: Six. Source: Wikipedia: Winter Hexagon
Stonehenge and Newgrange are both lined up with the Sun on which day?Answer: The winter solstice. Source: Wikipedia: Winter solstice
What is it called when the Sun stays below the horizon for more than 24 hours near the poles?Answer: Polar night. Source: Wikipedia: Polar night
What is the point of the Earth's orbit nearest the Sun called?Answer: Perihelion. Source: Wikipedia: Apsis
The Winter Hexagon is drawn through bright stars of the winter sky. Which of these is one of them?Answer: Sirius. Source: Wikipedia: Winter Hexagon
The Winter Triangle shares two of its corner stars with the Winter Hexagon. Which two?Answer: Sirius and Procyon. Source: Wikipedia: Winter Hexagon
Snow, ice and winter weather 24
A nor'easter is a large storm of the western North Atlantic. What is it named for?Answer: Winds that blow from the northeast. Source: Wikipedia: Nor'easter
A snowflake begins when a very cold water droplet freezes onto what?Answer: A pollen or dust particle. Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: How do snowflakes form?
An Alberta clipper is a fast winter storm from western Canada. What is the "clipper" in its name?Answer: A fast sailing ship of the 1800s. Source: Wikipedia: Alberta clipper
An ice storm leaves at least how much ice on exposed surfaces?Answer: A quarter of an inch. Source: Wikipedia: Ice storm
At about 23 degrees Fahrenheit, which shape of ice crystal forms?Answer: Long needles. Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: How do snowflakes form?
For a Blizzard Warning, the National Weather Service looks for frequent gusts of at least how many miles an hour?Answer: 35. Source: National Weather Service: Winter Weather Warnings, Watches and Advisories
How does freezing rain differ from sleet?Answer: It reaches the ground as liquid and freezes on contact. Source: NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory: Winter Weather Types
How does sleet form?Answer: Snowflakes partly melt, then refreeze before reaching the ground. Source: NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory: Winter Weather Types
How does thunder usually sound during thundersnow?Answer: Like a low rumble. Source: Wikipedia: Thundersnow
In a Blizzard Warning, how long must the blowing snow keep visibility below a quarter of a mile?Answer: Three hours or more. Source: National Weather Service: Winter Weather Warnings, Watches and Advisories
In which season is the polar vortex high in the stratosphere at its strongest?Answer: Winter. Source: Wikipedia: Polar vortex
Is an avalanche set off by a loud sound, such as a shout?Answer: No: the pressure from sound is far too small. Source: Wikipedia: Avalanche
Lake effect snow forms when cold air moves across what?Answer: The open, warmer water of a large lake. Source: National Weather Service: What is a Lake Effect Snow?
Near the equator, about how high above sea level is the permanent snow line?Answer: About 4,500 meters (15,000 feet). Source: Wikipedia: Snow line
On average in the United States, how many inches of snow equal one inch of rain?Answer: Thirteen. Source: NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory: Winter Weather FAQ
On what did Wilson Bentley catch snowflakes so that he could photograph them?Answer: Black velvet. Source: Wikipedia: Wilson Bentley
Snow looks white. What color is the ice it is made of?Answer: Clear. Source: Wikipedia: Snowflake
What does the wind chill temperature tell you?Answer: How cold people and animals feel outside. Source: National Weather Service: Understanding Wind Chill
What is a ground blizzard?Answer: Strong wind picking up snow that has already fallen. Source: NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory: Winter Weather Types
What is a thunderstorm called when snow falls in place of rain?Answer: Thundersnow. Source: Wikipedia: Thundersnow
What mainly decides the basic shape of the ice crystal in a snowflake?Answer: The temperature at which it forms. Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: How do snowflakes form?
When someone says it is too cold to snow, what is really missing?Answer: Enough lifting of air. Source: NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory: Winter Weather FAQ
Which of these does a storm NOT need in order to be a blizzard?Answer: Heavy falling snow. Source: NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory: Winter Weather Types
Why is black ice called black?Answer: It is clear, so the dark road shows through. Source: Wikipedia: Black ice
Animals in winter 9
The groundhog is also known by which name?Answer: The woodchuck. Source: Wikipedia: Groundhog
How often does an Arctic fox shed its coat?Answer: Twice a year. Source: Wikipedia: Arctic fox
Mice, voles and shrews spend the winter in the subnivean zone. Where is it?Answer: Between the fallen snow and the ground. Source: Wikipedia: Subnivean climate
The rock ptarmigan is the official bird of which Canadian territory?Answer: Nunavut. Source: Wikipedia: Rock ptarmigan
The rock ptarmigan turns white in winter. Its genus name, Lagopus, means what?Answer: Hare foot. Source: Wikipedia: Rock ptarmigan
The snowshoe hare is named for which part of its body?Answer: Its large hind feet. Source: Wikipedia: Snowshoe hare
To which country, besides Florida in the United States, do eastern monarch butterflies fly south in the fall?Answer: Mexico. Source: Wikipedia: Monarch butterfly
What color is a snowshoe hare's coat in winter?Answer: White. Source: Wikipedia: Snowshoe hare
What is the snowy owl the only owl to have?Answer: Mainly white feathers. Source: Wikipedia: Snowy owl
Winter sports and where they began 15
A curling stone found when a pond was drained at Dunblane, Scotland, carries which date?Answer: 1511. Source: Wikipedia: Curling
A Norwegian law of 1274 said that skiers on private land must not disturb which animal?Answer: Moose. Source: Wikipedia: Cross-country skiing
The first recorded ski jump was made in 1808 by Olaf Rye. How far did he go?Answer: 9.5 meters (31 feet). Source: Wikipedia: Ski jumping
For how long have sled dogs been used in the Arctic?Answer: At least 8,000 years. Source: Wikipedia: Sled dog
How does a rider lie on a luge?Answer: On the back, feet first. Source: Wikipedia: Luge
How does a toboggan differ from most sleds?Answer: It has no runners underneath. Source: Wikipedia: Toboggan
How long is one lap of a long track for speed skating?Answer: 400 meters. Source: Wikipedia: Speed skating
How many stones does each curling team have?Answer: Eight. Source: Wikipedia: Curling
In skijoring, who or what pulls the person on skis?Answer: A horse or a dog. Source: Wikipedia: Skijoring
In which country was snowboarding first developed, in 1965?Answer: The United States. Source: Wikipedia: Snowboarding
In which country were the first bobsleds built, in the late 19th century?Answer: Switzerland. Source: Wikipedia: Bobsleigh
Research suggests the earliest ice skating took place more than 4,000 years ago in the south of which country?Answer: Finland. Source: Wikipedia: Ice skating
What does sweeping the ice in front of a curling stone do?Answer: It makes the stone travel farther and straighter. Source: Wikipedia: Curling
What is an ice hockey puck made of?Answer: Vulcanized rubber. Source: Wikipedia: Ice hockey
Who added sharpened edges to ice skates in the 13th or 14th century?Answer: The Dutch. Source: Wikipedia: Ice skating
Winter festivals around the world 12
At Setsubun in Japan, the day before spring begins in the old calendar, what do people throw?Answer: Beans. Source: Wikipedia: Setsubun
By the Groundhog Day superstition, what follows if the groundhog sees its shadow?Answer: Six more weeks of winter. Source: Wikipedia: Groundhog Day
From which river are the ice blocks for Harbin's full-size ice buildings cut?Answer: The Songhua. Source: Wikipedia: Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival
In which country is the Harbin festival, the largest ice and snow festival in the world?Answer: China. Source: Wikipedia: Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival
In which month is the Sapporo Snow Festival of Japan held?Answer: February. Source: Wikipedia: Sapporo Snow Festival
Jack Frost is said to leave patterns on cold windows. What do they look like?Answer: Ferns. Source: Wikipedia: Jack Frost
The largest Up Helly Aa is held in Lerwick on which day?Answer: The last Tuesday in January. Source: Wikipedia: Up Helly Aa
Lohri, a midwinter folk and harvest festival, is celebrated mainly in which region of India and Pakistan?Answer: Punjab. Source: Wikipedia: Lohri
On which date is Groundhog Day?Answer: February 2. Source: Wikipedia: Groundhog Day
The Saint Paul Winter Carnival of Minnesota, first held in 1886, is known for which building made from lake ice?Answer: An ice palace. Source: Wikipedia: Saint Paul Winter Carnival
What is the mascot of the Quebec Winter Carnival called?Answer: Bonhomme Carnaval. Source: Wikipedia: Quebec Winter Carnival
Whose poems do families in Iran read aloud on Yalda Night?Answer: Hafez. Source: Wikipedia: Yalda Night
Cold-weather words and sayings 14
Albedo measures how much sunlight a surface reflects, and fresh snow reflects most of it. What does the Latin word albedo mean?Answer: Whiteness. Source: Wikipedia: Albedo
Avalanche came into English from French. In the dialect of Savoy it was blended with aval, a word meaning what?Answer: Downhill. Source: Wiktionary: avalanche
In American English, sleet means ice pellets. What does it mean in most Commonwealth countries?Answer: A mixture of rain and snow. Source: Wikipedia: Ice pellets
In the Inuit languages, the word iglu can be used for what?Answer: A house of any material. Source: Wikipedia: Igloo
The knitted headgear called a balaclava is named after a battle of 1854 in which war?Answer: The Crimean War. Source: Wikipedia: Balaclava (clothing)
The phrase "cold shoulder" was first recorded in 1816 in a work by which writer?Answer: Sir Walter Scott. Source: Wikipedia: Cold shoulder
The saying "tip of the iceberg" works because about how much of an iceberg is above water?Answer: About one tenth. Source: Wikipedia: Iceberg
What does cabin fever describe?Answer: Restlessness from being shut in for a long time. Source: Wikipedia: Cabin fever
What is a snowbird, when the word is used of a person?Answer: Someone who moves south for the winter. Source: Wikipedia: Snowbird (person)
Why is snow a good material for a shelter?Answer: Air pockets trapped in it make it an insulator. Source: Wikipedia: Igloo
The word anorak comes from which language?Answer: Greenlandic. Source: Wikipedia: Parka
The word hibernate comes from the Latin hibernus. What does hibernus mean?Answer: Wintry. Source: Wiktionary: hibernate
The word mukluk, a soft boot of the Arctic, comes from the Yup'ik word for which animal?Answer: The bearded seal. Source: Wikipedia: Mukluk
The word subnivean describes life under the snow. Its Latin parts mean under and what?Answer: Of snow. Source: Wikipedia: Subnivean climate
How this list was compiled
Written for this site; nothing was copied from another list. Every question, wrong choice and explanation is our own wording. Each answer agrees with a sentence in the page named and linked beside the question, read on 2026-10-02; every extra claim in an explanation was read on the same page. Thirteen of the 24 questions in the weather round rest on six pages of the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (weather.gov, noaa.gov and nssl.noaa.gov): winter warnings, lake effect snow, wind chill, how snowflakes form, and the winter weather types and questions of the National Severe Storms Laboratory. The other questions cite the English Wikipedia article (https://en.wikipedia.org) or the Wiktionary entry (https://en.wiktionary.org) the sentence was read in. Blizzard and ice storm figures are the United States definitions. Left out on purpose: temperature and snowfall records and anything else that changes, living people, leagues, televised events and their trophies, brand and product names, and Christmas, which has its own pack. Festivals with a religious side are asked plainly, by date and custom. Facts that the site's holiday, Christmas, Canada, travel, science and kids' packs already ask (the six arms of a snowflake, what hibernation is, what curling stones are made of, Saint Lucy's Day) were dropped, so no question here repeats one of theirs word for word as they stood on 2026-10-02. Levels are our estimate for a mixed table of adults and older children; each round is stored easiest first. Licence: own work