1. On mountains
2. Near open plains
3. In jungles
4. Over warm sea waters

Hurricanes begin over ocean waters. They develop thanks to warm, moist air that begins to rotate … and may turn into a monstrous storm.

1. Category 5
2. Category 3
3. Category 2
4. Category 1

Category 5 hurricanes are extremely large and dangerous. These storms have sustained winds of nearly 160 mph, making them some of the most destructive storms on Earth.

1. Relative humidity over 60 percent
2. Warm, moist air
3. Air more than 100 degrees
4. Dry, cool air

Thunderstorms are predictable in some ways. One of those ways? They need warm, moist air to form, which is why in the U.S. these storms are common in summertime.

1. Hurricanes
2. Tornadoes
3. Dust storms
4. Firestorm

Hurricanes are known for their winds, but also for their storm surge. They are a lot like tsunamis, a wall of water that rushes inland, sweeping away structures and people with ease.

1. 800 feet
2. 2,500 feet
3. One mile
4. More than 10 miles

Cumulonimbus clouds grow like mushrooms in the sky during major thunderstorms. The tallest may exceed well over 10 miles in height.

1. 48 degrees Fahrenheit
2. 53 degrees Fahrenheit
3. 60 degrees Fahrenheit
4. 79 degrees Fahrenheit

Hurricanes like warm weather. Ocean surface temperatures must be at least 79 degrees Fahrenheit, at which point these cyclones may begin to form.

1. Thunderstorm
2. Lightning
3. Straight line wind
4. Tornado

Extremely powerful thunderstorms are called supercells. These massive storms have a distinctive rotation to them, and they can unleash destructive fury upon the land.

1. Atlantic Ocean
2. Great Lakes
3. Indian Ocean
4. North Pole

Tropical cyclones that form in the Atlantic are called hurricanes. Many hurricanes have come ashore in America in recent years, from the upper East Coast to the Gulf of Mexico.

1. Rare hurricanes
2. Snow mixed with ash
3. The most severe thunderstorms
4. Wind storms full of dust

Black blizzards were common during the Dust Bowl years. It means fierce winds are blowing clouds of dirt across the landscape.

1. Low visibility
2. Tornadoes
3. Flash flooding
4. Tremendous precipitation

In wintertime, high winds can hurl snow from the ground at high speeds, creating low visibility. In cold temperatures​, these ground blizzards can disorient and kill the unprepared.

1. 98
2. 112
3. 695
4. 8,563

In 1925, the "Tri-State Tornado" whirled through Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, at a distance of more than 300 miles. About 695 people died and more than 2,000 were hurt.

1. During a thunderstorm
2. Near a fire whirl
3. Inside a hurricane
4. Never

They're relatively rare, but thunderstorms may produce gustnados, whipping vortexes that can ​cause serious harm. The worst ones may have the force of an EF-1 tornado.

1. About 50
2. About 2,000
3. About 300
4. About 15,000

Thunderstorms are common, and persistent. At any given time there are about 2,000 of them pummelling the Earth.

1. Waves are higher there
2. Because jungles make hurricanes
3. It's where the sun's rays are hottest.
4. Because of Earth's spin

The Earth's spin causes the so-called Corioles force, which is weakest at the equator. There, the forces of hurricanes can gather unabated, creating giant storms that travel long distances.

1. Hurricanes
2. Flash floods
3. Tornadoes
4. Thunderstorms

Dust devils are a bit like small tornadoes, but they can happen on storm-free, sunny days. And although most are just a nuisance, they can sometimes be frightening … and deadly.

1. Tornado strength
2. Storm surge
3. Rainfall
4. Lightning strikes

The Fujita scale denotes the power of a specific tornado. F1 tornadoes are pretty weak; F5 tornadoes can lay waste even to fortified structures.

1. Incredible rain
2. Intense dust
3. Blowing snow
4. Ice

A haboob is a terrible dust storm that's carried along by a weather front. The dust might be so thick that it coats everything in its path.

1. 4 miles
2. 40 miles
3. 90 miles
4. 300 miles

There's a reason they are called "monster" storms. Average hurricanes can be 300 miles wide, with whipping winds and rampaging storm surge.

1. Very high winds
2. Waterspout
3. Thunderstorm
4. Typhoon

Mediterranean nations often witness sirocco winds in the summertime. These ferocious winds originate in the Sahara and whip up awful dust that can cause health issues.

1. Thrusts
2. Hurricanes
3. Downdrafts
4. Updrafts

Updrafts are gusting columns of air that rush up through the atmosphere. Thunderstorms often feature powerful updrafts.

1. 30 mph
2. 45 mph
3. 100 mph
4. 340 mph

In the right conditions, updrafts scream through the atmosphere. They can routinely blast past 100 mph.

1. About 1 mile
2. About a quarter of a mile
3. 500 feet
4. Perhaps 300 football fields

The Joplin tornado ravaged this Missouri town. The enormously powerful funnel cloud was about 1 mile wide, tearing apart buildings as if they were made of straw.​

1. It can make for very large hailstones.
2. It sends hailstones into outer space.
3. It makes very small hailstones.
4. It has no effect.

Updrafts cycle hailstones up and down in the sky, often adding more and more heft. Some hailstones become bigger than baseballs and can destroy property.

1. Canada
2. Cuba
3. China
4. Bangladesh

Bangladesh's location and weather make it very susceptible to tornados. The country has suffered -- at minimum -- 19 tornadoes that have each killed at least 100 people.

1. About 1 to 2 miles
2. About 20 to 40 miles
3. About 100 to 200 miles
4. Right around 400 feet

Hurricane eyes are a surreally calm place amidst major destruction. The eye can be anywhere from 20 to 40 miles wide.

1. In cool areas
2. On mountaintops
3. In the mid-latitudes
4. Near the Arctic

Because warm, wet air is a necessary variable for thunderstorms, these storms most often form in the mid-latitudes. Air from the Gulf of Mexico often sparks severe thunderstroms on America's plains.

1. Clockwise
2. Upwards
3. Counter-clockwise
4. Downward

Because of the Coriolis force, hurricane spin in different directions depending on their location. In the Southern Hemisphere, they're clockwise; in the Northern Hemisphere, it's the other way around.

1. Just 4 mph
2. About 12 mph
3. Roughly 38 mph
4. Perhaps 73 mph

Commence nightmares. Not only was the Tri-State Tornado huge and powerful, but it was also​ the fastest-moving F5 tornado ever, hitting speeds of 73 mph.

1. They rain for less than an hour and then disappear.
2. They're gone in less than 90 seconds.
3. They create mostly lightning.
4. They don’t stop until they've destroyed at least one farm.

The vast majority of thunderstorms are pretty harmless. They bloom and rain for about an hour, and then vanish in the skies above.

1. It killed more people than any other storm.
2. It was the strongest typhoon ever recorded.
3. It hit the "tip" of the U.S.
4. It ruined one whole city.

Typhoon Tip was more powerful than any hurricane ever recorded. Its high winds stretched for nearly 1,400 miles -- twice as big as the previous record (Typhoon Marge).

1. Gary, Indiana
2. London
3. Antarctica
4. Des Moines

The Great Storm of 1703 was a huge cyclone that smashed into London. Thousands of structures were destroyed and perhaps 15,000 people perished.

1. Not very predictable
2. Pretty predictable
3. Absolutely random
4. Easy to determine

Even with all of our modern tools, hurricane paths remain hard to predict. Experienced forecasters frantically prepare civilians for a wide range of landfall areas.

1. Very heavy rain
2. Wall of fire
3. Winds more than 400 mph
4. Tornados

The eye itself is calm. The eye wall? Not so much. This part of the hurricane can have crazy thick clouds and sheets of rain that cause tremendous flooding.

1. Supercells
2. Single-cell
3. Multi-cell cluster
4. Multi-cell lines

Supercells are the atomic bombs of thunderstorms. Their immense power can blossom in just minutes, spitting out lightning and tornadoes with terrific ferocity.

1. Typically minutes
2. Days
3. Hours
4. A few seconds

Supercells can last for hours. They might drift across more than one state, triggering flooding, spawning tornadoes, and generally scaring people half to death.