Top 10 weather facts

In Venezuela. Catatumbo lightning is an atmospheric phenomenon in Venezuela. It occurs only over the mouth of the Catatumbo River where it empties into Lake Maracaibo. The phenomenon is characterized by almost continuous lightning and occurs during 260 nights a year, 10 hours per day and up to 280 times per hour. It has been known for centuries as the Lighthouse of Maracaibo, since it is visible for miles around Lake Maracaibo

Lenticular clouds are stationary clouds that form in the troposphere, typically in perpendicular alignment to the wind direction. They are often comparable in appearance to a lens or saucer. Because of their unique appearance, they have been brought forward as an explanation for some unidentified flying object (UFO) sightings.

In a clear sky. A white squall is a sudden and violent windstorm at sea which is not accompanied by the black clouds generally characteristic of a squall. The name refers to the white-capped waves and broken water, its meager warning to any unlucky seaman caught in its path. A white squall was allegedly behind the sinking of the brigantine Albatross on May 2, 1961.

Antarctica is technically a desert, averaging just 166 mm (6.5 in) of precipitation per year. Only some fringe coastal areas have a tundra climate with a short summer, averaging above freezing, and much higher precipitation.

Chinook is claimed to mean "ice-eater", as it can make snow one foot deep vanish in one day. The snow partly melts and partly evaporates in the dry wind. The greatest recorded temperature change in 24 hours was caused by Chinook winds on 15 January 1972, in Loma, Montana; the temperature rose from −48 to +9 °C (−54 to +49 °F)

Stratus. The term stratus is used to describe flat, hazy, featureless clouds of low altitude varying in color from dark gray to nearly white. Stratus clouds may produce a light drizzle or a small amount of snow. These clouds are essentially above-ground fog formed either through the lifting of morning fog or through cold air moving at low altitudes over a region.

In Australia. Fossett chose a southern hemisphere route to take advantage of prevailing easterly winds and the lack of mountain ranges. His path after leaving Australia was straight across the South Pacific, past Easter Islands, and over the southern tip of South America.

Hurricane force. Officially, the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale is used only to describe hurricanes forming in the Atlantic Ocean and northern Pacific Ocean east of the International Date Line. Other areas use different scales to label these storms, which are called "cyclones" or "typhoons", depending on the area.

Iridescence is the phenomenon of certain surfaces that appear to gradually change colour as the angle of view or the angle of illumination changes. Examples of iridescence include soap bubbles, butterfly wings and sea shells, as well as certain minerals. It is often created by structural coloration (microstructures that interfere with light).

Cirrostratus is a high-level, very thin, generally uniform stratiform genus-type of cloud, composed of ice-crystals.