On Thursday, August 24, University of Minnesota Meteorologist and Climatologist Mark Seeley appears on Midday with Gary Eichten, answering questions about the weather and presenting this annual "weather quiz." What's your knowledge of Minnesota weather? Take the quiz to find out (answers below).

1. What has been the highest Heat Index (combined effects of
temperature and humidity) during the Minnesota State Fair?

a. 95 - 100 F
b. 105 - 110 F
c. 115 - 120 F

2. In the past year the State Climatology Office discovered
a heretofore unrecognized seasonal snowfall record in
Minnesota. In what county was the record set?

a. Beltrami
b. Itasca
c. Cook

3. Based on average wind speeds in the Twin Cities, rank
the following days from the most windy to the least
windy: Christmas Day (Dec 25th), Halloween (Oct 31)
and St Patrick's Day (Mar 17).

a. Christmas, St Patrick's Day, Halloween
b. St Patrick's Day, Halloween, Christmas
c. Halloween, Christmas, St Patrick's Day

4. What famous Minnesota weather event happened on October
16, 1880?

a. Flash flood in Rochester, MN
b. Earliest recorded blizzard in Minnesota
c. Hottest October day in the Twin Cities

5. What is the coldest August temperature recorded in the
state of Minnesota?

a. 35 degrees F
b. 27 degrees F
c. 21 degrees F

6. Where is the National Weather Service Forecast Office
currently located in the seven county Twin Cities metro area?

a. Chanhassen
b. Downtown St Paul
c. MSP International Airport

7. What President signed into law the Congressional Bill that
created our National Weather Service?

a. Lincoln
b. Cleveland
c. Grant

8. Where was the first Minnesota State Weather Service Office
(1883-1889) established?

a. Hamline University, St Paul
b. Carelton College, Northfield
c. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis

9. What is the state record high temperature for today's date
(August 24, opening day of the State Fair)?

a. 107 F
b. 101 F
c. 99 F

10. What is the state record low temperature for today's date
(August 24, opening day of the State Fair)?

a. 32 F
b. 26 F
c. 22 F

11. What is the name given to the computer-generated voice that
provides weather information over NOAA Weather Radio?

a. Sven
b. Igor
c. Hal

12. What weather record was set in the Twin Cities on March 5th of
this year (2000)?

a. Record snowfall
b. Record dewpoint
c. Record high temperature

13. The Minnesota State Climatology Office conducted a survey to
rank the most significant weather events of the 20th Century?
Which event below was not ranked in the top five?

a. The July 1987 Twin Cities Flash Flood
b. The 1930s Dust Bowl Era
c. The 1940 Armistice Day Blizzard

14. Though it never made landfall, what record was established
earlier this month by Hurricane Alberto in the Atlantic Ocean?

a. Largest hurricane ever in August
b. Strongest hurricane ever in August
c. Longest-lived tropical cyclone in August

15. What Twin Cities record was set on August 12th earlier this
month?

a. Most rainfall
b. Highest dewpoint
c. Lowest temperature

16. What is the largest daily swing in temperature (24 hr) measured
in the state of Minnesota?

a. over 70 degrees F
b. over 60 degrees F
c. over 50 cegrees F

17. In President Kennedy's famous speech which challenged the country
to land a person on the moon by the end of the 1960s, there was
another significant announcement made which was:

a. The establishment of the World Meteorological Organization.
b. The establishment of the Severe Storms Prediction Center.
c. The establishment of the World Weather Watch Program.

18. What is the record annual number of confirmed tornadoes in the
state of Minnesota?

a. 55
b. 65
c. 35

19. Three of the coldest Christmas Days in the 20th Century in the Twin
Cities occurred in consecutive years with average windchill values
of -51 degrees F. Which years were they?

a. 1974, 1975, 1976
b. 1950, 1951, 1952
c. 1933, 1934, 1935

20. What weather record was set in the Twin Cities and numerous other
places around the state on July 18th of this year (2000)?

a. warmest ever overnight minimum temperature
b. coldest ever daytime maximum temperature
c. record precipitation

21. Many heavy rains have occurred this spring and summer. Approximately
how many inches of rainfall were recorded at Rochester, MN during
May, June, and July?

a. over 15 inches
b. over 20 inches
c. over 25 inches

22. What is the lowest relative humidity ever measured during the month
of October in Minnesota?

a. 46 percent
b. 26 percent
c. 6 percent

23. Since 1950, which Minnesota county has reported the most tornadoes?

a. Clay (NW)
b. Stearns (Central)
c. Fillmore (SE)

24. What is the standard number of years used to calculate climate normals
(ave temperature, precipitation, etc)?

a. 10 years
b. 30 years
c. 50 years

25. Where is the official Twin Cities snowfall measurement taken?

a. MSP International Airport
b. Ft Snelling
c. National Weather Service Chanhassen

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Answers to the Fourth Annual MPR Midday
State Fair Weather Quiz

1. b. 105 to 110 degrees F Heat Index was recorded during the
State Fair on Monday, September 1, 1913; on Friday,
August 27, 1926; on Sunday, August 28, 1955; and on
Thursday, August 22, 1968.

2. c. Cook County, Pigeon River Bridge along the Canadian
border recorded 170.5 inches of snowfall during the
winter of 1949-1950, a state record.

3. b. St Patrick's Day, Halloween, Christmas. (St Patrick's Day
is the windiest celebration day on the calendar!)

4. b. Earliest recorded blizzard in state history, up to
20 ft drifts near Canby.

5. c. 21 degrees F at Tower (St Louis County) on August 28, 1986.

6. a. Chanhassen (it has been at the other locations at various
times).

7. c. President Ulysses S. Grant signed the bill February 9, 1870
estalishing a weather service within the U.S. Army Signal
Corps, later transferred to the USDA and called the Weather
Bureau, later transferred to the Department of Commerce and
called the Nationa Weather Service.

8. b. Carleton College, Northfield, directed by Professor William
Wallace Payne.

9. a. 107 degrees F at Pipestone in 1936.

10. c. 22 degrees F at Tower in 1977.

11. b. Igor (though they have tried for a Norwegian accent)

12. c. Record high temperature of 72 degrees F, shattering the
old record of 56 F set in 1937.

13. a. The July 1987 Twin Cities Flash Flood (10 inch rainfall).

14. c. Alberto became the longest-lived tropical cyclone for the
month of August.

15. b. new record high dewpoint of 76 degrees F (many other places
established new record dewpoints that day, including Faribault
with 80 F)

16. a. 71 degrees F on April 2-3, 1982 at Lamberton. Following an
afternoon high of 78 F the temperature fell overnight to just
7 degrees F!

17. c. The establishment of the World Weather Watch Program, including
satellite detection of severe storms and hurricanes.

18. b. 55 tornadoes were confirmed in 1998.

19. c. 1933, 1934, 1935 right in the middle of the harshest economic times!

20. b. coldest ever daytime maximum temperature...only in the 50s F most places.

21. c. over 25 inches, the most ever for those three months.

22. c. 6 percent measured at Princeton, MN October 25, 1999.

23. b. Stearns in central Minnesota has reported 33 tornadoes
since 1950.

24. b. 30 years. This standard is set by the World Meteorological Organization

25. c. National Weather Service Forecast Office, Chanhassen starting this winter.