-40
The number of the degree at which Celsius is exactly the same temperature as Fahrenheit.
1
The number of people who have been killed by meteorites – (Manfredo Settala in 1680 is the only person in all recorded history to have been killed by one).
2
The temperature drop in degrees Celsius during a total solar eclipse.
3
The number of hours on 14 August 1979 for which a rainbow was visible over North Wales.
9
A full moon is nine times brighter than a half-moon.
10
The number of minutes it takes for a hurricane to release more energy than all the world’s nuclear weapons combined.
14
The rate in miles per hour a typical rain-drop falls at.
15
In the UK, a drought is officially defined as 15 consecutive days with less than 0.2 millimetres of rainfall.
20
Very hard rain pours down at the speed of 20 mph.
40
The number of tons of space dust that fall on the Earth every day.
40
The number of days of rain that will follow if it rains on St Swithin’s Day (according to superstition).
40
A rainbow can occur only when the sun is 40 degrees or less above the horizon.
57.8
The highest temperature in degrees Celsius ever recorded anywhere in the world – in Al ‘Aziziyah, Libya, on 13 September 1922.
60
The number of minutes it can take a snowflake to fall from a cloud to the surface of the Earth.
82
The percentage of people hit by lightning who are male.
92
The number of people who were killed by giant hailstones – each weighing up to one kilogram – in Bangladesh in 1988.
The number of times lightning strikes the Earth every second.
1,800
The number of thunderstorms on Earth at any moment in time.
12,000
The square mileage of the largest iceberg ever recorded (it was 200 miles long and 60 miles wide – which is larger than Belgium).
100,000
If you are struck by lightning once, you are 100,000 times more likely to be struck a second time.
500,000,000
The number of litres of rain that can fall in a single thunderstorm.
7,000,000,000
The number of particles of fog it would take to fill a teaspoon.
10,000,000,000
A one-day weather forecast requires about 10 billion mathematical calculations.