What is the difference between a hurricane, a typhoon and a cyclone?

They are the same kind of storm, a large rotating tropical storm, with different names in different regions: hurricane in the Atlantic and eastern Pacific, typhoon in the north-west Pacific and cyclone in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific.

Why do we see lightning before we hear thunder?

Light travels much faster than sound, so the flash reaches us before the sound does.

What does humid mean?

Humid means there is a lot of moisture in the air, which makes the air feel heavy and sticky.

Can I make a word search for a weather unit?

Yes. Type the weather words you are teaching, one per line, choose a grid size and press Generate puzzle.

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Weather Word Search

A weather word search with 10 words, from storm to tornado, plus two fixed printable puzzles: eight everyday weather words for beginners and a 15 x 15 challenge with forecasting terms.

Words (one per line, or comma separated)

Or start from a topic:

Grid size

Difficulty

Puzzle title

Subtitle (optional)

Two printable weather puzzles

These two puzzles are fixed: the grid is the same every time, so you can print identical sheets for a class or a party. Each has a word list, a Show answers button, a Print button and a printable answer key. Download both as a PDF (with answer keys)

Weather Word Search 1: Weather Chart

Easy 10 x 10 grid · 8 words · 3 to 4 letters

A 10 x 10 puzzle for beginners. Eight short words, hidden across, down and diagonally down to the right only.

Name: ____________________ Date: ______________

LZOMDSFTPSDTKTICROECRHIGWUSAGMOLABOIUEISIIAIWSNOWNDCDLLHVDNAQHZHELILQWTEBWFJCTTLFAUZIIEPBAATTHCMUDAN

FOGHAILHEATICERAINSNOWSUNWIND

Weather Word Search 1: Weather Chart: answer key

LZOMDSFTPSDTKTICROECRHIGWUSAGMOLABOIUEISIIAIWSNOWNDCDLLHVDNAQHZHELILQWTEBWFJCTTLFAUZIIEPBAATTHCMUDAN

FOG: row 1, column 7, diagonally down and to the right
HAIL: row 3, column 2, diagonally down and to the right
HEAT: row 7, column 2, down
ICE: row 7, column 7, down
RAIN: row 2, column 7, diagonally down and to the right
SNOW: row 5, column 6, across to the right
SUN: row 3, column 7, down
WIND: row 3, column 5, diagonally down and to the right

Weather Word Search 2: Weather Challenge

Hard 15 x 15 grid · 16 words · 5 to 13 letters · 10 hidden backwards or upwards

A 15 x 15 puzzle with sixteen longer words, hidden in every direction, including backwards and up.

Name: ____________________ Date: ______________

HHCNOOHPYTOIZDKEGUIFBGLUEIPEMMHNFMTPEEOMNQTNNEDOOITHDFPBHOOZSRRLADTOREEHIAEULEICEIEXRATBNDNOCHEYTTMAAKASTSVALPECOYTGCXRUHESOMSMMIUIDAENIRTOSEOPDRIZZLENCRITNIMREAAFDUEACESCMUTRTRTOOBSROEBHIOAPTGUGSTORKBTGNIZEERFONPOYFYAJTRXIWL

ATMOSPHEREBAROMETERCYCLONEDRIZZLEFORECASTFREEZINGHUMIDITYHURRICANEMONSOONOVERCASTPRECIPITATIONSLEETSUNSHINETEMPERATURETHERMOMETERTYPHOON

Weather Word Search 2: Weather Challenge: answer key

ATMOSPHERE: row 13, column 10, diagonally up and to the left
BAROMETER: row 13, column 1, diagonally up and to the right
CYCLONE: row 8, column 7, diagonally up and to the left
DRIZZLE: row 10, column 9, across to the right
FORECAST: row 3, column 3, down
FREEZING: row 14, column 15, across to the left
HUMIDITY: row 1, column 2, diagonally down and to the right
HURRICANE: row 13, column 7, diagonally up and to the right
MONSOON: row 9, column 8, diagonally down and to the left
OVERCAST: row 7, column 2, down
PRECIPITATION: row 15, column 3, diagonally up and to the right
SLEET: row 9, column 3, diagonally up and to the right
SUNSHINE: row 5, column 1, down
TEMPERATURE: row 1, column 10, down
THERMOMETER: row 3, column 13, diagonally down and to the left
TYPHOON: row 1, column 10, across to the left

About this weather word search

Weather is something every child can look out of the window and check, which makes the vocabulary easy to anchor to real life. The default list runs from calm to dramatic: breeze, cloud and humid at one end, storm, thunder, lightning, tornado and blizzard at the other, with rainbow and drought in between. It is a good set for describing a day, a season or a news report.

The easy puzzle is the language of a daily weather chart: rain, snow, wind, sun, fog, hail, ice and heat. The challenge moves to forecast terms, thermometer, barometer, precipitation, temperature and atmosphere, and to the names of severe storms. Hurricane, typhoon and cyclone are one kind of storm that is called by different names in different parts of the world, so the grid is a gentle introduction to geography as well as science.

A good use for this puzzle is as a lead-in to a weather diary. Have students find the words, then record the weather each day for a week using as many of them as possible. For older students, ask them to sort the challenge words into things we measure (temperature, humidity), instruments (barometer, thermometer) and events (hurricane, monsoon).

Word notes

Blizzard: a severe snowstorm with strong winds and low visibility.
Drought: a long period with much less rain than usual.
Humid: containing a lot of moisture in the air.
Thunder: the sound made by lightning heating the air so fast that it expands with a bang.
Tornado: a rotating column of air that touches the ground.
Rainbow: an arc of colors formed when sunlight passes through raindrops.
Breeze: a gentle wind.

Vocabulary tip

Thunder and lightning happen at the same moment, but light travels faster than sound, so we see the flash first. Children can count the seconds between flash and bang as a fun way to gauge how far the storm is.

Difficulty guide

Generator (default list). The 10 words run from 5 letters (storm, cloud and humid) to 9 letters (lightning), 6.6 letters on average and 66 letters in all, which fills about 34% of the default 14 x 14 grid. On the default Medium setting, words can run in five directions. Choose Easy for across, down and diagonal-right only, or Hard to add backwards and upwards.
Easy puzzle. 8 words of 3 to 4 letters in a 10 x 10 grid, with nothing hidden backwards or upwards.
Challenge puzzle. 16 words of 5 to 13 letters in a 15 x 15 grid, with 10 of them hidden backwards or upwards. The challenge has three storm names for the same kind of storm (hurricane, typhoon and cyclone) and two measuring instruments ending in -meter (thermometer and barometer), which can blur together.

Ways to use it

Ask students to sort the ten words into things we see, hear and feel.
Start a weather diary and use at least three words from the puzzle in each entry.
To use your own list, edit the words in the box at the top of the page and press Generate puzzle, or press New layout, same words for a fresh grid. Print it with Show answers ticked to add a separate answer page.

What is the difference between a hurricane, a typhoon and a cyclone?: They are the same kind of storm, a large rotating tropical storm, with different names in different regions: hurricane in the Atlantic and eastern Pacific, typhoon in the north-west Pacific and cyclone in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific.
Why do we see lightning before we hear thunder?: Light travels much faster than sound, so the flash reaches us before the sound does.
What does humid mean?: Humid means there is a lot of moisture in the air, which makes the air feel heavy and sticky.
Can I make a word search for a weather unit?: Yes. Type the weather words you are teaching, one per line, choose a grid size and press Generate puzzle.