Voc

abulary about the weather in English

Clear or Cloudy
Bright: (adjective) full of light; when the sun is shining strongly
Sunny: (adjective) the sun is shining and there are no clouds
Clear: (adjective) without clouds
Fine: (adjective) not raining, clear sky
Partially cloudy: (adjective) when there is a mixture of both blue sky and clouds
Cloudy: (adjective) with many clouds in the sky
Overcast: (adjective) covered with cloud; dull
Gloomy: (adjective) with dark clouds and dull light; some people consider this weather depressing
Sometimes the cloud lowers to ground level and it becomes harder to see…
Fog (noun)/ foggy (adjective): thick cloud close to land
Mist (noun) / misty (adjective): light fog, often on the sea or caused by drizzle
Haze (noun) / hazy (adjective): light mist, usually caused by heat

Types of Rain
Damp: (adjective) slightly wet (often after the rain has stopped)
Drizzle: (verb/noun) to rain lightly with very fine drops
Shower: (noun) a short period of rain
Rain: (verb/noun) water that falls from the clouds in drops
Downpour: (noun) heavy rain
Pour: (verb) to have heavy rain
It's raining cats and dogs: (Idiom) To rain heavily
Torrential rain: (noun) very heavy rain
Flood: (verb/noun) to become covered in water usually due to excessive rain

Cold stuff
Hail: (verb) when frozen rain falls as small balls of ice (hailstones).
Hailstones: (noun) the small hard balls of ice that fall from the sky
Snow: (noun/verb) frozen rain that falls from the sky as soft snowflakes
Snowflake: (noun) an individual piece of snow
Sleet: (noun/verb) snow or hail mixed with rain (often with some wind)
Blizzard: (noun) severe snowstorm with strong winds

Types of Wind
Breeze: a gentle wind (often nice or refreshing)
Blustery: blowing (strong) gusts of wind
Windy: continual wind.
Gale: a very strong wind
Hurricane/cyclone/typhoon: a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce winds and heavy rain.
What's the difference between a hurricane, a typhoon and a cyclone?
They are the same thing just with different names because of the region they are in.
Atlantic/Northeast Pacific = a hurricane
Northwest Pacific = a typhoon
Southern Hemisphere = a cyclone
Tornado: (noun) strong violent circular winds in a small area; a rapidly revolving column of air
In United States the word twister is often used instead of tornado.
More vocabulary about the weather
Drought: (noun) Long periods of time without rain causing a lack of water in the area

 A lot of the crops dried up because of the drought.

Forecast: (noun) A prediction of how the weather will be on a certain day

 The forecast says it's going to rain tomorrow.

Lightning: (noun) A flash of light in the sky during a storm.

 Lightning lit the sky many times that night.

Puddle: (noun) a small pool of water on the ground, usually after rain.

 The kids jumped in the puddles on the way home from school.

Rainbow: (noun) an arch of colors in the sky formed when the sun shines through rain

 I took a photo of a beautiful rainbow that was just above the lake.

Smog: (noun) a cloud of pollution hanging over a city (a fog of smoke)

 The view of the city wasn't very good because it was covered in thick smog.

Sunburn: (noun) painful red skin caused by spending too long in the hot sun.

 If you don't put on your sunscreen, you'll get sunburn.

Sunshine: (noun) the light and heat of the sun

 I could feel the warm sunshine on my back.

Thunder: (noun/verb) the rumbling sound in the clouds that happens after lightning

 The cat hid inside because it was scared by the thunder.

Sentences using weather vocabulary

 It is usually chilly and damp in autumn, sometimes with rain or drizzle.

 I'm so glad there is a breeze right now otherwise it would be very hot.
 It is so humid that I've had to change my shirt twice already.
 It's a blustery day; make sure your umbrella doesn't blow away.
 Take a sweatshirt because it's a little chilly outside.
 Those large hailstones left dents in my car.
 There has been a gale warning so it's not safe to go out fishing on our boat.
 There was a drought in our province last summer. It didn't rain for three months.
 We won't be able to see the solar eclipse because it's overcast.

Questions using weather vocabulary

 What's the weather like in Burgos in January? What's the forecast for tomorrow?
 It's pretty hot. What's the temperature? Is it raining outside?
 Weather Idioms

Below is a list of the most commonly used idioms about the weather in English:
As right as rain: to feel fine and healthy.

 Don't worry about me, I'm as right as rain after my knee operation.

Be a breeze: to be very easy to do.

 Our English exam was a breeze. I'm sure I'll get top marks.

Be snowed under: to have so much to do that you are having trouble doing it all.

 I'm snowed under at work right now because two of my colleagues are on holiday.

Break the ice: to say or do something to make someone feel relaxed or at ease in a social setting.

 He offered to get her a drink to help break the ice.

Calm before the storm: the quiet, peaceful period before a moment of great activity or mayhem.

 The in-laws were about to arrive with their kids so she sat on the sofa with a cup of coffee enjoying
the calm before the storm.

Chase rainbows: when someone tries to do something that they will not achieve

 I think she's chasing rainbows if she thinks she can get into Oxford with her bad grades.

Come rain or shine: you can depend on someone to be there no matter what or whatever the weather.

 I'll be there to help you move house come rain or shine.

Every cloud has a silver lining: There is always something positive to come out of an unpleasant or difficult
situation.

 I got laid off from work yesterday, but every cloud has a silver lining and now I can spend more time
writing my book.

Fair-weather friend: a person who is only your friend during good times or when things are going well for
you but disappears when things become difficult or you have problems.

 She was a fair-weather friend because she wasn't interested in me once I had lost my job.

Get wind of: to learn or hear of something that should be a secret.

 He got wind of the closure of the company so started looking for a new job immediately.

Have your head in the clouds: to be out of touch of reality. Your ideas may not be sensible or practical.

 He has his head in the clouds if he seriously thinks he's going to get a promotion soon.
It never rains but it pours: when things don't just go wrong but very wrong and other bad things happen
too.

 First he lost his keys to the house, then his wallet and then his car broke down. It never rains but it
pours.

It's raining cats and dogs: it's raining very hard.

 Take you umbrella and a jacket because it's raining cats and dogs outside.

On cloud nine: to be extremely happy.

 They were both on cloud nine during their honeymoon.

Put on ice: to postpone for another day.

 The project has been put on ice until our boss decides what to do next.

Ray of hope: there is a chance that something positive will happen.

 There is a ray of hope after all, it looks like we won't be losing our jobs.

Save for a rainy day: to save for the future when it might suddenly be needed (unexpectedly).

 Don't spend your entire wage in one night. You should save for a rainy day.

Steal my thunder: when someone takes attention away from someone else.

 Don't wear that dress to the wedding; the bride won't like it because you'll be stealing her thunder.

Storm in a teacup: when someone makes a small problem larger than it really is.

 Those two are always arguing about something, it's just a storm in a teacup.

Storm is brewing: indication that something is about to become bad or explode

 You could tell by the looks on their faces that a storm was brewing.

Take a rain check: decline something now but offer to do it at a later date.

 Thanks for inviting me to dinner but I can't this week. Can I take a rain check on that?

Throw caution to the wind: to go crazy and forget all responsibilities or commitments.

 They threw caution to the wind and quit their jobs in the heat of the moment.

Under the weather: you are not feeling well

 Paul isn't coming with us because he feels a little under the weather.