Weather Vocabulary

Word
part of speech

Meaning

Example Senten

avalanche
noun

a dangerous slide of
snow down a
mountain

The skiers were

warned about a
possible avalanc

below freezing temperature less than It's supposed to g

preposition/adject 0 degrees Celsius/
below freezing
ive
(32F)
the weekend.
blizzard
noun

a storm with lots of

snow and wind

The airplane coul

take-off because
blizzard.

boiling hot
adjective + noun

common expression It was boiling ho

for describing a very we all jumped int
hot day
lake.

breeze
noun

light wind

Don't bother with

hat. There is alwa
breeze near the
ocean.

Celsius

measurement of

In the summer, th

noun

temperature (0
degrees is
freezing/100 is
boiling)

average tempera
here is 20 degree
Celsius.

chilly
adjective

cold

It's a bit chilly to

so I think you sho
wear a coat.

clear
adjective

when the sky is blue On a clear night

because no clouds are can see a lot of s
blocking the sun

cloud/cloudy
noun/adjective

water in the sky that It may look cloud

appears as a white or the morning, but
grey mass
sun always come
by afternoon.

cold spell
adjective + noun

a period of colder
They're forecastin
than average weather cold spell, so we
off our camping t

cool
adjective

temperature in
between warm and
cold

The days were bo

hot, but the nigh
were cool and
comfortable for
sleeping.

degrees
noun

measurement for
temperature

I don't feel the he

until it's about fo
degrees Celsius
outside.

drizzling

raining slightly

I think I'll take th

continuous verb

for a walk. It's on

drizzling now.

drought
noun

a long period with no Forest fires are a

rainfall
serious danger du
a drought.

Fahrenheit
noun

measurement of
temperature (32
degrees is
freezing/212 is
boiling)

flood
noun

overflow of rain water The flood was so

our basement wa
of water.
very light snowfall

flurries
noun

It was 100 degre

Fahrenheit whe
got to San Franci

There are a few

flurries but the s
isn't sticking to th
roads.

fog/foggy
noun/adjective

thick water vapor that We couldn't see t

blocks one's vision
bridge because th
was too much fog

forecast
noun/verb

the expected weather According to the

for the future
forecast, it's goi
rain on our wedd
day.

freezing cold
adjective + noun

common expression
used to describe a
very cold day

It was a freezing
day for the Santa
parade.

frost
noun

ice crystals on a
frozen surface

frostbite
noun

a skin condition
I lost my hat whi
caused by over
was skiing, and I
exposure to the cold ended up with
(typically reddish skin frostbite on my
with white spots)

hail
noun

small pieces of ice

that fall during a
storm

There was so mu
hail that some of
trailer homes wer
destroyed.

heat stroke
noun

a flu-like condition
one can acquire after
spending too long in
the sun

Bring lots of wate

wear a hat to avo
heat stroke in th
weather.

heat-wave
noun

extremely hot
During the heatweather that is much we cooled our be
higher than average-- down with ice pa
usually lasts a short
time

humid/humidity moisture in the air

adjective/noun

hurricane
noun

Some flowers are

strong they can
withstand frost.

It feels a lot hotte

than it actually is
because of the
humidity.

a tropical storm with Half of the buildin

very strong wind and the island were
rain
flattened by the

hurricane.
icy
adjective

slippery because of
ice

The roads are icy

please avoid driv
down any hills.

lightning
noun

electrical discharge
The outdoor pool
and flash between a always closes wh
cloud and the ground lifeguards think
lightning is com

mild
adjective

temperature that is
warmer than
average(in a cold
season)

meteorologist
noun

a person who studies The meteorolog

weather patterns
predicted that the
spell would be ov
now.

It's quite mild ou

didn't bother with
or mittens.

minus/negative indicates that a

It was minus twe
adjective
temperature is below degrees at the to
zero
the skil hill.
overcast
adjective

no sun is visible

The sky is overc

this morning, but
sun is supposed t
come out by late
afternoon.

partly cloudy
adverb +
adjective

term often used in a Tomorrow's forec

weather forecast to partly cloudy w
indicate that the skies clear skies by nig

are sunny and cloudy

at the same time
precipitation
noun

rain or snow that falls There is very littl

on an area
precipitation in
desert.

puddle
noun

collection of rain
water

Children love to s
in puddles when
are wearing rubb
boots.

rain/raining/
rainy
noun/continuous
verb/adjective

water that falls to

earth

My hair is all wet

messy from the r

raindrop
noun

a single measurement I love catching

of rain
raindrops on my
tongue.

raining cats and raining heavily

dogs
idiom

They cancelled th
football game bec
it was raining ca
and dogs.

scorching/a
scorcher
adjective/noun

extremely hot
temperature/a very
hot day

It was a scorche
the whole family
in the cool basem

shower
noun

quick/light rainstorm They've been call

for showers all w
but so far it's bee

sleet(similar to

rain that freezes as it All-weather-tires

hail)
noun

falls

slush/slushy
noun/adjective

snow on the ground The snow turned

that has been rained slush as soon as
on
started to rain.

smog
noun

heavy,dark cloud
cover caused by
pollution

You really notice

smog downtown
this type of humi

snow/snowy/s
nowing
noun/adjective/
continuous verb

frozen water that

warms slightly as it
falls to earth

It is already snow
up in the mounta
so the ski season
should be great t
year.

snowstorm
noun

large amounts of windAll of the schools

and snow
closed because o
snowstorm.

the gassy star that

sun/sunshine/s warms the earth
unny
noun/noun/adject
ive
sunburn
noun

best if you have t

drive in sleet.

We hope to have
sunshine on the
of the beach picn

painful red/pink skin The bald man got

caused by being in
sunburn on his h
the sun too long

sunglasses/sha dark eyewear that

I forgot my shad
des
protects you from the and I was driving
noun
sun
into the sun.

suntan/tanned
noun (also verb)/
adjective (also
verb)

brown/golden skin
caused by long
periods of sun
exposure

sunscreen/sunt cream that protects

an lotion
your skin from sun
noun
damage

thermometer
noun

I got a suntan o
cruise, but it has
already faded aw

Don't forget to re
your sunscreen
you get out of the

instrument for
When I checked t
measuring the
temperature this
temperature of the air morning, the
thermometer sa
was already thirty
degrees Celsius.

UV (ultra violet) the damaging rays

rays
from the sun
noun

Ultra violet rays

cause skin cancer
you don't wear
sunscreen.

wind/windy
noun/adjective

It's too windy to

golf today.

blowing air outside

wind chill factor when the wind makes It's minus two, b
noun
the air feel colder
with the wind ch
than the actual
factor it's minus
temperature
fifteen.