Categories: GeneralSpeakingVocabulary

Talking About The Weather In English

When we talk about the weather in English, we can make a wide variety of descriptions or we can use different expressions to describe the weather. Let’s see how we can asked about the weather, before these descriptions.

Attention:

“It is” and “Is it” are generally used while talking about the weather.

Questions About The Weather

Examples:

What’s it like out?
How’s the weather?
Beautiful day, isn’t it?
What is the weather expected to be like?
What’s the weather like?
What’s the weather like in Paris in January?
What is the weather doing?
Do you have rain?
It’s raining here. What’s it doing there?
Beautiful day, huh?
What’s the weather forecast?
What about in summer?
How’s the weather in London in winter?
Is it snowing outside?
What’s the forecast for tomorrow?
What’s the weather like in Germany?
Lovely day, isn’t it?
Is it warm or cold?
Is it cloudy?
Is it snowing?
Is it raining where you are?

Answers About The Weather

We generally use some common structures, while answering the questions about the weather. These are;

“It + BE ( with different tenses like is, was, will be, etc.) + Adjectives ( like sunny, cloudy, rainy, etc)”

“It + BE ( with different tenses like is, was, will be, etc.) + a + Adjectives + day (or morning/afternoon/night, etc)”

“It + is/was + V-ing ( like snowing, raining, shining, etc. )” ( now, at that time )

We can also use other structures to describe the weather.

Examples:

It is sunny.
It will be a rainy day tomorrow.
It is snowing.
There is a sun after the rain.
Bit nippy today.
We’re in for frost tonight.
It is hailing.
What gloomy weather we’re having!

Vocabulary ( Nouns, Adjectives and Verbs ) About The Weather in English

We can use or see many words about the weather conditions. These are listed below;

Before word list, please pay attention some points;

We usually do not use the nouns related to weather alone with “it is” to express weather conditions. We use their adjectives forms instead of them. So, while we are talking about the weather, we generally add the letter “-y” to the end of a noun to make it an adjective or we can use the nouns by putting adjectives in front of them.

Let’s see the common words that express the weather;

RAIN

rain (noun) – rain ( verb -we also use “rain” as a weather verb ) – rainy (adjective)

Examples:

( wrong ) It is rain. ( wrong – in terms of expressing weather conditions )
( correct ) It is raining.
( correct ) It is rainy.
( correct ) It is a rainy day/morning/afternoon/night/summer/winter/spring/ autumn/season
( correct ) There is heavy rain.
( correct ) The rain is falling.

For more examples and words related to “rain” with their meanings;

SNOW

snow ( noun ) – snow ( verb – we also use “rain” as a weather verb ) – snowy ( adjective )

Examples:

( wrong ) It is snow. ( wrong – in terms of expressing weather conditions )
( correct ) It is snowing.
( correct ) It is snowy.
( correct ) It is a snowy day/morning/afternoon/night/winter
( correct ) There will be heavy snow tomorrow.
( correct ) The snow is falling down.

For more examples and words related to “snow” with their meanings;

SUN

sun (noun) – shine ( verb – we use “shine” to express “sun” as a weather verb ) – sunny (adjective)

Examples:

( wrong ) It is sun. ( wrong – in terms of expressing weather conditions )
( correct ) It ( The sun ) is shining.
( correct ) It is sunny.
( correct ) There is a sun after the storm.

For more examples and words related to “Sun” with their meanings;

WIND

wind (noun) – blow ( verb – we use “blow” to express “wind” as a weather verb ) – windy (adjective)

Examples:

( wrong ) It is wind. ( wrong -in terms of expressing weather conditions )
( correct ) It ( The wind ) is blowing.
( correct ) It is windy.
( correct ) It is a windy day.
( correct ) There is a light wind blowing.

For more examples and words related to “Wind” with their meanings;

FOG

fog (noun) – foggy (adjective)

Examples:

( wrong ) It is fog.
( correct ) It is foggy.
( correct ) It is a foggy day.
( correct ) There is heavy fog outside.

For more examples and words related to “fog” with their meanings;

CLOUD

cloud (noun) – cloudy (adjective)

Examples:

It is cloudy.
It is a cloudy day.
It’s been cloudy for a week now. We need some sun!
It’s really cloudy out. I wonder if it will rain today.
There is a cloudy sky.
It’s pretty cloudy outside.
It’s partly cloudy.
There is an overcast sky today.
It’s mostly cloudy.
What gloomy weather we’re having!
It’s so gloomy.

( Cloudy means that the sky is completely covered by clouds, no view of blue sky. )

( Overcast means that There are clouds in the sky, no light and sun. )

( Gloomy means dark or cloudy in a way that is unpleasant and makes it difficult to see. )

CLEAR

clear ( adjective )

Examples:

They’re saying blue skies and hot!
They are calling for blue skies all week.
I think it’ll clear up later.
There is a sunny sky.
There is a clear sky.
It is clear.
The sun is very bright today.
It is a clear day.

( Clear means that there are no clouds in the sky )

COLD

cold ( adjective )

Examples:

It is cold.
It is a cold day.
It is getting colder.
It’s not snowing, but it is very cold.
It’s going to be even cooler on Monday.
It is frosty.
It is a frosty day.
Bit nippy today.
We’re in for frost tonight.
It is freezing in here.

( Frost means a weather condition in which the air temperature falls below the freezing point of water, especially outside at night. )

( Frosty / Nippy / Freezing means very cold.)

HOT

hot ( adjective )

Examples:

It is so hot today!
It’s sweltering.
It’s a sweltering day.
It’s so hot out there!

( Sweltering means extremely hot. )

WARM

warm ( adjective )

Examples:

It is warm and sunny.
It will certainly be warm.
The forecast said it will be warm on Sunday.
It’s so hot today! I hope it’s warmer tomorrow.

HUMID

humid ( adjective )

Examples:

It’s so hot and humid outside. The air feels so thick and sticky.
It’s so humid out.
It is really humid. I really prefer the dry summer air.
There is a humid / damp summer here.
It is a dewy morning.

( Dew is drops of water that form on the ground and other cool surfaces during the night, when atmospheric vapor condenses.)

THUNDER / LIGHTNING

thunder ( noun ) , lightning ( noun )

Examples:

We just heard thunder, and a lightning storm is expected.
The thunder broke the silence of the night.
Suddenly a lightning flashed and we heard a loud of thunder yesterday.
I heard the thunder at the same time as the lightning struck.
There is almost non-stop lightning and thunder.
The lightning and thunder are continuing.
There is lightning outside right now.

( Thunder is a sudden loud noise that comes from the sky after a lightning flash due to the expansion of rapidly heated air.)

( a clap of thunder / a thunderclap is a sudden loud noise made by thunder.)

( a bolt of thunder / thunderbolt is a flash of lightning and the sound of thunder together.)

( Lightning / a flash of lightning /a bright flash of lightning / a bolt of lightning is a flash of bright light in the sky that is produced by electricity moving between clouds or from clouds to the ground. )

WORDS RELATED TO THE WEATHER CONDITIONS AND THEIR ADJECTIVE FORMS

rain (noun) – rainy (adjective)

snow (noun) – snowy (adjective)

sun (noun) – sunny (adjective)

wind (noun) – windy (adjective)

cloud (noun) – cloudy (adjective)

fog (noun) – foggy (adjective)

gloom (noun) – gloomy (adjective)

storm (noun) – stormy (adjective)

frost (noun) – frosty (adjective)

breeze (noun) – breezy (adjective)

mist ( noun) – misty (adjective)