The weather – A2 English Vocabulary

The weather

In this Pre-intermediate Vocabulary Lesson about The Weather, you will learn about different weather conditions, how to describe them in English, and the vocabulary associated with various weather phenomena. The pictures, descriptions, and examples below will help you understand and remember the terms.

Adjectives

When we talk about the weather in English, we often create adjectives by adding the letter -y to the end of a noun.

When it’s 1 sunny, it means the sky is clear and the sun is shining. When it’s 2 cloudy, there are many clouds in the sky, which may make the day seem grey or dark.

• On sunny days, we like to go to the park.
• It was very cloudy, so we couldn’t see the sun.

3 Rainy means there are regular periods of rain, making everything wet. When it’s 4 snowy, it means that there is snow falling from the sky.

• It was a rainy day, so we decided to stay indoors.
• On snowy days like this, we like to play in the snow.

5 Windy weather means there is a lot of wind, and this may make things blow away, so you need to be careful.

• It was so windy in the park that my papers blew away.

Temperature

Temperature is measured in 6 degrees in English. In the US, they use Fahrenheit degrees, whereas in the UK, they use Celsius degrees.

• They are expecting the temperature to go up to 30 degrees tomorrow.

When it’s 7 hot, the temperature is high, and it’s uncomfortable. When it’s 8 warm, it is a little hot, but it’s a pleasant temperature.

• It was too hot at the beach, so we decided to go home.
• On warm days like this, we like to spend time outdoors.

When it’s 9 cold, the temperature in the air is very low, maybe between 0 and 5 or 10 degrees. When it is very cold, with below-zero temperatures, we say that it is 10 freezing. We also use the word freezing to describe anything that is extremely cold.

• It was a cold day, so I was wearing a hat and gloves.
• It’s absolutely freezing out here! I need to go inside.

Humidity

11 Humid weather means there is a lot of water vapour (tiny drops of water) in the air, and it’s hot, which can make you feel quite uncomfortable.

• The humid weather made walking long distances uncomfortable.

When it is 12 wet, there is water on the ground because it is raining or has recently rained. 13 Dry has the opposite meaning, so dry weather means there is no rain or that it hasn’t rained in a long time.

• If had rained and everything was very wet. 
• It hasn’t rained in a long time and the ground is very dry.

Phenomena

14 Lightning is a bright flash of electricity in the sky during a storm, and 15 thunder is the loud noise you hear during a storm caused by lightning.

• The lightning lit up the whole sky during the storm.
• Every time there was thunder, the dog hid under the bed.

A 16 thunderstorm is a heavy rainstorm accompanied by thunder and lightning.

• There was a thunderstorm last night with lots of heavy rain and lightning.

A 17 snowstorm is a storm with lots of heavy snow falling.

• We are expecting a snowstorm this evening.

A 18 shower is a short period of rain, especially light rain.

• We are expecting showers this morning, so I am going to stay indoors.

The word 19 drizzle refers to light rain falling continuously. Drizzle does not cause problems and will not make you very wet.

• There was a bit of drizzle when I walked to work this morning.

The word 20 hail refers to small balls of ice that fall like rain.

• We were surprised to see balls of hail on the roof of our car.

After completing the exercises in this lesson on The Weather, you can use the unit’s Vocabulary Flashcards to revise and help you memorize the terms.