The weather and natural disasters – B1+ English Vocabulary

The weather and natural disasters

Discover a comprehensive vocabulary to navigate the world of weather and natural disasters. From sunny days to thunderstorms and earthquakes, this lesson equips you with essential terminology to engage in meaningful discussions about these phenomena. Check the pictures below and read the definitions and descriptions.

Adjectives for describing the weather

If it is 1 partly sunny or partly cloudy, it may be sunny/cloudy for part of the day.

During a 2 rainy day, season, or period, it rains a lot.

During a 3 drizzly day, there’s light rain falling continuously, often making the ground wet and uncomfortable for outdoor activities. The word drizzly comes from drizzle, which can be a noun or a verb:

• It’s starting to drizzle.
• The drizzle had now stopped.

When it is 4 windy, there is a lot of wind, making things blow around.

On a 5 stormy day, there are likely to be frequent storms throughout the day. A storm is very bad weather, with heavy rain, strong winds, and often thunder and lightning.

On a 6 snowy day, there is considerable snowfall.

If it is 7 foggy there is a lot of fog. Fog is a cloud of small drops of water that make it difficult to see.

On a 8 misty day, there is mist in the air. Mist is a thin fog, not as dense as fog, but it also makes it hard to see things that are far away.

When it is 9 hazy outside, it is difficult to see due to the presence of light mist, hot air, or dust.

If it is 10 overcast, there are a lot of clouds in the sky, making the weather seem quite dull.

If the weather or the sky is 11 clear, there are no or very few clouds in the sky, making it easy to see.

On a 12 thundery day, there are intermittent thunderstorms.

Temperature and humidity

When it’s 1 freezing outside, the temperature is zero degrees or lower, so it is very cold.

2 Cool means that it is slightly but not unpleasantly cold.

3 Chilly means it is uncomfortably cold. People often also say, “It’s nippy,” to mean that it’s chilly.

4 Scorching means that the temperature is high and it is extremely hot.

On a 5 warm day, it’s not hot, but there is a pleasant high temperature.

6 Mild usually means the weather is pleasant, as it is neither too cold nor too hot.

7 Arid climates rarely experience any rainfall, making it hard for vegetation to survive.

8 Dry weather means it is hot with little chance of rain.

If the weather is 9 wet, it means that it’s raining and everything is covered in water.

10 Humid weather means there is a lot of moisture (tiny drops of water) in the air.

If it is 11 damp outside, it is slightly wet in an unpleasant way. Also, we use damp to talk about a room, house or place with moisture inside the walls or in the air.

On a 12 muggy day, it is warm and uncomfortably humid.

Weather phenomena and natural disasters

A 1 thunderstorm is a heavy rainstorm accompanied by thunder and lightning.

A 2 blizzard is a heavy snowstorm accompanied by a lot of wind.

A 3 heatwave is an extended period of unusually hot weather.

A 4 shower refers to a short period of light rain.

5 Hail is precipitation in the form of small balls of ice.

A 6 tornado is a violent rotating column of wind.

A 7 hurricane is a violent windstorm accompanied by rain that travels over water.

A 8 drought is a long period without rain, making it impossible to support vegetation.

An 9 earthquake is a sudden, violent shaking of the ground that often causes mass destruction.

A 10 wildfire is a large, uncontrollable fire that moves rapidly over grass or woodlands.

A 11 tsunami is a very large wave, often caused by an earthquake, that flows onto the land and destroys things.

If there is a 12 flood, a large amount of water covers an area which is usually dry.

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.