Weather Vocabulary

Word Meaning Example Sentence

Part of speech

airconditioner/airconditioning an appliance that cools down the air in a The airconditioner keeps the
noun home or building office nice and comfortable even
when it's very hot outside.

avalanche a dangerous slide of snow down a The skiers were warned about a
noun mountain possible avalanche.

below freezing temperature less than 0 degrees Celsius/ It's supposed to go below
preposition/adjective (32F) freezing before the weekend.

blizzard a storm with lots of snow and wind The airplane couldn't take-off
noun because of the blizzard.

boiling hot common expression for describing a very It was boiling hot, so we all
adjective + noun hot day jumped into the lake.

breeze light wind Don't bother with a hat. There is

noun always a breeze near the ocean.

Celsius measurement of temperature (0 degrees is In the summer, the average

noun freezing/100 is boiling) temperature here is 20 degrees
Celsius.

chilly cold It's a bit chilly today, so I think

adjective you should wear a coat.

clear when the sky is blue because no clouds On a clear night you can see a
adjective are blocking the sun lot of stars.

cloud/cloudy water in the sky that appears as a white or It may look cloudy in the
noun/adjective grey mass morning, but the sun always
comes out by afternoon.

cold spell a period of colder than average weather They're calling for a cold spell,
adjective + noun so we put off our camping trip.

cool temperature in between warm and cold The days were boiling hot, but
adjective the nights were cool and
comfortable for sleeping.

degrees measurement for temperature I don't feel the heat until it's
noun about forty degrees Celsius
outside.
 drizzling raining slightly I think I'll take the dog for a
continuous verb walk. It's only drizzling now.

drought a long period with no rainfall Forest fires are a serious danger
noun during a drought.

Fahrenheit measurement of temperature (32 degrees It was 100 degrees Fahrenheit

noun is freezing/212 is boiling) when we got to San Francisco.

flood overflow of rain water The flood was so bad, our

noun basement was full of water.

flurries very light snowfall There are a few flurries but the
noun snow isn't sticking to the roads.

fog/foggy thick water vapor that blocks one's vision We couldn't see the bridge
noun/adjective because there was too much fog.

forecast the expected weather for the future According to the 5 day forecast,
noun/verb it's going to rain on our wedding
day.

freezing cold common expression used to describe a It was a freezing cold day for the
adjective + noun very cold day Santa Claus parade.

frost ice crystals on a frozen surface Some flowers are so strong they
noun can withstand frost.

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

hail small pieces of ice that fall during a There was so much hail that
noun storm some of the trailer homes were
destroyed.

heat stroke a flu-like condition one can acquire after Bring lots of water and wear a
noun spending too long in the sun hat to avoid heat stroke in this
weather.

heat-wave extremely hot weather that is much During the heat-wave we cooled
noun higher than average--usually lasts a short our beds down with ice packs.
time

humid/humidity moisture in the air It feels a lot hotter than it

adjective/noun actually is because of the
humidity.

hurricane a tropical storm with very strong wind Half of the buildings on the
noun and rain island were flattened by the
hurricane.
 icy slippery because of ice The roads are icy so please avoid
adjective driving down any hills.

lightning electric flash caused by two clouds The outdoor pool always closes
noun hitting when the lifeguards suspect
lightning.

mild temperature that is warmer than It's quite mild out so I didn't
adjective average(in a cold season) bother with a hat or mittens.

meteorologist a person who studies weather patterns The meteorologist predicted that
noun the cold spell would be over by
now.

minus/negative indicates that a temperature is below zero It was minus twenty degrees at
adjective the top of the skil hill.

overcast no sun is visible The sky is overcast this

adjective morning, but the sun is supposed
to come out by late afternoon.

partly cloudy term often used in a weather forecast to Tomorrow's forecast is partly
adverb + adjective indicate that the skies are sunny and cloudy with clear skies by
cloudy at the same time nightfall.

precipitation rain or snow that falls on an area There is very little precipitation
noun in the desert.

puddle collection of rain water Children love to splash in

noun puddles when they are wearing
rubber boots.

rain/raining/rainy water that falls to earth My hair is all wet and messy
noun/continuous verb/adjective from the rain.

raindrop a single measurement of rain I love catching raindrops on my

noun tongue.

rainbow a band of colours found in the sky after a According to legend you can find
noun rainfall a pot of gold at the end of a
rainbow.

raining cats and dogs raining heavily They cancelled the football game
idiom because it was raining cats and
dogs.

scorching/a scorcher extremely hot temperature/a very hot day It was a scorcher, so the whole
adjective/noun family slept in the cool
basement.

season time of year characterized by certain My favorite season is Fall,

noun weather because I love to watch the
Winter,Spring,Summer,Fall (or Autumn) leaves changing colours.
 shower quick/light rainstorm They've been calling for showers
noun all week, but so far it's been dry.

sleet(similar to hail) rain that freezes as it falls All-weather-tires are best if you
noun have to drive in sleet.

slush/slushy snow on the ground that has been rained The snow turned to slush as soon
noun/adjective on as it started to rain.

smog heavy,dark cloud cover caused by You really notice the smog
noun pollution downtown in this type of
humidity.

snow/snowy/snowing frozen water that warms slightly as it It is already snowing up in the

noun/adjective/ continuous verb falls to earth mountains, so the ski season
should be great this year.

snowstorm large amounts of wind and snow All of the schools were closed
noun because of the snowstorm.

sun/sunshine/sunny the gassy star that warms the earth We hope to have sunshine on the
noun/noun/adjective day of the beach picnic.

sunburn painful red/pink skin caused by being in The bald man got a sunburn on
noun the sun too long his head.

sunglasses/shades dark eyewear that protects you from the I forgot my shades and I was
noun sun driving right into the sun.

suntan/tanned brown/golden skin caused by long I got a suntan on the cruise, but
noun(also verb)/adjective(also periods of sun exposure it has already faded away.
verb)

sunscreen/suntan lotion cream that protects your skin from sun Don't forget to reapply your
noun damage sunscreen when you get out of
the lake.

temperature how warm or cold the air is Can you check the temperature
noun before we get dressed for our
walk?

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

thunder/thunderstorm the crashing of clouds (often followed by Let's close all of the windows. It
noun a strike of lightning and heavy rain) looks like a thunderstorm is
coming.

tornado/cyclone violently spinning windstorm The tornado picked up

noun everything in its path, including
 animals and cars.

umbrella held over one's head and body for rain I always keep an umbrella in my
noun protection car in case of rain.

UV (ultra violet) rays the damaging rays from the sun Ultra violet rays can cause skin
noun cancer if you don't wear
sunscreen.

wind/windy blowing air outside It's too windy to play golf today.
noun/adjective

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