List of weather vocab in English

If you’re looking to learn the weather vocabulary you can use in

conversation with anyone, you’re in the right place!

But before we share with you the most useful weather vocabulary, terms,

and phrases you need to learn before you start a conversation about the

weather in English, let’s go over the weather grammar.

You can use three sentence structures to talk about the weather in the

present tense:

● It is + adjective: It is snowy. It is rainy.

● It is + verb-ing: It is snowing. It is raining.

● There is a + noun: There is a storm. There is a drought.

To talk about the weather in the past tense, you’ll use the same sentence

structures but put the verb “to be” in the past tense (except for present

perfect), for example:

● It was rainy yesterday.

● It was raining yesterday.

● There was a storm yesterday.

Everyday weather terms in English

In the UK, it’s mostly cloudy and rainy, while Canada is known for its

extremely cold and snowy weather!

What’s the weather like in your country? Let’s learn some vocabulary to

describe the daily weather.

English IPA Pronunciation

Breeze / ˈbriːz / Breez

Clear sky / ˈklɪr ˈskaɪ / Klihr skai

Cloudless / ˈklaʊdləs / Klowd-luhs

Clouds / ˈklaʊdz / Klowdz

Cloudy / ˈklaʊdi / Klau-dee

Drizzle / ˈdrɪzl̩ / Dri-zl

Fog / ˈfɑːɡ / Fog

Foggy / ˈfɑːɡi / Fog-ee

Gloomy / ˈɡluːmi / Gloo-mee

Hail / ˈheɪl / Hayl

Hailing / ˈheɪlɪŋ / Hay-luhng

Muggy / ˈmʌɡi / Muh-gee

Overcast / ˌoʊvəˈkɑːst / Over-kast

Pouring / ˈpɔːrɪŋ / Paw-ruhng

Rain / ˈreɪn / Rayn

Raining / ˈreɪnɪŋ / Ray-nuhng

Rainy / ˈreɪni / Ray-nee

Sleet / sˈliːt / Sleet

Sleeting / ˈsliːtɪŋ / Slee-tuhng

Snow / ˈsnoʊ / Snow

Snowing / ˈsnoʊɪŋ / Snow-uhng

Snowy / ˈsnoʊɪ / Snow-ee

Stormy / ˈstɔːrmi / Stor-mee

Sun / ˈsən / Suhn

Sunny / ˈsʌni / Suh-nee

Sunrays / ˈsʌn ˈreɪz / Suhn-rayz

Sunshine / ˈsʌnˌʃaɪn / Suhn-shine

Wind / wɪnd / Wind

Windless / ˈwɪndləs / Wind-luhs

Windy / ˈwindi / Win-dee

Paart-lee suh-nee / ray-nee

Partly sunny/rainy/cloudy / ˈpɑːrtli ˈsʌni ˈreɪni ˈklaʊdi /
/ klau-dee
 [Link]
N A M E : ________________________________ DATE: ____________________

WEATHER
Questions: What is your favorite kind of weather? Why?
⚫ Complete the 15 sentences with the words on the left.

1. I can see the sun today. It is a ________________

day.

2. There is ice on the road. It’s ________________.

3. Of course, you need ________________ to make a

snowman.

4. I use an umbrella when it ________________s.

5. It’s always warm and ________________ in summer.

6. Be careful when you drive a car in ________________

weather. It’s difficult to see.

7. Gray, _______________ weather makes me feel a

C cloudy adj. little sad. I prefer sunny weather.
cold adj.
8. Remember to wear your jacket. It’s not freezing
cool adj. outside, but it’s _______________.

F foggy adj. 9. Can you hear that? I think it’s ______________.

freezing adj. 10. The weather isn’t warm today, but it’s not cold.
hail I guess you could say it’s _______________.
H n., v.

hot adj. 11. _______________ is frozen rain that is hard and

white.
hurricane n.

lightning 12. You can see the grass and trees move when it’s
L n.
________________ outside.
R rain n., v.
13. A _______________ is any kind of bad, windy weather
S snow n., v.
with rain, lightning, thunder, or snow.
storm n.
14. _______________ can kill people. It’s a kind of
sunny adj. electricity in the air that happens during a storm.

T thunder n.
15. A _______________ is a kind of large storm with lots
W windy adj. of rain and strong winds.

Permission granted to reproduce for classroom use. © [Link]

Common questions and responses about weather

What's it like out?

It's miserable out.
How's the weather?
It's ten below. (-10 degrees)
Do you have rain?
We haven't had a drop of rain for weeks.
What's the temperature there?
It's 22 degrees Celsius.
It's snowing here, what's it doing there?
It's pouring outside. (raining heavily)
Beautiful day, huh?
We couldn't ask for a better day than this.
What's the weather forecast?
They're calling for blue skies all week.

Common errors
One common mistake learners make when talking about the weather
is mixing up the noun, adjective and verb forms of weather words.
Example 1: How's the weather?
It is snow (noun). incorrect
It is snowy (adjective). correct
It is snowing (verb). correct
Example 2: What's it like out?
It is rain (noun). incorrect
It is rainy (adjective). correct
It is raining (verb). correct
Example 3: What's the weather like?
It is sun (noun). incorrect
It is sunny (adjective). correct
The sun is shining (verb). correct