Weather Vocabulary

Word Meaning Example Sentence

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

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

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

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

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

flood overflow of rain water The flood was so bad, our basement was full of
noun water.

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

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

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

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

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

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

humid/humidity moisture in the air It feels a lot hotter than it actually is because of
adjective/noun the humidity.

hurricane a tropical storm with very strong wind Half of the buildings on the island were
noun and rain flattened by the hurricane.

icy slippery because of ice The roads are icy so please avoid driving down
adjective any hills.

lightning electric flash caused by two clouds The outdoor pool always closes when the
noun hitting lifeguards suspect lightning.
mild temperature that is warmer than It's quite mild out so I didn't bother with a hat
adjective average(in a cold season) or mittens.

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

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

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

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

shower quick/light rainstorm They've been calling for showers all week, but
noun so far it's been dry.

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

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

snow/snowy/snowing frozen water that warms slightly as it It is already snowing up in the mountains, so
noun/adjective/ continuous falls to earth the ski season should be great this year.
verb

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

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

noun/noun/adjective

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

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

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

tornado/cyclone violently spinning windstorm The tornado picked up everything in its path,
noun including animals and cars.

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

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