Weather words in English
Learn weather words in English, from sunny and cloudy to monsoon and humidity, with examples and simple phrases for talking about the weather.
In this lesson
Weather words are the English words we use to describe the conditions outside, such as sun, rain, wind and temperature. This lesson teaches weather nouns, adjectives and verbs, how to talk about temperature, useful questions and answers, and words for monsoon and tropical weather in countries like Sri Lanka.
Key point
Many weather nouns become adjectives when you add -y: sun, sunny; rain, rainy; cloud, cloudy; wind, windy. Always use it as the subject: It’s sunny. It’s raining.
What are the most common weather nouns?
These nouns name the things you see, hear and feel in the sky and the air.
| Noun | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| sun | The star in the sky that gives us light and heat. | The sun is very strong at midday. |
| sunshine | The light and heat that come from the sun. | We sat outside in the sunshine. |
| rain | Water that falls from the clouds in drops. | The rain stopped at about four o’clock. |
| shower | A short period of rain. | There will be a few showers this afternoon. |
| drizzle | Light rain with very small drops. | It’s only drizzle, so you don’t need an umbrella. |
| cloud | A white or grey mass in the sky, made of tiny drops of water. | Dark clouds are coming in from the sea. |
| wind | Air that moves quickly. | The wind blew my hat off. |
| breeze | A light, gentle wind. | A cool breeze comes from the sea in the evening. |
| storm | Very bad weather with strong wind and heavy rain. | The storm knocked down several trees. |
| thunder | The loud noise you hear in the sky during a storm. | The thunder woke the baby. |
| lightning | The bright flash of light in the sky during a storm. | Lightning hit a tall tree near our house. |
| rainbow | A curve of colours in the sky when the sun shines through rain. | Look, there’s a rainbow over the hills! |
| fog | Thick cloud near the ground that makes it hard to see. | The fog was so thick that the flights were delayed. |
| mist | Light fog, often in the morning or in the hills. | Early in the morning, mist covers the tea estates. |
| snow | Soft white pieces of frozen water that fall from the sky. | Children love playing in the snow. |
| hail | Small balls of ice that fall from the sky. | The hail damaged the cars in the car park. |
| frost | A thin white layer of ice on the ground on very cold mornings. | There was frost on the grass this morning. |
weather noun A1
The conditions outside, such as sun, rain, wind and temperature. It is uncountable.
The weather was perfect for the beach.
Which adjectives describe the weather?
Use these adjectives after It’s or before a noun: It’s windy or a windy day.
| Adjective | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| sunny | With a lot of sun. | It’s a lovely sunny day. |
| rainy | With a lot of rain. | I don’t like rainy Mondays. |
| cloudy | With a lot of clouds. | It’s cloudy, but it isn’t raining. |
| windy | With a lot of wind. | It’s very windy, so hold on to your umbrella. |
| stormy | With storms. | The sea is too stormy for the fishing boats. |
| foggy | With fog. | Drive carefully on foggy mornings. |
| misty | With mist. | The hills look beautiful on misty mornings. |
| snowy | With snow. | We saw snowy mountains from the plane. |
| humid | Hot and wet, so the air feels heavy. | Colombo is often hot and humid. |
| dry | With little or no rain. | The weather has been very dry this month. |
| wet | With a lot of rain. | It was a wet and windy night. |
| clear | With no clouds. | The sky is clear tonight, so we can see the stars. |
| bright | Full of sunshine and light. | It’s a bright morning, so let’s go for a walk. |
| dull | Grey and without sunshine. | It’s a dull, grey morning. |
| changeable | Changing often. | The weather in the hills is very changeable. |
Which verbs do we use for weather?
Weather verbs often use the present continuous to describe what is happening now: It’s raining. The wind is blowing. Our lesson on the present continuous tense explains this form.
| Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| rain | When water falls from the clouds. | It’s raining, so take an umbrella. |
| pour | Rain very heavily. | It poured all night. |
| drizzle | Rain lightly with very small drops. | It’s drizzling, but we can still go out. |
| snow | When snow falls from the sky. | It snowed all day in the mountains. |
| shine | Give out light, used about the sun. | The sun is shining at last. |
| blow | Move the air, used about the wind. | The wind is blowing from the sea. |
| freeze | Become ice because it is very cold. | The lake froze last winter. |
| melt | Change from ice or snow into water. | The snow melts in spring. |
| clear up | Become bright and dry after rain or clouds. | The weather will clear up in the afternoon. |
| brighten up | Become brighter and sunnier. | It’s cloudy now, but it should brighten up later. |
Common mistake
It’s rain today. → It’s raining today. or It’s rainy today.
What a lovely weather! → What lovely weather!
Weather is uncountable, so never use a with it. Say We had bad weather, not We had a bad weather.
How do you talk about temperature?
These words go from the hottest to the coldest. Most of them are adjectives that you use after It’s.
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| boiling | Extremely hot. This word is informal. | It’s boiling today! Let’s stay inside. |
| hot | With a high temperature. | It’s too hot to walk at midday. |
| warm | Pleasantly hot. | It’s a warm evening, so let’s eat outside. |
| mild | Not too hot and not too cold. | We had a mild winter this year. |
| cool | A little cold, in a pleasant way. | Nuwara Eliya is cool even in April. |
| cold | With a low temperature. | Take a jacket. It’s cold at night. |
| freezing | Extremely cold. | It’s freezing outside. Wear a warm coat. |
| temperature | How hot or cold something is. | The temperature reached 35 degrees yesterday. |
| degree | A unit for measuring temperature. | It’s 30 degrees today. |
| Celsius | A scale for measuring temperature in which water freezes at 0 degrees and boils at 100 degrees. | Sri Lanka measures temperature in Celsius. |
Note
Sri Lanka, the UK and most countries use Celsius (°C). The United States uses Fahrenheit (°F). For temperatures below 0°C, say minus: It’s minus five, or It’s five degrees below zero.
How do you talk about the weather in English?
Talking about the weather is a very common way to start a friendly conversation. Use these questions and answers.
| Question | Answer pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| What’s the weather like? | It’s + adjective. | It’s sunny and warm. |
| What’s the weather like? | It’s + verb-ing. | It’s raining heavily. |
| What’s the temperature? | It’s about + number + degrees. | It’s about 28 degrees. |
| What’s the forecast for tomorrow? | It’s going to + verb. / It will + verb. | It’s going to rain in the afternoon. |
| Lovely day, isn’t it? | Yes, it’s beautiful! / Yes, isn’t it? | Yes, it’s beautiful. Let’s go to the beach. |
Examples
- Nisha: What’s the weather like in Kandy today?
- Ruwan: It’s cloudy and a bit cool. It rained this morning.
- Nisha: It’s boiling here in Colombo! Is it going to rain again?
- Ruwan: The forecast says it will clear up this afternoon.
To talk about tomorrow’s weather, use will or going to, as in our lesson on the simple future tense.
Tip
Each morning, look out of the window and say three sentences about the weather in English, for example It’s cloudy. It’s quite cool. I think it’s going to rain later. You can also practise with the British Council weather vocabulary exercises.
What are the words for monsoon and tropical weather?
In tropical countries such as Sri Lanka, the weather changes with the monsoons. In Sri Lanka, the south-west monsoon brings rain to the west and south of the island from about May to September, and the north-east monsoon brings rain to the north and east from about December to February. These words help you describe that weather.
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| monsoon | A seasonal wind in South Asia that brings a long period of heavy rain; also the rainy season itself. | The monsoon brings heavy rain to the south-west of Sri Lanka. |
| rainy season | The months of the year when it rains a lot. | Many farmers plant rice at the start of the rainy season. |
| dry season | The months of the year when there is little rain. | The rivers get very low in the dry season. |
| downpour | A very heavy fall of rain. | We got caught in a downpour on the way home. |
| thunderstorm | A storm with thunder and lightning. | Afternoon thunderstorms are common between the two monsoons. |
| humidity | The amount of water in the air. | The humidity makes the heat feel even worse. |
| sticky | Hot and humid in an unpleasant way. This word is informal. | It’s so sticky today that my shirt is wet. |
| heatwave | A period of unusually hot weather. | During the heatwave, schools told children to drink more water. |
| drought | A long period with little or no rain. | The drought destroyed many crops. |
| flood | A large amount of water that covers land that is usually dry. | The floods closed several roads in the city. |
| flash flood | A sudden flood after very heavy rain. | A flash flood can happen within minutes of a downpour. |
| waterlogged | So wet that water stays on the surface. | The football pitch is waterlogged after the rain. |
| landslide | When earth and rocks suddenly slide down a hill or mountain. | Heavy rain caused a landslide in the hill country. |
| cyclone | A violent tropical storm with very strong winds that turn in a circle. | The cyclone brought strong winds to the east coast. |
Note
A cyclone, a hurricane and a typhoon are the same type of storm. It is called a cyclone in the Indian Ocean, a hurricane in the Atlantic and a typhoon in the north-west Pacific.
You can hear how monsoon is pronounced in the Cambridge Dictionary entry for monsoon. To talk about the months and seasons of the year, see our lesson on days, months and seasons. English also has many weather idioms, such as under the weather and a storm in a teacup, in our list of common English idioms. Every word in this lesson is in our English Word Bank.
Summary
- Add -y to many weather nouns to make adjectives: sunny, rainy, cloudy, windy.
- Use it as the subject: It’s raining. It’s cold.
- Weather is uncountable, so say What lovely weather!, not a lovely weather.
- Ask What’s the weather like? and answer with It’s + adjective or It’s + -ing verb.
- Words such as monsoon, humidity, downpour and landslide describe tropical weather.
Frequently asked questions
How do you ask about the weather in English?
Ask What’s the weather like? and answer with It’s + adjective (It’s sunny) or It’s + -ing verb (It’s raining). To ask about the future, say What’s the forecast for tomorrow?
What is the difference between weather and climate?
Weather is what happens outside on a particular day, such as rain or sunshine. Climate is the usual weather in a place over many years: Sri Lanka has a tropical climate.
Is weather countable or uncountable?
Weather is uncountable. Say We had bad weather or What lovely weather!, not a bad weather.
What is a monsoon?
A monsoon is a seasonal wind that brings a long period of heavy rain to South Asia and other tropical areas. People also use the word for the rainy season itself: The monsoon starts in May.
What is the difference between rainy and raining?
Rainy is an adjective that describes a day, a season or a place: a rainy day. Raining is a verb form that describes what is happening now: It’s raining.
Practise this lesson
12 questions
