A2 — The weather: words & descriptions
Level A2
Weather & climate
Adjectives + nouns
Goal
Talk about different kinds of weather, describe temperature and storms, and use common weather words in simple sentences.
Basic weather adjectives
We often add -y to a noun to make a weather adjective.
- sunny – the sun is shining, the sky is mostly clear.
It’s sunny today. Let’s go to the park. - cloudy – many clouds, little or no sun.
It’s cloudy and grey this morning. - rainy – it rains a lot during the day.
It’s a rainy day, so we’re staying at home. - snowy – snow is falling or there is snow everywhere.
The streets are white because it’s snowy. - windy – there is a lot of wind; things can blow away.
It’s very windy, hold on to your hat!
Temperature words
- degrees – unit to talk about temperature
(°C in the UK, °F in the US).
It’s 25 degrees today. - hot – very warm; often uncomfortable.
It’s too hot to walk outside. - warm – a little hot, but pleasant.
The evenings are warm in July. - cold – low temperature; you need a coat.
It’s cold. Put on your scarf. - freezing – extremely cold, often below 0°.
I’m freezing! Let’s go inside.
Humidity, wet & dry
- humid – hot and with a lot of water in the air;
you feel sticky and uncomfortable.
It’s very humid today, I’m sweating a lot. - wet – there is water on the ground or on things
because it is raining or has just rained.
The streets are wet after the shower. - dry – no rain, very little water in the air or on the ground.
It has been dry for weeks; the grass is brown.
Storms & other weather words
- lightning – bright flashes in the sky during a storm.
- thunder – the loud sound we hear after lightning.
- thunderstorm – a strong storm with heavy rain,
lightning and thunder.
There was a big thunderstorm last night. - snowstorm – a storm with a lot of snow.
Drivers stayed at home because of the snowstorm. - shower – short period of light or medium rain.
We had a quick shower in the afternoon. - drizzle – very light rain that falls continuously.
It’s only drizzling, I don’t need an umbrella. - hail – small pieces of ice that fall from the sky like rain.
It started to hail and the cars turned white.
Useful patterns
- It’s + adjective – It’s windy today.
- It’s + number + degrees – It’s 10 degrees and cloudy.
- There is / There are – There is a thunderstorm., There are showers this morning.
Try to describe today’s weather in 3–4 short sentences using these patterns.
Exercises:
The Weather
Choose the correct option to complete each sentence below.
1
The sky is blue and bright, and the sun is shining. It is a very
day.
Correct: sunny — a bright day with a lot of sun.
2
The sky is grey with many clouds and we can’t see the sun. It is
today.
Correct: cloudy — the sky is covered with clouds.
3
You need an umbrella. Water is falling from the sky all day; it is a
day.
Correct: rainy — a day with a lot of rain.
4
White snow is falling from the sky and the ground is white. It is
today.
Correct: snowy — weather with falling snow.
5
The trees are moving and your hat can fly away. It is very
today.
Correct: windy — there is strong wind.
6
The weather app says it is 25
today.
Correct: degrees — the number for temperature (for example, 25°C).
7
It is 35 degrees and you feel very uncomfortable. It is really
today.
Correct: hot — very warm.
8
It is 22 degrees and you don’t need a jacket. It feels nice and
outside.
Correct: warm — comfortably hot.
9
It is 3 degrees and you need a coat and gloves. It is quite
today.
Correct: cold — low temperature but not below zero.
10
It is –10 degrees and there is ice everywhere; it is
outside.
Correct: freezing — extremely cold.
11
It is very hot and the air is full of water. It is not raining, but the air feels
.
Correct: humid — hot and with a lot of water in the air.
12
It rained a lot and now the streets and your shoes are
.
Correct: wet — covered with water.
13
It hasn’t rained for many weeks; the ground is brown and
.
Correct: dry — with no water or rain.
14
At night we see a bright white line in the sky during a storm; that is
.
Correct: lightning — a flash of light in the sky.
15
During the storm we hear a very loud noise from the sky; that is
.
Correct: thunder — the loud sound in a storm.
16
There is very heavy rain with thunder and lightning. It is a big
.
Correct: thunderstorm — a strong storm with thunder and lightning.
17
The wind is strong and a lot of snow is falling; it is hard to see anything in this
.
Correct: snowstorm — a strong storm with snow.
18
It starts to rain hard for ten minutes and then stops; we had a short
this afternoon.
Correct: shower — short, heavy rain that stops quickly.
19
There is very light rain with very small drops. It’s not a real shower, just a
.
Correct: drizzle — very light rain.
20
Small balls of ice fall from the sky and hit the cars; this is called
.
Correct: hail — small balls of ice from the sky.
The Weather
Match the sentences with the words
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