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Hello, I'm Michael.
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Welcome to Oxford Online English.
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In this lesson, you'll learn how to talk about the weather in English.
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Do you know what it means if someone says It's chucking it down today?
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If someone says it's baking today, do you know what they are talking about?
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In this class, you'll learn words, phrases, and idioms that you can use to describe different kinds of weather.
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British people are famous for talking about the weather.
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Do you know why?
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It's because in the UK we have a lot of weather.
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You never know what the weather will be like.
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You can have all four seasons in one day.
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We are going to look at a typical British day, so the weather is going to be very changeable.
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This means that weather can change quickly and unpredictably.
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It can be sunny, and then 30 minutes later, it will start snowing.
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So, first we wake up, and it is a bit cold.
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How would we describe this?
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I could say that it's a bit chilly.
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This means that it's a little cold.
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Not very cold, just a little cold.
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Autumn mornings are often chilly.
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In chilly weather, you might want a light jacket, but you won't need a heavy coat, or a scarf, or anything like that.
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But what if it's very cold?
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You could say that it's freezing.
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You might say that you can see your breath.
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Freezing means that it is very cold.
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Not just chilly, but very cold.
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Antarctica is freezing.
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Northern Canada in winter is freezing.
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To see your breath means that you can literally see the air when you breathe on it.
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Usually, if you can see your breath, it is freezing.
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If the weather is so freezing that you can see your breath, you probably will need to bundle up.
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Bundle up means to wear layers of clothes to keep yourself warm.
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When the weather is freezing, you need to bundle up.
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On freezing mornings, it can be very, very difficult to get out of bed.
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But let's imagine that we get up because we have to go to work.
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So we leave the house and it's "drizzling" at the moment.
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Drizzling means that it is raining lightly.
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It's not heavy.
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Drizzle is so light that it can look like mist.
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We can also say that it is only spitting.
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Spitting is even lighter than drizzling.
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It means that a few raindrops are falling, but it isn't really raining.
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Before it rains, it might start spitting and then get heavier.
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Then, suddenly, the heavens open.
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This means that it starts raining heavily.
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How else could I describe it if it is raining a lot?
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I could say that it is chucking it down.
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This means that it is raining a lot.
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It is really heavy.
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It is the type of rain that people find it difficult to drive in or walk in.
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As I am walking to work, my clothes are getting soaked.
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This means that my clothes are very wet because of the rain.
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Luckily, I brought my umbrella today.
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So we get to work, only a little damp from the rain, thanks to the umbrella.
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Damp means that something is slightly wet.
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My clothes are a little wet because of the rain.
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And from my window, I can see that it's very overcast and dark overhead.
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To say that it is overcast means that the clouds are covering the sky.
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You cannot see the sun.
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When it is dark overhead, you are saying that the clouds are very black.
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Most likely this is because it is raining or going to rain soon.
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So, it is dark overhead, and overcast.
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You think there's going to be a storm.
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You could say that there is a storm brewing. This means that you think a storm will start very soon.
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You're sure there's going to be a storm; you can see it in the sky.
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And then you see lightning.
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Lightning is a large electric flash of light, and after the lightning, you hear thunder.
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Thunder is the noise that you hear caused by lightning.
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Usually you will hear thunder after you see lightning.
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We call these storms thunderstorms.
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Thunderstorms are storms that have lightning, thunder, and it is also chucking it down as well.
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When the storm starts, the wind picks up.
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Soon, it's almost a gale.
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The wind picks up when the wind becomes stronger.
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A gale is a very strong wind, which can be dangerous.
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Lucky for you, when it is time to go home, the storm has finished.
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It is now sunny and hot.
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You won't need your umbrella anymore.
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You walk outside and there isn't a cloud in the sky, and it is baking hot.
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This means that it is very hot.
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It is baking hot in the Sahara Desert.
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It's completely still. That means there's no wind at all.
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We can also say that it is a scorcher today.
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This also means that it is extremely hot.
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In Australia, most days in the summer could be described as scorchers.
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Another way to say this is to say that it is boiling.
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So, if the temperature is very hot, we can say that it is baking hot, a scorcher, or boiling.
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The walk home from work is a lot better than your walk to work this morning in the rain.
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So, you get home and watch the weather forecast.
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The weather forecast is the prediction for the next day or week of what the weather will be like.
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The weather forecast tells you that tomorrow, it will begin with a bit of frost on the ground, and it will be sleeting.
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In the afternoon, there will be flurry of snow, and then it will turn into a blizzard by the evening.
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The snow on the floor will turn into slush.
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It will be below freezing for most of the day.
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What does this mean?
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It will begin with a bit of frost on the ground.
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Frost are ice crystals on a frozen surface.
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When it is freezing, the ground may be covered in frost.
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Usually in winter in the UK, we have very frosty mornings.
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And it will be sleeting.
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Sleet is rain and snow mixed together.
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Sleet happens when snow melts as it falls.
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In the afternoon, there will be a flurry of snow.
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A flurry of snow means that there will be light snow for a short time.
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It won't be heavy, and it usually doesn't stay on the ground.
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But it will turn into a blizzard by the evening.
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A blizzard is a storm with lots of snow and wind.
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Usually planes can't take off or land when there is a heavy blizzard.
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The snow on the floor will turn into slush.
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Slush is snow or ice that has partly melted.
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Usually snow will turn into slush when the weather gets warmer.
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Walking in slush is very unpleasant because cold water will get into your shoes!
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It will be below freezing for most of the day.
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When we say it is below freezing, we are saying that the temperature is below 0°C.
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This means that it's freezing.
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So, I'll probably want to bundle up tomorrow!
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So what have we learnt today?
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We have learned that Britain's weather is very changeable, and hopefully we have learned how to describe the weather in more detail using phrases and expressions.
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Thanks very much for watching!
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I hope that you have found it useful.
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You can see more of our free lessons on our website: Oxford Online English dot com.
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See you next time.