Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • Hello, I'm Michael.

  • Welcome to Oxford Online English.

  • In this lesson, you'll learn how to talk about the weather in English.

  • Do you know what it means if someone says It's chucking it down today?

  • If someone says it's baking today, do you know what they are talking about?

  • In this class, you'll learn words, phrases, and idioms that you can use to describe different kinds of weather.

  • British people are famous for talking about the weather.

  • Do you know why?

  • It's because in the UK we have a lot of weather.

  • You never know what the weather will be like.

  • You can have all four seasons in one day.

  • We are going to look at a typical British day, so the weather is going to be very changeable.

  • This means that weather can change quickly and unpredictably.

  • It can be sunny, and then 30 minutes later, it will start snowing.

  • So, first we wake up, and it is a bit cold.

  • How would we describe this?

  • I could say that it's a bit chilly.

  • This means that it's a little cold.

  • Not very cold, just a little cold.

  • Autumn mornings are often chilly.

  • In chilly weather, you might want a light jacket, but you won't need a heavy coat, or a scarf, or anything like that.

  • But what if it's very cold?

  • You could say that it's freezing.

  • You might say that you can see your breath.

  • Freezing means that it is very cold.

  • Not just chilly, but very cold.

  • Antarctica is freezing.

  • Northern Canada in winter is freezing.

  • To see your breath means that you can literally see the air when you breathe on it.

  • Usually, if you can see your breath, it is freezing.

  • If the weather is so freezing that you can see your breath, you probably will need to bundle up.

  • Bundle up means to wear layers of clothes to keep yourself warm.

  • When the weather is freezing, you need to bundle up.

  • On freezing mornings, it can be very, very difficult to get out of bed.

  • But let's imagine that we get up because we have to go to work.

  • So we leave the house and it's "drizzling" at the moment.

  • Drizzling means that it is raining lightly.

  • It's not heavy.

  • Drizzle is so light that it can look like mist.

  • We can also say that it is only spitting.

  • Spitting is even lighter than drizzling.

  • It means that a few raindrops are falling, but it isn't really raining.

  • Before it rains, it might start spitting and then get heavier.

  • Then, suddenly, the heavens open.

  • This means that it starts raining heavily.

  • How else could I describe it if it is raining a lot?

  • I could say that it is chucking it down.

  • This means that it is raining a lot.

  • It is really heavy.

  • It is the type of rain that people find it difficult to drive in or walk in.

  • As I am walking to work, my clothes are getting soaked.

  • This means that my clothes are very wet because of the rain.

  • Luckily, I brought my umbrella today.

  • So we get to work, only a little damp from the rain, thanks to the umbrella.

  • Damp means that something is slightly wet.

  • My clothes are a little wet because of the rain.

  • And from my window, I can see that it's very overcast and dark overhead.

  • To say that it is overcast means that the clouds are covering the sky.

  • You cannot see the sun.

  • When it is dark overhead, you are saying that the clouds are very black.

  • Most likely this is because it is raining or going to rain soon.

  • So, it is dark overhead, and overcast.

  • You think there's going to be a storm.

  • You could say that there is a storm brewing. This means that you think a storm will start very soon.

  • You're sure there's going to be a storm; you can see it in the sky.

  • And then you see lightning.

  • Lightning is a large electric flash of light, and after the lightning, you hear thunder.

  • Thunder is the noise that you hear caused by lightning.

  • Usually you will hear thunder after you see lightning.

  • We call these storms thunderstorms.

  • Thunderstorms are storms that have lightning, thunder, and it is also chucking it down as well.

  • When the storm starts, the wind picks up.

  • Soon, it's almost a gale.

  • The wind picks up when the wind becomes stronger.

  • A gale is a very strong wind, which can be dangerous.

  • Lucky for you, when it is time to go home, the storm has finished.

  • It is now sunny and hot.

  • You won't need your umbrella anymore.

  • You walk outside and there isn't a cloud in the sky, and it is baking hot.

  • This means that it is very hot.

  • It is baking hot in the Sahara Desert.

  • It's completely still. That means there's no wind at all.

  • We can also say that it is a scorcher today.

  • This also means that it is extremely hot.

  • In Australia, most days in the summer could be described as scorchers.

  • Another way to say this is to say that it is boiling.

  • So, if the temperature is very hot, we can say that it is baking hot, a scorcher, or boiling.

  • The walk home from work is a lot better than your walk to work this morning in the rain.

  • So, you get home and watch the weather forecast.

  • The weather forecast is the prediction for the next day or week of what the weather will be like.

  • The weather forecast tells you that tomorrow, it will begin with a bit of frost on the ground, and it will be sleeting.

  • In the afternoon, there will be flurry of snow, and then it will turn into a blizzard by the evening.

  • The snow on the floor will turn into slush.

  • It will be below freezing for most of the day.

  • What does this mean?

  • It will begin with a bit of frost on the ground.

  • Frost are ice crystals on a frozen surface.

  • When it is freezing, the ground may be covered in frost.

  • Usually in winter in the UK, we have very frosty mornings.

  • And it will be sleeting.

  • Sleet is rain and snow mixed together.

  • Sleet happens when snow melts as it falls.

  • In the afternoon, there will be a flurry of snow.

  • A flurry of snow means that there will be light snow for a short time.

  • It won't be heavy, and it usually doesn't stay on the ground.

  • But it will turn into a blizzard by the evening.

  • A blizzard is a storm with lots of snow and wind.

  • Usually planes can't take off or land when there is a heavy blizzard.

  • The snow on the floor will turn into slush.

  • Slush is snow or ice that has partly melted.

  • Usually snow will turn into slush when the weather gets warmer.

  • Walking in slush is very unpleasant because cold water will get into your shoes!

  • It will be below freezing for most of the day.

  • When we say it is below freezing, we are saying that the temperature is below 0°C.

  • This means that it's freezing.

  • So, I'll probably want to bundle up tomorrow!

  • So what have we learnt today?

  • 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.

  • Thanks very much for watching!

  • I hope that you have found it useful.

  • You can see more of our free lessons on our website: Oxford Online English dot com.

  • See you next time.

Hello, I'm Michael.

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it