Useful English: Weather and Temperature

Weather and Temperature

WEATHER

Describing the weather

good, great, nice, beautiful, lovely, excellent, fine, fair, clear, pleasant, terrific;

bad, awful, terrible, nasty, lousy, foul, rotten, miserable, unpleasant, dull;

sunny, warm, hot, mild, cool, cold, freezing, icy, frosty;

cloudy, overcast, foggy, smoggy;

rainy, wet, humid, dry, arid;

windy, calm, windless;

Examples

The weather is nice today. The weather is awful today.

It's warm today. It's hot today. It's cold today. It is cold and windy.

It's humid. It's cloudy. It's raining. It's snowing.

Weather phenomena and related words

Sunshine

warm sun, hot sun, blazing sun, Indian summer, sunlight, sunrays, sunbeams;

Fog

fog, mist, haze, smog, dew;

thick fog, dense fog, heavy fog, patchy fog, a blanket of fog;

Rain

rain, rainfall, heavy rain, pouring rain, cold rain, steady rain, constant rain, warm rain, light rain, gentle rain;

shower, downpour, deluge, rainstorm, rainbow, drizzle, hail, sleet;

a drop of rain, a droplet, a raindrop;

Snow

snow, snowfall, falling snow, heavy snow, deep snow, fresh snow, light snow, wet snow, melting snow;

snowstorm, blizzard, frost;

snowflake, snowdrift / snowbank, ice, icicle;

Wind

wind, breeze, strong wind, high wind, light wind, cold wind, warm wind, a gust of wind;

windstorm, tropical storm, hurricane, whirlwind, tornado, typhoon, dust storm, sandstorm;

Thunder and lightning

thunderstorm, thunder, a clap of thunder, a thunderclap, a bolt of thunder, a thunderbolt;

lightning, a bolt of lightning, a flash of lightning;

Seasons

winter, spring, summer, autumn / the fall;

Disasters

earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, avalanche, hurricane;

flood, deluge, tidal wave, tsunami, drought, fire.

Weather reports

weather report, weather forecast, weather man, thermometer, barometer;

climate, temperature, air pressure, humidity, precipitation, three inches of snow.

Sample weather reports

Mainly cloudy with a little drizzle. Slight chance of a rain shower. Northeastern wind at 5 to 10 mph. Temperature below normal in the north and central regions. Near normal for southern regions. Maximum temperature 10°C.

Cold and dry in the morning, warmer later. Windy and increasingly cloudy with sunny periods. Rain expected at night, with 40 percent chance of showers. Maximum 58 degrees F (14°C) in the afternoon. Strong wind expected Monday, with temperature in low 50s.

Sunny in the morning with cloudy intervals later in the day. Chance of rain 50%. Isolated thunderstorms possible. Highs in the mid 80s and lows in the upper 60s.

Heat wave expected. Temperature 97–98 degrees F (36–37 degrees C) to 101–103 degrees F (38–39 degrees C) for the next three days. High atmospheric pressure.

Other related words

Nature, environment, ecology, air pollution, water pollution, acid rain, the cutting down of forests;

industrial waste, chemical waste, toxic waste, nuclear waste;

the ozone hole, the greenhouse effect, global warming.

TEMPERATURE

Fahrenheit and Celsius

Fahrenheit is used in the U.S.; Celsius is used in all other English-speaking countries.

Freezing point of water: 32 degrees Fahrenheit, or 0 degrees Celsius.

Boiling point of water: 212 degrees Fahrenheit, or 100 degrees Celsius.

Room temperature: 65–68 degrees Fahrenheit, or 18–20 degrees Celsius.

Nice warm weather: 72–81 degrees Fahrenheit, or 22–27 degrees Celsius.

Cold frosty weather: 0 degrees Fahrenheit, or –18 degrees Celsius.

Normal body temperature (in the mouth): 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, or 37 degrees Celsius.

Normal body temperature (in the armpit): 97.9 degrees Fahrenheit, or 36.6 degrees Celsius.

Illness: 100–104 degrees Fahrenheit, or 38–40 degrees Celsius.

Oven: 300°F is 149°C; 350°F is 177°C; 400°F is 204°C; 500°F is 260°C.

Some more equivalents

Note: A few figures below have been rounded off to the nearest whole number.

–40 degrees Fahrenheit is –40 degrees Celsius;

–22 degrees Fahrenheit is –30 degrees Celsius;

–15 degrees Fahrenheit is –26 degrees Celsius;

–10 degrees Fahrenheit is –23 degrees Celsius;

–4 degrees Fahrenheit is –20 degrees Celsius;

0 degrees Fahrenheit is –18 degrees Celsius;

5 degrees Fahrenheit is –15 degrees Celsius;

10 degrees Fahrenheit is –12 degrees Celsius;

20 degrees Fahrenheit is –7 degrees Celsius;

25 degrees Fahrenheit is –4 degrees Celsius;

32 degrees Fahrenheit is 0 degrees Celsius;

35 degrees Fahrenheit is 2 degrees Celsius;

41 degrees Fahrenheit is 5 degrees Celsius;

50 degrees Fahrenheit is 10 degrees Celsius;

61 degrees Fahrenheit is 16 degrees Celsius;

65 degrees Fahrenheit is 18 degrees Celsius;

70 degrees Fahrenheit is 21 degrees Celsius;

75 degrees Fahrenheit is 24 degrees Celsius;

81 degrees Fahrenheit is 27 degrees Celsius;

86 degrees Fahrenheit is 30 degrees Celsius;

90 degrees Fahrenheit is 32 degrees Celsius;

95 degrees Fahrenheit is 35 degrees Celsius;

97.9 degrees Fahrenheit is 36.6 degrees Celsius;

98.6 degrees Fahrenheit is 37 degrees Celsius;

100 degrees Fahrenheit is 37.8 degrees Celsius;

101 degrees Fahrenheit is 38.3 degrees Celsius;

102 degrees Fahrenheit is 38.9 degrees Celsius;

103 degrees Fahrenheit is 39.4 degrees Celsius;

104 degrees Fahrenheit is 40 degrees Celsius;

110 degrees Fahrenheit is 43 degrees Celsius;

122 degrees Fahrenheit is 50 degrees Celsius;

140 degrees Fahrenheit is 60 degrees Celsius;

158 degrees Fahrenheit is 70 degrees Celsius;

176 degrees Fahrenheit is 80 degrees Celsius;

194 degrees Fahrenheit is 90 degrees Celsius;

212 degrees Fahrenheit is 100 degrees Celsius.

Examples

Water boils at 212°F. (at two hundred twelve degrees Fahrenheit)

Water freezes at 0°C. (at zero degrees Celsius)

The temperature outside is 18 degrees below zero. (eighteen)

The temperature outside is minus 18 degrees.

It's cold outside. It is about three degrees above zero.

It's very hot outside. It's about thirty-five degrees.

It's very hot outside. It's about ninety-five degrees.

My temperature is normal. My temperature is 36.6 degrees. (thirty-six point six)

My temperature is normal. It's 98.6 degrees. (ninety-eight point six)

Conversion formulas for the curious

C = (F – 32) x 5 : 9

F = C x 9 : 5 + 32

(Phrases for conversation on the topic Weather are listed in Weather in the section Phrases.)