Learn the English Phrases COLD SNAP and HEAT WAVE - A Short English Lesson with Subtitles

So you can see I'm out here wearing my winter hat.

And you can see that there is snow

falling on the ground and landing on my hat

because we are having a cold snap.

In English, when you say that we are having a cold snap

or when you say there is a cold snap,

it means that the weather has suddenly turned really cold,

and unexpectedly cold.

I was out for a walk this morning,

and there were really, really tiny snowflakes.

But right now we're having a cold snap.

It is two degrees, maybe one degree right now.

The temperature is dropping.

Tonight it's going to be minus three

or minus four degrees.

That is not a normal temperature for this time of year,

and it is not normal for there to be snow

on a Friday in May, I think it's May 8th today.

So we're definitely having a cold snap,

and it's kind of beautiful.

The opposite of a cold snap of course is a heat wave.

We are not having a heat wave right now.

We are definitely having a cold snap.

I'm continually holding the camera up

so that you can see the big flakes.

We are definitely not having a heat wave.

But a heat wave is when you have abnormally hot weather

for several days in a row.

So notice the difference though.

A cold snap happens rather quickly.

It doesn't last for a long time.

So a cold snap happens usually in the evening.

Tonight it'll be super cold,

and then a heat wave can last

for one, two, or three or more days.

So that's when it's really, really hot.

So once again, snowing up here in Canada on Friday, May 8th.

And it's kind of fun.

You can tell I'm a little bit excited about it.

We're having a cold snap,

and hopefully sometime this summer we have a heat wave.

Actually, maybe not.

I don't actually like hot weather that much.

Have a good day, see you Monday.