Talk About the Weather in English: Advanced English Lesson

By now, I am sure you are well-versed in the art  of “talking about the weather” – a well-loved  

pastime of the average Brit, but what about  understanding weather forecasts in English?

Hello everyone Anna here from  Englishlikeanative.co.uk,  

bringing you useful and unique English lessons.

If you’d like to download the notes for  this lesson, simply click on the link below,  

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And now it’s time for the weather.

Good morning, everyone!

It's Anna Tyrie here, ready to give you  the latest weather forecast for the UK.

Today, we're looking at a chilly wintery day,  

with temperatures ranging from  0°C to 6°C (degrees Celsius).

There will be a biting wind coming  from the north, with gusts of up to  

30 mph (miles per hour), so make sure to  wrap up warm if you're heading outside.

You can expect a fair amount of  cloud cover throughout the day,  

with the occasional snow flurry in the afternoon.

The humidity will be low, around 40%, so  it might feel a little dryer than usual.

But fear not, we can expect a bit of  sunshine peeking through those clouds  

towards the end of the day to cheer us all  up as we head towards a chilly evening.

Stay warm, and be sure to tune in  tomorrow for the latest weather forecast.

Back to the studio.

Thank you, Anna, now let’s explore some of  the vocabulary that weather forecasters use.

Temperature. Tem-pera-ture.

This is the degree of hotness  or coldness in the air.

Most countries measure the  temperature in degrees Celsius,  

where 0 is the freezing point of  water and 100 is the boiling point.

We used to say Centigrade in Britain – Celsius  

and Centigrade are the same but  Celsius is preferred these days.

Also, in Britain and America,  the Fahrenheit scale is used.

So, 0 Celsius is 32 degrees Fahrenheit.

So, when we have really hot weather it  sounds even hotter, when we use Fahrenheit.

Because 38 Celsius is over 100 Fahrenheit!

Do you use Celsius or Fahrenheit in your country?

Let me know!

Humidity. Humidity.

This refers to the amount of moisture in the air.

Humidity is usually expressed as a percentage  of the maximum amount of moisture that the air  

can hold at a given temperature and pressure,  which is known as the "relative humidity".

If there is a lot of water vapour  in the air the humidity is high.

So, if you sweat in high humidity,  

it can be difficult to cool down  as the sweat doesn’t evaporate.

We say that we feel sticky  or clammy at this point.

Wind speed - this is the  rate at which wind is moving.

There are different describe the  wind according to the wind speed.

These range from calm, which is  when there is basically no wind;

a light, moderate or strong breeze, with a  windspeed of between 4-27km/h (kilometres  

per hour); then we have a near gale when we  really start to notice difficulty walking.

That was me trying to be blown by the wind.  And then there’s a gale or strong gale when we  

will have difficulty walking and structural  damage might start to occur on buildings.

Above this at speeds of 48km/h  (kilometres per hour) and more  

we have storms and at 64km/h hurricanes.

This brings us on to…

Direction.

In weather forecasts direction is referring to  the direction from which the wind is blowing.

When wind direction is reported it helps us to  

visualise the direction of the  wind relative to our location.

So, if we say a north wind, we can imagine that  the wind is blowing towards us from the north.

This is an intuitive way of describing  wind direction that is easy to understand,  

especially for people who are not familiar with  technical terminology or complex wind patterns.

There are 8 of these directions:  North, Northeast, East, Southeast,  

South, Southwest, West, and Northwest.

Precipitation. Precipitation is any form of water  that falls from the sky and reaches the ground.

This includes rain and snow, but also: sleet,  

which begins as snowflakes and partially  melts as it falls before refreezing;

hail, which consists of balls or irregular  lumps of ice that are produced in strong storms;

and even graupel /ˈɡraʊ.pəl/, snowflakes  covered in frozen water droplets.

Precipitation occurs when water  vapor in the air condenses into  

water droplets or ice crystals, which then  become heavy enough to fall to the ground.

Now let's warm things up a bit as  and take another look at the weather.

Good morning, everyone!

It's Anna Tyrie here, ready to give you  the latest weather forecast for the UK.

Today, it’s going a beautiful summer day,  

with temperatures ranging from  20°C to 25°C (degrees Celsius).

There will be a light breeze  coming from the south,  

so a light jacket may be needed  if you're heading to the coast.

You can expect mostly clear skies throughout the  day, with a few passing clouds in the afternoon.

The humidity will be moderate, around 60% (per  cent), making it feel a bit muggy at times.

But don't worry, we can expect plenty of sunshine  throughout the day to brighten things up.

Be warned, there is a cold weather  front on the horizon for next week,  

so enjoy the warm weather while  it lasts. Back to the studio.

Thank you, Anna. Let's get back to our vocabulary.

Sunshine.

Basically, the amount of time  the sun is visible in the sky.

In descending order of how sunny  a day can be: clear, sunny,  

mostly sunny, partly sunny, cloudy, and overcast.

Weather forecasters tell us how many  daylight hours we can expect. If you’re  

a sun-seeker in the UK then you could head  somewhere like Eastbourne on the south  

coast where they enjoy on average  around 6 hours of sunshine a day.

You won’t be surprised that the least  sunny places in the UK are in the north: 

Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides gets only  around half of that amount of sunshine.

Cloud cover.

This is the amount of the sky  that is covered by clouds.

There are many different types of clouds. In  the UK we’re quite used to seeing the cumulus,  

those fluffy clouds which resemble cotton wool  and which in general release only occasional rain,  

and the stratocumulus, the epitome of the  

cloud cover that produces so many  grey days by blocking out the sun.

Cirrus is a lovely cloud, like the  brushstrokes of a watercolour artist.

It produces rain, but the main reason  for our green and pleasant lands are  

the nimbostratus and cumulonimbus clouds,  which give us persistent and heavy rain.

Visibility - this is the distance that  can be seen ahead in the atmosphere.

Meteorological factors along with rain and  snow which can reduce visibility are: fog,  

a type of cloud that forms close to  the surface of the land; and mist,  

which is finer than fog as the  water droplets are more scattered.

Smoke, darkness, and finally haze, which is  dust or other dry particles hanging suspended  

in the air, can reduce visibility, making  driving, sailing, and flying hazardous.

Weather forecasts often tell us if we  should expect high or low visibility.

Oh, and we must interrupt our usual  programming and head straight to the weather.

Attention all residents of Britain, we  have a severe weather forecast to report.

An intense storm system is expected to move  into the region over the next 24 to 48 hours,  

bringing with it the potential  for severe weather conditions.

Starting tonight, we're expecting a band  of heavy rain to move in from the west,  

with some areas experiencing rainfall totals of up  to 100mm (millimetres) or more. This heavy rain,  

combined with strong winds of  up to 60mph (miles per hour),  

could lead to localized flooding,  downed trees, and power outages.

Travel disruptions are likely, so if  you must travel, exercise caution,  

and stay informed of road closures  and other weather-related issues.

Moving into tomorrow, the storm  system is expected to intensify,  

with a risk of thunderstorms and  hail across much of the country.

In addition, there is a risk of coastal flooding,  particularly in areas where high tides coincide  

with the strongest winds. Winds could gust  up to 80mph (miles per hour) in some areas,  

causing significant damage to trees and buildings.

As we head into the latter part of the week,  

the storm system is expected to  slowly move away from the region,  

but we could still see some residual impacts,  such as gusty winds and scattered showers.

We advise all residents to stay informed  about the latest weather warnings,  

and please take any necessary precautions  to protect yourself and your family,  

and your property from severe weather conditions.

If you encounter flooded roadways, do not attempt  to drive through them, as the water may be deeper  

than it appears and could sweep your vehicle  away. Stay safe, and stay tuned for updates.

Thank you Anna, and thank you to our  viewers for supporting today’s lesson.

Let me know in the comments if you have  ever experienced any severe weather.

Until next time, take care and goodbye.