Learn 10 new Winter words and phrases. Not just a list of words to memorize (that doesn’t work) but new vocabulary that’s part of a story. Learn the definitions and see the words used in a real conversation.
Cold weather vocabulary
- Appreciate
- Call for
- Commute
- Forecast
- Hemisphere
- Relate to
- Rush Hour
- Sleet
- Slippery
- Visibility
You will also find an audio file at the bottom of this post to improve your English listening skills. Keep reading.
We had some unusual weather in Tokyo today. (Jan. 2018) I want to use this chance to teach some English winter weather words and a phrasal verb that we often use when we talk about the weather.
All definitions and audio links are from www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com
Weather Forecast
What’s a weather forecast?
Click for audio ↓
A weather forecast is a description, for example on the radio or television, of what the weather will be like tomorrow or for the next few days
Remember, a forecast is a statement about the future. Weather forecasts are future weather predictions and they aren’t always correct!
We have some heavy rain coming from the East tomorrow.
The news will be followed by a 5-day weather forecast.
A 5-Day forecast is giving a prediction of the weather for the next 5 days. Things like air pressure, wind speed, and wind direction are used to predict how the weather will be in the near future.
- Today in Tokyo we had sleet in the early afternoon that turned into snow at around 4:00.
↓Click for audio
sleet – noun – a mix of rain and snow
Sleet is a mix of rain and snow. Where I’m from in Canada we usually travel by car. Driving during or after some sleet has fallen can be dangerous.
Sleet makes the roads and sidewalks slippery.
↓ Click for audio
slippery – adjective – difficult to hold or to stand or move on, because it is smooth, wet, or polished
Be careful, I just mopped the floor. It’s slippery.
Sleet is a mix of rain and snow, but it can’t be used as a verb like rain and snow.
The weather forecast said that it’s going to snow tomorrow. (Verb) OK ✔
It will rain for the next 4 days. (Verb) OK ✔
It may sleet tomorrow. No Good X
Sleet is always a noun.
The weather forecast is calling for sleet tomorrow.
The weather forecast is calling for rain tomorrow.
The weather forecast is calling for snow tomorrow.
(These weather words are all in their noun form)
Do you know the phrasal verb call for?
Call for is often used when we talk about the weather, specifically weather forecasts. It means weather experts have a reason to believe that certain weather will happen.
(Just like a forecast.)
The weather report on Channel 6 News is calling for rain all week.
How’s your weather?
Readers of my blog come from all over the world. Most live in the northern hemisphere but I know I have readers in Brazil and all over South America. Some readers also live in the northern hemisphere but are closer to the equator so it’s warm year-long. (Year-long = all year)
Do you know what a hemisphere is?
↓ Click for audio
hemisphere – one half of the earth, especially the half above or below the equator
The equator is an imaginary line around the earth that divides the North and South.
It doesn’t snow very much in Tokyo, certainly much less than where I’m from in Ontario, Canada. Now I’d like to tell you about some winter weather in the news where I’m from.
If you live where winters are cold, you can relate to this. If you live somewhere warm you can appreciate your weather even more.
NEW VOCABULARY
relate to – phrasal verb – (relate to something/somebody) to be able to understand and have sympathy with somebody/something
Alice is stressed out studying for her exams. I was in university last year so I can relate to that.
This means I understand why she feels stressed (I had the same experience last year) and I have sympathy for her.
appreciate – verb – to recognize the good qualities of somebody/something
His talents are not fully appreciated by the company.
This means that the company doesn’t recognize his good qualities.
Let’s learn some more new vocabulary and some natural ways to talk about the effects of bad weather.
From Feb. 6, 2018 – CBC News Canada
Environment Canada has issued a special weather warning calling for up to 10 cm of snow to fall overnight and into Wednesday morning, which could make for a messy (difficult) morning rush hour commute. Drivers are being warned the snow could affect road conditions and visibility.
Do you know the difference between AFFECT and EFFECT? Learn it here with video. Worldenglishblog.com/affect-vs-effect/
(More) NEW VOCABULARY
rush hour – noun – the time, usually twice a day, when the roads are full of traffic and trains are crowded because people are traveling to or from work
I try not to travel during rush hour. It’s not fun!
I don’t like to drive or take the train when the roads and train cars are very crowded.
In our story commute is a noun.
commute – noun – the journey that a person makes when they commute to work
I have a short commute to work. I can go by bicycle.
The distance between my home and my job is not far.
Commute is often used as a verb too.
commute – verb – to travel regularly by bus, train, car, etc. between your place of work and your home
She commutes from Oxford to London every day.
She travels from her home in Oxford to her job in London.
visibility – noun – [uncountable] how far or well you can see, especially as affected by the light or the weather
Visibility was down to about 100 meters due to the fog.
The fog made it difficult to see. You could only see about 100 meters down the road.
Winter Weather Words
Toronto Public Health ended an extreme cold weather alert at 12 noon on Tuesday (Feb. 6) that has been in place for the past two days.
Do you know what an extreme cold weather alert is? In Canada, these alerts are used to tell people living in an area that the temperature will be very low for at least two hours. This means that the temperature was very low for two days straight, that’s 48 hours!
The exact temperature for an extreme cold weather alert is different in different areas. In parts of Southern Ontario, the alerts are issued for temperatures of -30 °C. In the Northwest Territories in Northern Canada, extreme cold weather alerts are not issued unless it’s -50 °C. That’s too cold for me!
Did you learn some new Winter Weather Words in this post? Tell me about the weather where you live in the comments below.
Audio on SoundCloud
This post is an update of two blog posts that I made in the past. I recorded some audio and uploaded it to SoundCloud when I first published this in 2018. You can listen to the audio on SoundCloud at the link below.
(Some of the text has changed in this updated version. The transcript from these two audio files is listed below.)
Audio Track
How’s your weather?
Readers of my blog come from all over the world. Most live in the northern hemisphere but I know I have readers in Brazil, and there are some that are in the northern hemisphere but are closer to the equator so it’s warm year-long.
It doesn’t snow very much in Tokyo, certainly much less than where I’m from in Ontario Canada.
I wrote a blog post about some weather we had in Tokyo at the end of January and today I’d like to tell you about some winter weather in the news where I’m from.
If you live where winters are cold, you can relate to this and if you live somewhere warm you can appreciate your weather even more!
Learn some new vocabulary and some natural ways to talk about the effects of bad weather.
Environment Canada has issued a special weather warning calling for up to 10 cm of snow to fall overnight and into Wednesday morning, which could make for a messy morning rush hour commute.
Drivers are being warned the snow could affect road conditions and visibility.
Toronto Public Health ended an extreme cold weather alert at 12 noon on Tuesday (Feb. 6) that has been in place for the past two days.
Do you know what an extreme cold weather alert is? In Canada, these alerts are used to tell people living in an area that the temperature will be very low for at least 2 hours.
The exact temperature for an extreme cold weather alert is different in different areas. In parts of Southern Ontario, the alerts are issued for temperatures of -30 °C but in the Northwest Territories, extreme cold weather alerts are not issued unless it’s -50 °C! Wow, that’s cold.
