OVERVIEW
NEW WORDS
Weather.
Nouns.
- blizzard (plural: blizzards)a strong bitterly cold wind accompanied by a widespread heavy snowfall.
- climate (plural: climates) the meteorological conditions, including temperature, precipitation, and wind, that characteristically prevail in a particular region.
- cloud (plural: clouds) a visible body of very fine water droplets or ice particles suspended in the atmosphere at altitudes ranging up to several miles above sea level.
- fog condensed water vapor in cloudlike masses lying close to the ground and limiting visibility.
- gale (plural: gales) a storm at sea.
- gust (plural: gusts) a strong, abrupt rush of wind.
- hail precipitation in the form of spherical or irregular pellets of ice usually associated with thunderstorms.
- hailstorm (plural: hailstorms) a storm with hail.
- heat the sensation or perception of such energy as warmth or hotness.
- heat wave (plural: waves) a period of unusually hot weather.
- icewater frozen solid.
- icicle (plural: icicles) a tapering spike of ice formed by the freezing of dripping or falling water.
- lightning a brilliant electric discharge in the sky.
- mist water vapor condensed on and clouding the appearance of a surface.
- rain water falling to earth in drops.
- rainbow (plural: rainbows) an arc in the sky of spectral colors, caused by the refraction and reflection of the sun’s rays through rain or mist.
- sandstorm (plural: sandstorms) a strong wind carrying clouds of sand and dust through the air.
- shower (plural: showers) a brief fall of precipitation, such as rain, hail, or sleet.
- sleet a mixture of rain and snow or hail.
- snow frozen precipitation consisting of hexagonally symmetrical ice crystals that form soft, white flakes.
- snowstorm (plural: snowstorms) a storm marked by heavy snowfall.
- squall (plural: squalls) a sudden strong wind or brief turbulent storm.
- temperature (plural: temperatures) a measure of this degree of hotness, indicated on a scale,
- thunder a loud booming sound.
- thunderstorm (plural: thunderstorms) a storm caused by strong rising air currents and characterized by thunder and lightning and usually heavy rain or hail.
- weather the state of the atmosphere at a given time and place, with respect to variables such as temperature, moisture, wind velocity, and barometric pressure.
- wind chill the lowering of body temperature ue to the passing-flow of lower-temperature air.
Verbs.
- to rain (verb. It is raining) to fall in drops of water from the clouds.
- to snow (verb: It is snowing) precipitation from clouds in the form of snowflakes of ice crystals.
Adjectives.
- chilly feeling cool or moderately cold.
- cloudy overcast; covered with clouds.
- cool neither warm nor very cold; moderately cold.
- foggy cloudy; misty.
- freezing extremely cold.
- hot being at a high temperature.
- mild moderate; not extreme.
- misty filled or abounding with fog or mist;
- nice pleasing and agreeable in nature.
- scorching very not.
- sunny bright, clear, abounding in sunshine.
- warm having a moderate degree of heat.
- windy breezy.
Seasons.
Nouns.
- autumn/fall (plural: autumns) the season of the year between summer and winter.
- spring (plural: springs) the season between winter and summer.
- summer (plural: summers) usually the warmest season of the year, occurring between spring and autumn.
- winter (plural: winters) usually the coldest season of the year, occurring between autumn and spring.
Natural Disasters.
Nouns.
- avalanche (plural: avalanches) a fall or slide of a large mass of material, especially of snow, down a mountainside.
- blizzard (plural: blizzards) a very heavy snowstorm with high winds.
- cyclone (plural: cyclones) a violent tropical storm.
- drought (plural: draughts) a long period of dry weather.
- earthquake (plural: earthquakes) a sudden release of energy in the earth’s crust or upper mantle, usually caused by movement along a fault plane.
- flood (plural: floods) an overflowing of water onto land that is normally dry.
- hurricane (plural: hurricanes) a severe, often destructive storm with high winds.
- landslide (plural: landslides) the sliding of a large mass of rock material, soil, etc, down the side of a mountain or cliff.
- lightning strike (plural: strikes) a brilliant electric discharge in the sky.
- monsoon (plural: monsoons) a seasonal wind n southern Asia bringing rain.
- natural disaster (plural: disasters) an emergency situation posing significant danger to life and property that results from a natural cause.
- tornado (plural: tornados) a violent storm with winds whirling around a small area.
- tsunami (plural: tsunamis) a very large ocean wave caused by an underwater earthquake or volcanic eruption.
- typhoon (plural: typhoons) a tropical cyclone occurring in the western Pacific or Indian Oceans.
- volcanic eruption (plural: eruptions) the sudden occurrence of a violent discharge of steam and volcanic material such as lava.
- wildfire (plural: wildfires) a raging, rapidly spreading fire.
Climate Change
- atmosphere the air or climate in a particular place.
- carbon footprint (plural: footprints) the amount of carbon-containing greenhouse gases released into the environment by an activity, process, individual, or group.
- CO2/carbon dioxide Aacolorless, odorless, incombustible gas that is formed during respiration, combustion, and organic decomposition.
- deforestation the cutting down and removal of all or most of the trees in a forested area.
- climate change long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns.
- ecosystem (plural: ecosystems) a system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with its environment.
- emission (plural: emissions) the release of gases, liquids, and/or solids from any process or industry. Liquid emissions are commonly referred to as effluents.
- food security the availability of food in a country and the ability of individuals within that country to access, afford, and source adequate foodstuff.
- fossil fuel (plural: fuels) a hydrocarbon-containing material such as coal, oil, and natural gas, formed naturally in the Earth’s crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel.
- global warming An increase in the average temperature of the earth’s atmosphere, especially a sustained increase sufficient to cause climatic change.
- greenhouse effect (plural: effects) occurs when greenhouse gases in a planet’s atmosphere cause some of the heat radiated from the planet’s surface to build up at the planet’s surface.
- greenhouse gas (plural: gases) the gases in the atmosphere such as carbon dioxide and methane that raise the surface temperature of planets such as the Earth.
- mitigation the action of lessening in severity or intensity.
- renewable energy (plural: energies) renewable energy is energy from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. Renewable resources include sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat.
- sea level rise caused by the added water from melting ice sheets and glaciers, and the expansion of seawater as it warms.
Adjectives.
- sustainable capable of being continued with minimal long-term effect on the environment.
VISUAL VOCABULARY
- Talking about the weather
- Talking about natural disasters
- Talking about climate change
KEY PHRASES
GRAMMAR TIPS
ONLINE RESOURCES
- Today’s weather in New York City
- Today’s weather in Toronto
- Today’s weather in London
- Today’s weather in Dublin
- Today’s weather in Sydney
- Today’s weather in Auckland
