The Weather
The condition of the atmosphere over a particular area is called the weather.
Rain
Rain: drops of water that fall from clouds. A single drop of rain is called a raindrop. The total amount of rain is calledrainfall. Rain can include:
- Deluge: a sudden large amount of rain
- Downpour: a heavy rain in a short time
- Drizzle: a rain that falls in light drops
- Hail: balls of ice that fall from the sky. Each of the balls of ice is called a hailstone.
- Shower: a short period of rain
- Sleet: partly frozen falling rain
- Monsoon: heavy rain that falls in S Asia in the summer
- Snow: soft, white pieces (called snowflake) of water ice that falls from clouds.
Rain can cause:
- Flood: a large amount of water covering land which is usually dry.
- Puddle: a small amount of water on the ground
Wind
A natural movement of air as a result of atmospheric pressure is call wind. Wind can include:
- Breeze: a light and gentle wind
- Crosswind: a wind that is blowing across the direction of travel of a person or vehicle
- Easterly: a wind that is blowing from the east
- Northerly: a wind that is blowing from the north
- Gale: a very strong wind
- Gust: a sudden blast of wind
- Headwind: a wind that is blowing against the direction of travel of a vehicle
- Tailwind: a wind that is blowing in the same direction of travel of a vehicle
- Sirocco: a hot wind that comes from the Sahara Desert to southern Europe
Storms
A severe weather condition with strong wind, heavy rain, thunder, and lightning is called storm. Storm can include:
- Blizzard: a severe snowstorm
- Cyclone: a powerful tropical storm rotating in a circular direction
- Hurricane: a rapidly rotating storm, that occurs especially in the West Atlantic Ocean
- Thunderstorm: a storm with thunder and lightning and sometimes heavy rain and strong winds
- Tornado (twister): a dangerous spinning cone-shape column of air
Difference between tornado and twister
Tornado
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Twister
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The term used by meteorologists
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Slang for tornado
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- Typhoon: a tropical cyclone that occurs especially in the West Pacific Ocean
Sky
The area above the surface of the Earth is called the sky. The sky can include:
- The Sun: the star that gives the earth heat and light.
- Cloud: a grey or white mass of water in the sky.
- Fog: water droplets that form a thick cloud in the air above the land or the sea, reducing visibility.
- Mist: thin fog that occurs when humid air cools rapidly.
- Rainbow: a multicolored arch appearing in the sky when the sun shines through rain
Adjectives that describe the weather
- Rainy: with a lot of rain
- Warm: with comfortably high temperature; not hot or cold
- Cold: with a very low temperature
- Cloudy: with a lot of cloud
- Clear: without cloud
- Sunny: with a lot of sunlight
- Stormy: with strong wind, heavy rain, thunder, and lightning
- Misty: with a lot of mist
- Foggy: with a lot of fog
- Breezy: with strong winds
- Windy: with a lot of wind
- Showery: with light rain
- Frosty: cold with frost
- Chilly: too cold
- Snowy: with a lot of snow
- Icy: extremely cold; covered with ice
- Drizzly: with light rain
- Dry: without moisture
- Overcast: with a lot of clouds
- Wet: covered with water
Sentence examples:
The sun is shining.
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The wind is blowing.
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The rain is falling
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It’s thundering.
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It’s a foggy day.
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