If you ever spend time in the UK, you’ll quickly notice something: people talk about the weather constantly. On the bus, at the bus stop, in the lift, in the corner shop, at the office kettle — the weather is the great British icebreaker. It’s small talk, it’s a national sport, and honestly, it’s a brilliant shortcut into a real conversation with a native speaker.
The good news? You don’t need fancy vocabulary to join in. A handful of adjectives, a few set phrases, and the confidence to say “Lovely day, isn’t it?” will take you a long way. In this lesson we’ll walk through the words, the patterns, and the little cultural quirks you need to talk about the weather like a native — at A2/B1 level. Let’s crack on.
Core weather adjectives you need to know
Start here. These ten adjectives cover roughly 90% of everyday weather chat:
- Sunny — the sun is shining. “It’s sunny today.”
- Cloudy — lots of clouds, not much sun. “It’s a bit cloudy this morning.”
- Rainy — rain is falling (or has been). “It’s been rainy all week.”
- Windy — strong wind. “Hold on to your hat — it’s windy!”
- Foggy — thick fog, low visibility. “It was so foggy I couldn’t see the end of the road.”
- Snowy — snow on the ground or falling. “The hills look beautiful and snowy.”
- Stormy — heavy rain, wind, sometimes thunder. “It’s going to be stormy tonight.”
- Humid — hot and damp, sticky air. “August in London can get really humid.”
- Mild — not too hot, not too cold (often used in winter). “It’s quite mild for January.”
- Chilly — a bit cold, but not freezing. “Bring a jumper — it’s chilly outside.”
Notice how most of these end in -y? That’s the easiest pattern in English: sun → sunny, cloud → cloudy, wind → windy, rain → rainy, fog → foggy, snow → snowy, storm → stormy. Learn the noun and the adjective comes free.
Weather verbs and the magic of "it's"
In English, the weather almost always starts with “it” or “it’s”. There’s no real subject — “it” is just a placeholder. This trips up a lot of learners, so memorise the pattern:
- It’s raining. (right now, outside)
- It’s snowing.
- It’s pouring. (raining very heavily — “it’s pouring with rain” or “it’s chucking it down” if you want to sound properly British)
- It’s drizzling. (light, annoying rain)
- The sun’s out. (a lovely, casual way to say it’s sunny)
- It’s clearing up. (the bad weather is ending)
- It’s freezing. (very cold — used loosely, even when it’s not literally 0°C)
- It’s blowing a gale. (very windy)
Compare these two: “It’s raining” (happening now) vs “It’s rainy” (general description of the day or season). Both are correct, but they mean slightly different things. We’ll come back to this in the mistakes section.
Temperature and intensity
Talking about how hot or how cold something is matters more than the exact number. Here’s the everyday scale, from melting to freezing:
- Boiling / baking hot — uncomfortably hot. “It’s absolutely boiling out there.” (30°C+)
- Hot — straightforward. (around 25–30°C)
- Warm — pleasant, comfortable. (around 18–24°C)
- Mild — gentle, not cold. (around 12–17°C — often used about winter days)
- Cool — slightly cold, refreshing. (around 10–14°C)
- Chilly — a bit cold, you’d want a jumper. (around 5–10°C)
- Cold — properly cold. (around 0–5°C)
- Freezing — at or below 0°C, or just figuratively very cold.
A quick cultural note: the UK uses Celsius, not Fahrenheit. When a British person says “it’s 28 degrees today,” everyone gasps and starts complaining about the heat. When they say “it’s 4 degrees,” out come the scarves. Anything above 25°C is officially considered a heatwave by half the country.
Useful intensifiers: absolutely, really, quite, a bit. “It’s absolutely freezing.” / “It’s a bit chilly.” / “It’s really humid.”
Weather forecast vocabulary
If you watch the BBC weather forecast (highly recommended for listening practice), you’ll hear words that don’t come up in casual chat. Here are the key ones:
- Forecast — the prediction. “The forecast says rain tomorrow.”
- Showers — short bursts of rain. “Expect showers throughout the afternoon.”
- Scattered — spread out, not everywhere. “Scattered showers across the south.”
- Overcast — completely grey, fully cloudy. “It’ll be overcast all day.”
- Gale — a very strong wind. “Gale-force winds are expected on the coast.”
- Heatwave — a long stretch of unusually hot weather. “The UK is bracing for a heatwave next week.”
- Cold snap — a sudden short period of cold. “There’s a cold snap coming on Friday.”
- Spells — periods. “Sunny spells in the morning, cloudy later.”
- Sleet — a mix of rain and snow. Awful stuff.
- Hail — small balls of ice falling from the sky.
Try this: watch a one-minute UK weather forecast on YouTube and count how many of these words you hear. It’s brilliant listening practice because the language is repetitive and predictable.
Small-talk phrases that actually work
The whole point of weather chat is that it’s safe. You’re not really exchanging information — you’re being friendly. Memorise these and use them shamelessly:
- “Lovely day, isn’t it?” — the classic opener on a sunny day.
- “Can you believe this rain?” — when the weather is dramatic.
- “It’s a bit fresh today.” — British understatement for “it’s freezing.”
- “Bit nippy out there.” — same idea, even more casual.
- “Looks like it might rain.” — staring at the sky together is a national pastime.
- “Glorious weather, isn’t it?” — for a properly beautiful day.
- “Typical British summer.” — said with a sigh when it rains in July.
- “At least it’s stopped raining.” — eternal optimism.
- “Wrap up warm!” — friendly send-off in winter.
Pro tip: in Britain, complaining about the weather is bonding. “Awful, isn’t it?” said with a small smile is basically saying “I see you, fellow human, we’re in this together.” Lean into it.
Common mistakes learners make
A few things to watch out for — these are the errors I hear in class almost every week.
- “What weather?” — wrong. The natural question is “What’s the weather like?” or “What’s the weather like today?”
- “How is the weather?” — grammatically fine, but slightly stiff. Natives prefer “What’s it like out there?” or “What’s the weather doing?”
- “Rainy” vs “raining” — “It’s raining” = right now. “It’s rainy” = general / today / this week. Don’t say “It’s raining today” if you mean the whole day’s character — say “It’s a rainy day.”
- “The weather is good.” — not wrong, but it sounds a bit textbook. Natives say “It’s a lovely day,” “The weather’s gorgeous,” “It’s beautiful out,” or just “Lovely, isn’t it?” Equally, instead of “the weather is bad,” try “It’s awful out,” “Miserable day, isn’t it?” or “What a horrible day.”
- “It makes hot.” — a direct translation from French/Spanish/Italian. In English, weather doesn’t make anything. It’s just “It’s hot.”
- “There is wind.” — say “It’s windy” instead.
Mini quiz — test yourself
Have a go at these ten questions. Answers are at the bottom — no peeking!
- Complete: “It’s ___ outside, bring an umbrella.” (a) sun (b) raining (c) rainy day
- Which is the natural question? (a) How is weather? (b) What’s the weather like? (c) What weather is?
- “It’s absolutely _____” — pick the best ending. (a) cool (b) mild (c) freezing
- What’s a “cold snap”?
- True or false: in the UK, 28°C is considered a heatwave by many people.
- Translate into natural English: “There is much wind today.”
- What does “overcast” mean?
- Which is more British: (a) “It’s a bit fresh” (b) “The temperature is low”
- Fill in: “_____ day, isn’t it?” (used on a sunny morning to a stranger)
- What’s the difference between “showers” and “rain”?
Answers: 1-b (“It’s raining”); 2-b; 3-c (boiling/freezing pair with “absolutely,” not mild/cool); 4 — a sudden short period of cold weather; 5 — true; 6 — “It’s very windy today”; 7 — completely grey, fully covered in cloud; 8-a; 9 — “Lovely” (or “Beautiful”); 10 — showers are short bursts, rain is more continuous.
How did you do? If you got 8+, you’re properly ready to chat about the weather with any Brit you meet. If you got fewer, don’t worry — this is exactly the kind of vocabulary that sticks fastest when you’re using it every day, not just reading about it.
That’s where Malta comes in. With around 300 days of sunshine a year, our students get to practise English in a place where the weather is genuinely worth talking about — and where every café conversation is another chance to use what you’ve learned. Get a quote for an English course in Malta and turn this vocabulary into real conversations, sunshine included.