Click here to see the video.<\/a><\/p>\nVideo Transcript:<\/h2><\/p>\n
In the US, a common topic for small talk is weather.\u00a0 So if you\u2019re in the US, you may find yourself needing to talk about weather quite a bit.\u00a0 By the end of this video, you\u2019ll feel totally comfortable engaging in these weather-related small talk conversations. We\u2019re going to go over vocabulary relating to weather and phrases you may use when talking about weather.<\/p>\n
To start, let\u2019s go over some more technical terms.\u00a0 You have Celsius and Fahrenheit, both of these are the unit of a degree.\u00a0 In the US, we use Fahrenheit.\u00a0 Water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit and boils at 212.\u00a0 This is a three-syllable word with stress on the first syllable.\u00a0 The first H is silent, and the second H is pronounced.\u00a0Fahrenheit.\u00a0Fahrenheit.\u00a0 Say that with me.\u00a0 Fahrenheit.<\/p>\n
You might hear the terms \u2018heat index\u2019 or \u2018wind chill factor\u2019.\u00a0 Heat index refers to an adjusted temperature based on the way the temperature feels when you factor in humidity, or, moisture in the air.\u00a0 I grew up in Florida where it\u2019s so humid.\u00a0 I hate that feeling.\u00a0 Here\u2019s a bit of a conversation I had with my Mom about the weather in Florida.\u00a0 Before you listen, let\u2019s go over the pronunciation of temperature, which you\u2019ll hear in this conversation.<\/p>\n
This word can be pronounced as 3 or 4 syllables, and I recommend using three, it\u2019s more common and it\u2019s easier.\u00a0 You\u2019ll hear Americans pronounce the middle syllable two different ways:\u00a0 either TEM-per-chur or TEM-pre-chur. Per or pre. I personally think the first one is easier:\u00a0 TEM-per-chur.\u00a0 So both the second and third syllables have schwa-R, er, er, er.\u00a0 Per-chur. TEM-per-chur.\u00a0 Temperature.\u00a0TEM-per-chur.\u00a0Break it up with me.\u00a0 TEM-per-chur.\u00a0\u00a0Temperature.\u00a0Ok, let\u2019s listen to that conversation.<\/p>\n
So mom, tell me about the weather in Florida. I know you’ve always hated it.<\/p>\n
The weather in Florida is hot and humid most of the year.<\/p>\n
Mm-hmm.<\/p>\n
Like what are we talking temperature-wise?<\/p>\n
Temperature-wise, from about mid-May to mid to late October, the temperature range is a low of 74 or 75 and a high of 93, 94, 95.<\/p>\n
Mm-hmm.<\/p>\n
Well, it doesn’t vary much. I mean, we hardly ever get above a hundred.<\/p>\n
Really?<\/p>\n
Yeah. But with the heat index…<\/p>\n
The heat index gets up there.<\/p>\n
>> But…<\/p>\n
>> Yeah.<\/p>\n
Because there’s always a lot of humidity.<\/p>\n
Mm-hmm.<\/p>\n
I mean like a humidity hovers around 95 percent a lot of the time especially in the morning and the evening. It goes down a little bit around noon.<\/p>\n
So there you heard \u2018heat index\u2019, humid, and \u2018humidity\u2019.\u00a0 \u2018Heat index\u2019, notice that those two words are linked with a Flap T.\u00a0 Heat index.\u00a0 The temperature is 100, but the heat index is 107.\u00a0 Say that with me, heat index.\u00a0 Heat index.<\/p>\n
Humid, humidity.\u00a0 This is moisture in the air.\u00a0 Notice how the stress changes.\u00a0 For the adjective, humid, we have stress on \u2018hu-\u2018.\u00a0 Humid.\u00a0 For the noun, \u2018humidity\u2019, we have stress on \u2013mi-.\u00a0 Hu-mi-dity. Humidity.\u00a0 Humid, humidity.\u00a0 The H is pronounced in both of these words.\u00a0 And the T in \u2018humidity\u2019 is a Flap T because it comes between two vowels and doesn\u2019t start a stressed syllable.\u00a0 Humidity.\u00a0 Say those with me. Humid. Humidity.<\/p>\n
The other term that I mentioned earlier is \u2018wind chill factor\u2019.\u00a0 This can also be called \u2018wind chill\u2019 or \u2018wind chill index\u2019.\u00a0 This is when it feels lower than the temperature because of wind.\u00a0 For example, the temperature is 20 below, but the wind chill factor is 40 below.\u00a0 What does that mean, 20 below?\u00a0 It means 20 degrees below freezing.\u00a0 We just leave out \u2018freezing\u2019.\u00a0 20 below, 40 below.\u00a0 Wind chill.\u00a0 Notice that when these two word go together, I\u2019m dropping the D.\u00a0 It\u2019s common to drop D between two other consonants, and I\u2019ve listened to lots of different speakers say this phrase and they all dropped the D.\u00a0 So you can go straight from the N into the CH sound.\u00a0 Win-ch– Wind chill.\u00a0 Wind chill.\u00a0 Say that with me.\u00a0\u00a0Wind chill.<\/p>\n
When that first cold front finally pushes through in the fall, it’s just such a relief.<\/p>\n
Mm-hmm.<\/p>\n
‘Cause that breaks the humidity.<\/p>\n
Right.<\/p>\n
There my mom mentioned a \u2018cold front\u2019.\u00a0 This is when colder air starts moving into a region.\u00a0 And after a hot summer, a cold front is very welcomed.\u00a0 Here I would say the D.\u00a0 I wouldn\u2019t release it, cold front, cold, cold. That’s too much T. That doesn’t sound right. But I do put my tongue into position for the D and vibrate the vocal cords.\u00a0 Cold, dd, dd, cold, cold front. Cold front. Say that with me. Cold front.<\/p>\n
The opposite of humid is \u2018dry\u2019.\u00a0 With all DR clusters, it\u2019s more common to pronounce them as JR.\u00a0 Americans don\u2019t even notice that they\u2019re doing this.\u00a0 I did this when I was talking to my mom.\u00a0 Dry. jj– Dry. Say that with me.\u00a0 Dry.\u00a0 This is when there\u2019s a lack of moisture in the air.<\/p>\n
And now Dillon, where you spent time in the summer is the exact opposite as far as dry, it’s so dry, it’s almost too dry.<\/p>\n
It’s very dry but I like it that way. It’s too dry for some people, I suppose.<\/p>\n
And then when you, when it is hot, it doesn’t bother you as much because the sweat dries quickly and…<\/p>\n
The sweat dries quickly but if you’re out in the sun, you know, Dillon is at 9,000 feet of altitude. So if you’re out in the sun and it’s say upper 70s, low 80s, even if the humidity is sort of low, it’s really hot. It’s a really intense sun.<\/p>\n
My mom said \u2018upper 70s, low 80s\u2019.\u00a0 We do use \u2018upper\u2019 and \u2018low\u2019 or \u2018lower\u2019, also \u2018mid\u2019 when referring to degrees.\u00a0 Upper 90\u2019s, of course, would be temperatures in the 97, 98, 99 range.\u00a0 Mid-90s would be more like 94-96.<\/p>\n
Where there\u2019s a period of time that’s especially hot, hotter than normal, you might hear that called a \u2018heat wave\u2019.\u00a0 And when there\u2019s a period of time that\u2019s especially cold, colder than normal, you might hear that called a \u2018cold snap\u2019 or \u2018cold spell\u2019.\u00a0 Heat wave, cold snap, cold spell.\u00a0 Say these with me.\u00a0 Heat wave, cold snap, cold spell.<\/p>\n
Now, let\u2019s talk about weather relating to rain.<\/p>\n
First, it can be just cloudy.\u00a0 No sun.\u00a0 We were having one of those days in Philadelphia, listen to how I described it.<\/p>\n
It’s so gray and dreary today.<\/p>\n
Cloudy, the opposite of sunny.\u00a0 We can also have a sky that is partly cloudy or partly sunny.\u00a0 Partly, part-ly.\u00a0 We say that with a Stop T.\u00a0 Partly cloudy, partly sunny.\u00a0\u00a0Partly, part-ly.\u00a0\u00a0Say these with me: partly, partly cloudy, partly sunny.<\/p>\n
But this day was all clouds — I called it gray and dreary.\u00a0 Dreary means depressing, uninspiring.\u00a0 Gray, dreary.\u00a0 These can be tough because of those R\u2019s.\u00a0 It can help when you\u2019re practicing words like these to hold out the R a little bit:\u00a0 grrrray, drrearrry.\u00a0 Gray, dreary.\u00a0Gray, dreary. Remember, DR consonant cluster, you can\u00a0pronounce\u00a0that JR. Jj– Dreary. Gray, dreary.\u00a0Try these words with me.\u00a0 Gray, dreary.<\/p>\n
A sky that is all cloudy can also be called overcast.\u00a0 You\u2019ll hear this word a lot.\u00a0 Overcast.\u00a0 Stress on the first syllable. Overcast. Say that with me.\u00a0 Overcast.<\/p>\n
It’s so gray and dreary today.<\/p>\n
Oh, it’s starting to drizzle. Do you feel that?<\/p>\n
Yup.<\/p>\n
Did you bring an umbrella?<\/p>\n
Nope.<\/p>\n
Me neither.<\/p>\n
We heard a new word there, drizzle.\u00a0 Did you catch the meaning?\u00a0 It means a very light rain.\u00a0 And again, it starts with the DR cluster. You can make that DR or JR. Drizzle. Jj– or dd– Drizzle. Drizzle.\u00a0Drizzle. Both are okay.<\/p>\n
You could also use it as a verb and say, \u201cit\u2019s drizzling\u201d. Drizzle, drizzling. Say these with me.\u00a0 Drizzle, drizzling.<\/p>\n
If it started raining a little more, but still not too much, you might hear this described as a gentle rain, or a soft rain.\u00a0 If it was more intense, then we call that raining hard.\u00a0 We might even call it a downpour.<\/p>\n
It’s raining pretty hard. Just a second ago, it was raining even harder. It was a downpour. It was pouring.
Raining hard, pouring, or downpour.\u00a0 Pour.\u00a0 This word is interesting.\u00a0 Even though phonetically it would be written differently than the word P-O-O-R, many Americans pronounce them the same.\u00a0 Pour, pouring.\u00a0 AW as in LAW followed by R, the R changes this vowel. So the tongue is further back and the lips round a little bit more. it’s not AW but it’s OH. Oh. Pour.\u00a0 Pouring.\u00a0 Pour, poring. Downpour. Say those with me.\u00a0 Pouring, downpour.<\/p>\n
People might also use the word \u2018showers\u2019 instead of rain.\u00a0 We\u2019ll have light showers in the morning, and heavy showers in the afternoon.\u00a0 Showers.\u00a0 Say that with me.\u00a0 Showers.<\/p>\n
A lot of rain can lead to a flood, or a flash flood, which is a flood where the waters rise really, really quickly.\u00a0 These can be really dangerous.\u00a0 In this word, the double-O make the UH as in BUTTER vowel:\u00a0 UH, floo-, flood.\u00a0 Flood. Try that with me.\u00a0 Flood, flash flood.<\/p>\n
Rain can also come with thunder and lightning, and we might call that a thunderstorm.\u00a0 Thunder.\u00a0 This word begins with an unvoiced TH, and you do need to bring your tongue tip through the teeth for that sound.\u00a0 Th, thunder.\u00a0 Say that with me thunder.\u00a0 Thunder. Thunderstorm.\u00a0 Lightning has a Stop T.\u00a0 Light-ning.\u00a0 Lightning.\u00a0 Lightning.\u00a0\u00a0Lightning.\u00a0Say that with me.\u00a0 Lightning.<\/p>\n
A thunderstorm might even come with hail instead of rain.\u00a0 Hail is frozen chunks of ice.\u00a0 And it can range in size from small to quite big.\u00a0 Wikipedia said the largest chunk of hail recorded fell in South Dakota in 2010, and it was 8 inches across.\u00a0 Hail.\u00a0 A ane-syllable word, ending in the Dark L.\u00a0 Hail.\u00a0 Say that with me.\u00a0 Hail.<\/p>\n
And if there\u2019s no rain for a long time, that\u2019s called a drought.\u00a0 OUGH here making the OW as in NOW diphthong.\u00a0 Drought. Drought. There is no G sound, there is no H sound. This, of course, can be a problem for crops and water supply.\u00a0 Drought. Notice another DR cluster. That means you can pronounce it as DR or JR. Jj– Drought. Say that with me.\u00a0 Drought.\u00a0\u00a0Drought.<\/p>\n
It’s a beautiful summer morning here in Philadelphia. Light breeze, very shady, but it’s not too hot yet, not too humid yet. It’s just a gorgeous morning for a walk. It’s very sunny. Not a cloud in the sky. All blue skies.<\/p>\n
There I talk about blue sky, not a cloud in the sky.\u00a0 That could also be called \u2018clear\u2019. It\u2019s a clear day.\u00a0 I also talked about the wind.\u00a0 What did I say about the wind?\u00a0 I said there was a light breeze.\u00a0 If it\u2019s breezy, that\u2019s like saying there\u2019s a little bit of wind.\u00a0 Another consonant cluster with R:\u00a0 brrrr, brrrreezy.\u00a0 Breezy.\u00a0 Breeze. Breezy. Say those with me.\u00a0\u00a0Breeze. Breezy.<\/p>\n
And we have wind. Windy. Make sure the lips come in to a tight circle for that W. Ww– wind. Windy.<\/p>\n
If the wind picks up and gets out of control, that can get pretty serious:\u00a0 a tropical storm, a tornado, a hurricane, a typhoon.\u00a0 Tropical storms, hurricanes, and typhoons start off in the ocean and may or may not make landfall, that is, they may or may not come over land.\u00a0 Certain coasts are very vulnerable to these destructive storms that involve high winds, changes in the pressure of the atmosphere, and can cause storm surges.\u00a0\u00a0Storm surge.\u00a0This is when the water from the ocean rises up and causes lots of coastal damage.<\/p>\n
We have lots of storm-related words here.\u00a0 Storm surge.\u00a0 \u2018Surge\u2019 with the UR vowel, which is just like the R sound in American English.\u00a0 Ss-ur-ge.\u00a0 You don\u2019t have to try to make a different vowel sound there.\u00a0 Surge.\u00a0 Storm surge.\u00a0 Say that with me.\u00a0 Storm surge.<\/p>\n
This is the same vowel that\u2019s in the stressed syllable of \u2018hurricane\u2019, hur– hurricane. No other vowel, just H and the R. Hh-rr– Hur, hur, hurricane. Say that with me. Hurricane.<\/p>\n
Before a storm gets strong enough to be called a hurricane, it\u2019s called a tropical storm.\u00a0 Just like you learned with DR cluster in \u2018dry\u2019, TR is often pronounced as CHR.\u00a0 Ch– tropical. So you can hear \u2018chropical\u2019 or \u2018tropical\u2019 with more of a T sound.\u00a0 Tropical storm.\u00a0 Say that with me.\u00a0 Tropical storm.<\/p>\n
A Typhoon is like a hurricane, only it happens in the Pacific Ocean instead of the Atlantic.\u00a0 Typhoon, second syllable stress here.\u00a0 Typhoon.\u00a0 Say that with me, typhoon.<\/p>\n
A tornado is a vortex of wind, and it makes a funnel-shaped cloud.\u00a0 All four of these storms are made up of winds that swirl around a center, the center is called the eye.\u00a0 The eye of the storm.\u00a0 Things are very calm in the eye of the storm.\u00a0 Tornado.\u00a0 The middle syllable is stressed, so the first and last syllables should be shorter, faster, and said more quickly.\u00a0 Tornado.\u00a0\u00a0Tornado.\u00a0Say that with me.\u00a0 Tornado.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s talk about something a little happier:\u00a0 if you have a day that\u2019s a weird mix of rain and sun, you might get to see a rainbow.\u00a0 Rainbow is a compound word, and this always have stress on the first word.\u00a0 So \u2018rain\u2019 is stressed, and \u2018bow\u2019 is unstressed. Rainbow. Say that with me.\u00a0 Rainbow.\u00a0\u00a0Rainbow.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s talk about winter weather.\u00a0 A couple of winters ago, we had a blizzard, which is a storm that comes with a lot of heavy snow.<\/p>\n
Blizzard.\u00a0 The first syllable is stressed, and the second syllable has a schwa-R, that means you don\u2019t even need to try to make a vowel.\u00a0 Just zrd, zrd, zrd.\u00a0 Blizzard.\u00a0\u00a0Blizzard.\u00a0Say that with me, blizzard.<\/p>\n
If it\u2019s a very, very light snow, we call that snow flurries.\u00a0 \u201cIs it supposed to snow tonight?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cJust flurries.\u201d\u00a0 Flurries, like \u2018hurricane\u2019 and \u2018surge\u2019\u00a0 has the UR vowel in the stressed syllable.\u00a0 You don\u2019t need to try to make a separate vowel and then R.\u00a0 It\u2019s all just R. Fl–urrr.\u00a0 Flurrr, flurries.\u00a0 Say that with me.\u00a0 Flurries.<\/p>\n
A nor\u2019easter.\u00a0 This is a term I had never heard until I was living in Boston.\u00a0 These are storms that blow in from the north and east, and they are common in the winter in New England.\u00a0 They might bring in snow, slush, and sleet.<\/p>\n
Sleet is a mix:\u00a0 a little ice, a little rain, a little snow.\u00a0 It causes slush on the ground, which is what happens when snow and ice start to melt.\u00a0 It\u2019s water with chunks of ice.\u00a0 \u201cWear boots:\u00a0 the sidewalks are slushy.\u201d\u00a0 This term can also refer to a drink or a desert with ice and liquid.\u00a0 Sleet, slush.\u00a0 Say those with me.\u00a0 Sleet, slush.<\/p>\n
When sleet or rain freezes on the street or sidewalks, and it\u2019s a thin layer that you can\u2019t see, we call that black ice.\u00a0 Which is very dangerous, of course, because you can\u2019t see it.\u00a0 You don\u2019t know it\u2019s coming.\u00a0 It\u2019s very easy to slip and fall, or lose control of your car.\u00a0 Black ice.\u00a0 Black ice. Say that with me, black ice.<\/p>\n
An avalanche is when a mass of snow, ice, and maybe rocks slides rapidly down a mountainside.\u00a0 Whew.\u00a0 Being trapped in one of these has got to be my worst nightmare.\u00a0 Avalanche.\u00a0 The E at the end is silent.\u00a0 First syllable stress. Avalanche, avalanche.\u00a0 Say that with me.\u00a0Avalanche.<\/p>\n
One morning recently when my dad was taking me to the airport, we ran into some fog.<\/p>\n
Dad, what kind of weather are we having this morning?<\/p>\n
Well, it’s a little foggy out.<\/p>\n
But it’s pretty nice out there.<\/p>\n
Fog, foggy.\u00a0 You could also say there was mist or it was misty.\u00a0 If you live in the Bay Area in California, you\u2019re very familiar with this.\u00a0 Fog, foggy.\u00a0 Mist, misty. Say those with me.\u00a0 Fog, foggy, mist, misty.<\/p>\n
That was a long list of vocabulary terms relating to weather.\u00a0 And there are lots of words I didn\u2019t get it to, like scorching for very hot, or balmy for pleasantly warm.\u00a0 Actually, a while ago, during a heat wave in New York, I made a video where I went over some of the many ways you can describe hot weather.\u00a0 Click here or in the description below to watch that video.\u00a0 I also made a video in NYC the day after Hurricane Sandy hit.\u00a0 That\u2019s a great one.\u00a0 Click here or in the description below to check it out.<\/p>\n
We also have a lot of idioms relating to weather, for example, the calm before the storm, or, every cloud has a silver lining.\u00a0 We\u2019ll go over those next week so be sure to come check out that video on Tuesday morning, Eastern time.\u00a0 I\u2019ll see you then.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s it, and thanks so much for using Rachel\u2019s English.<\/p>\n
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