Weather and seasons

These words help you talk about the weather and the seasons. We usually describe the weather with ⟦It's⟧ + an adjective: ⟦It's sunny.⟧ ⟦It's windy.⟧ Many weather adjectives are a noun + ⟦y⟧: ⟦sun → sunny⟧, ⟦rain → rainy⟧. The four seasons are ⟦spring⟧, ⟦summer⟧, ⟦autumn⟧ and ⟦winter⟧.

Key facts

  • Weather words: ⟦sunny⟧, ⟦rainy⟧, ⟦windy⟧, ⟦cloudy⟧, ⟦snowy⟧, ⟦foggy⟧, ⟦stormy⟧, ⟦icy⟧, ⟦hot⟧, ⟦warm⟧, ⟦cool⟧, ⟦cold⟧.
  • Noun + ⟦y⟧: ⟦cloud → cloudy⟧. Double the last letter: ⟦sun → sunny⟧, ⟦fog → foggy⟧. Drop the ⟦e⟧: ⟦ice → icy⟧.
  • Now: ⟦It's raining.⟧ ⟦It's snowing.⟧ Questions: ⟦What's the weather like?⟧ ⟦What's the weather like today?⟧
  • The seasons in order: ⟦spring⟧, ⟦summer⟧, ⟦autumn⟧, ⟦winter⟧. American English says ⟦fall⟧ for ⟦autumn⟧. When each season comes depends on where you live.
  • Temperature: ⟦It's 30 degrees.⟧ ⟦It's minus 2.⟧ ⟦It's freezing!⟧

Worked examples

Example 1

Complete: ⟦Take your umbrella. It's ___.⟧

  1. An umbrella keeps the rain off.
  2. ⟦Take your umbrella. It's rainy.⟧

Answer: ⟦rainy⟧

Example 2

Write the weather word from ⟦fog⟧.

  1. ⟦fog⟧ is short, with one vowel and one consonant at the end.
  2. Double the ⟦g⟧ and add ⟦y⟧: ⟦foggy⟧.

Answer: ⟦foggy⟧

Example 3

Which season comes after ⟦winter⟧?

  1. The seasons go round: ⟦spring⟧, ⟦summer⟧, ⟦autumn⟧, ⟦winter⟧.
  2. After ⟦winter⟧ it starts again with ⟦spring⟧.

Answer: ⟦spring⟧