How do English People Talk about the Weather?

Have you ever been nervous about having a conversation with someone in English? Have you ever wondered what to talk about if you meet a native English speaker? You can always talk about the weather!

Native English Speakers LOVE to Talk about the Weather

People in different parts of the world have different experiences of weather. So you will always have something to talk about. You can share your own experiences of the weather. Or you can talk about some Spotlight English stories to have great conversations.

Listen to these programs to learn weather words. You can also discover new ideas and hear interesting stories about weather. Here are 5 ideas to talk about the weather in conversation:

Click here to see our whole Weather list on YouTube

“What weather do you enjoy most?”

Share your own feelings about the weather you enjoy. Explain why you enjoy the hot sun, rain, wind or cold snow. Perhaps you enjoy feeling the warmth of the sun on your skin. Or perhaps you are happy when it rains as your plants will grow. Everyone has an opinion about weather. Perhaps you can do something special in a particular sort of weather. Sometimes a person will use the weather to create something special:

Alfredo Moser and the Amazing Bottle Lights
Liz Waid and Ryan Geertsma look at inventor Alfredo Moser. He used sunlight to create something to help other people.

“Does weather affect your work?”

Can you do your work in good weather and bad weather? If you work outside does it ever get too hot? Does the weather affect your journey to work? Perhaps you cannot get to your office if rains cause floods, or if there is a snow storm. But for some people the weather IS their work!

 Chasing Storms
Katy Blake and Liz Waid look at people who chase dangerous storms or tornados to get information and pictures.

“Have you experienced strange weather?”

You may have heard native English speakers say things like ‘it’s raining cats and dogs’. This sounds like very strange weather! But it is not. It is an English idiom that means that it is raining a lot! 

Click here for more English idioms about rain

Your ‘strange weather’ may be just unusual weather for you. Perhaps the hottest or coldest day you ever experienced. You can talk about a day when the weather was not what you expected. Perhaps it changed a lot in one day. Perhaps the wind blew so hard that you fell over! But sometimes people experience very strange weather:  

Rain of Fish
Ryan Geertsma and Liz Waid look at animal rains – times when fish, frogs or other animals fall with rain from the sky.

“Have you ever been frightened by the weather?”

Does the noise of thunder scare you? Have you been out in a big storm? Have you experienced a snow storm or blizzard?  Have you experienced so much rain that it created a flood? Have you been frightened by rising water? Sometimes people need to be rescued when weather conditions create a dangerous situation:

Thai Cave Rescue
12 young boys and their coach are trapped in a cave with no food or water. Bruce Gulland and Liz Waid tell the story of their amazing rescue.

“What do you enjoy doing in different kinds of weather?”

Sometimes you can only do an activity in certain types of weather.  People take part in different sports at the Summer Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic games. But some people enjoy hot weather and cold weather equally. They can do different things on different seasons.

Jamie Wardley: The Ice Sculptor
Liz Waid and Bruce Gulland look at the work of Jamie Wardley. He is an artist who works with ice and sand.

Have Your Own Conversation about Weather

Enjoy an example of a conversation about weather. The weather can affect your plans. Perhaps you can practice talking about the weather with a friend too:

Episode 3: Weather | Spotlight Chats
Liz Waid and Rena Dam have a conversation about the weather

What weather do you enjoy? Have you ever been frightened by the weather? Tell us about it. Join the discussion below.