Well hello and welcome to this English lesson about advanced weather vocabulary.
Now you might be wondering what is advanced weather vocabulary compared to normal weather vocabulary.
Well
I would consider normal weather vocabulary to be phrases like it's sunny.
It's going to rain today.
Uh it's going to snow.
There's going to be hail.
But I would consider advanced weather vocabulary to be things like storm front, UV index, muggy, torrential rain, visibility, and
If you're wondering why we're doing this lesson, it's because here in Ontario, Canada, it is very smoky outside which you might not consider a weather event but
It is somewhat related to what we experience when we go outside.
There are wildfires in Northern Ontario and I think in Northern Minnesota and it's causing a lot of smoke to come this way.
So I thought I should do an English lesson about advanced weather vocabulary and talk about some of the words and phrases we use to talk about things like that and other weather as well.
So once again welcome to this English lesson about advanced weather vocabulary.
Hazy.
Dust, smoke, or moisture in the air making it hard to see clearly.
So this is a general term and I should be specific.
This is not fog, okay?
So fog is when there's a lot of moisture in the air early in the morning.
We would definitely call that fog.
So
If you look outside and it's hard to see through the air because there's a lot of dust in the air or there's a lot of moisture in the air or smoke in the air.
We say it is hazy.
In this photo you can see as you look further in the distance you
Becomes hazier and harder to see.
So haze is dust, smoke, or moisture in the air making it hard to see clearly.
Jen and I have a way to measure how hazy it is.
And
Because we have large windmills on the horizon and we know if we look a certain direction, there's six of them but if we can only see four, it's hazy.
If we could only see one, it's really really hazy.
Smokey.
Smoke in the air often from wildfires which can reduce visibility and air quality.
So, this is actually what it looked like.
Uh I'm not sure if this picture's from that but this is what the sky looked like on Tuesday.
I think or was it Wednesday?
Of those days.
It was just very very orange.
It was kind of odd.
Um it was the middle of the day.
My solar panels were not producing any power at all.
Even though the sun was shining because it just looked like this.
It was very very smoky.
And
Now, if you're wondering why Smokey doesn't have an E in it, there are two versions of it.
I think if you're talking about Smokey the Bear, like a character, a proper name, it has an E. But if you're talking about this, where there's lots of smoke, you use Smokey.
So smoke in the air, often from wildfires, which can reduce visibility and air quality.
So right now it's not only let's look outside again.
It's not only smoky if you look in the distance on the horizon but you would also say it's probably hazy.
And then um air quality is pretty low right now.
In fact, Jen who's been outside more than me can feel it in her throat.
She's starting to get a bit of a sore throat.
Air quality.
Let's make this as big as possible.
How clean or polluted the air is and whether it is healthy to breathe.
So, you can see here, Toronto Air Quality Health Index.
Orange warning for air quality.
It is a nine which is high risk and this is for yesterday at 2 o'clock.
So, as I was making this lesson,
Air quality yesterday was nine out of 10 so it was high risk to be outside when the air quality which is how clean or polluted the air is and whether it is healthy to breathe when the air quality is this high
Recommend that children don't go outside.
People with breathing problems, old people that they stay inside where the air quality is better or that they wear an N95 mask in order to be able to breathe better.
So, air quality, how clean or polluted the air is and whether it is healthy to breathe.
Downpour.
So we're shifting through a number of different advanced weather words for different kinds of weather.
So we just did smoky and hazy and air quality.
We're gonna move into things related to rain.
So a downpour is a short period of very heavy rain.
So you can get caught in a downpour.
So when we talk about a downpour,
A time in the day where it's not raining and then suddenly it is raining and then it stops raining.
So you'll often hear people say this.
There was a downpour while I was driving home from work.
I had to put the windshield wipers on high.
I forgot my umbrella and as I was walking from work to go out to lunch I got caught in a downpour.
So basically a short period of very very heavy rain.
If we got a downpour right now it would increase our
Improve, sorry, it would improve the air quality because the downpour would remove the smoke from the air.
Hopefully, we do actually get a downpour.
There's two nice things about rain during wildfires.
One, it puts out the wildfire and two, it makes the air quality better.
Torrential rain, extremely heavy rain that can quickly cause flooding.
Now, you might think that because Ontario, Canada, the province where I live is in the middle of North America and it's not in a tropical area that we would not have torrential rain.
But we do actually every once in a while.
In fact, a couple of years ago in Toronto, they had so much rain that you can see the um
So, I can just call this the TTC.
I'm trying.
I'm trying to think of the proper name for it but the TTC or the light rail system uh was underwater.
It was halfway underwater and you can see these police officers wading through the water.
There's another word for you.
When you wade, it's when you walk through water and
So they are waiting through the water W-A-D-I-N-G uh in order to go and see what's happening with the train.
So torrential rain extremely heavy rain that can quickly cause flooding.
On the farm we do not like torrential rain.
We like long soft rain.
Like if it just rains a little bit for 12 hours that's the kind of rain that we prefer.
Scattered showers.
So if you look at this weather map you can see oh that's a little too big.
Short periods of rain that happen in some places but not everywhere.
So, if you know how to read weather radar, when you see the red and the purple, that's very heavy rain and the green is light rain and the gray is probably just a
Probably just overcast and not raining or it's maybe just spitting a little bit or it's a little bit of a sprinkle.
So scattered showers would be a day like this where it might rain for a bit and then stop.
There might be a downpour and then the sun comes out and then it rains again.
So scattered showers, short periods of rain that happen in some places can
But not everywhere.
These are kind of, this must be American.
Cuz look at those temperatures.
This is definitely an American map.
Oh, and you can see in the forecast.
Scattered showers, storms possible in the evenings.
And it looks like I cut off the next word there.
So, scattered showers, short periods of rain that happen in some places but not everywhere.
Thunderstorm.
So a severe thunderstorm is a dangerous storm with strong winds, large hail, heavy rain, or even tornadoes.
So it doesn't have all of those things.
And this is another thing that has started to happen here in Ontario, Canada, and around the world that
More often I think.
Quite often they'll say severe thunderstorms this evening.
They're forecasting severe thunderstorms uh winds up to 100 kilometers an hour or possibly or hail possible.
So hail is when
The raindrops freeze on the way down and they turn into little balls of frozen water
Hopefully they're not that big by the way hopefully they're just little tiny ones but anyways a severe thunderstorm
Not nice.
There's usually a lot of thunder and a lot of lightning.
There could be hail.
There's usually high winds and then lots and lots of rain.
And then sometimes a tornado which is we sometimes call it a twister.
We don't experience those in my part of Ontario Canada but if you go west you
They do happen from time to time.
So, severe thunderstorm, a dangerous storm with strong winds, large hail, heavy rain, or even tornadoes.
Blustery, windy with strong changing gusts of wind.
So, a couple words here.
Blustery means it's windy.
So, when you walk outside, you probably have to lean into the wind.
Blustery also means the wind is
My opinion changes direction and speed quite rapidly.
So as you're walking the wind is blowing here and then it's blowing here and then here and it's like when you walk between a building the wind hits you from a different direction
And then you might be walking in the wind and then it stops for a little bit and you walk some more and it stops.
So blustery
Windy with strong changing gusts of wind.
Gale force winds.
Here we go.
Very strong winds that can damage trees, buildings, and power lines.
So, if you hear on the news that there's a storm coming and there are going to be gale force winds, you need to prepare.
Here's what I do if they say gale force winds which are probably winds above 100 kilometers an hour.
I'm not a weather but sorry what is it?
I'm not a meteorologist.
So don't don't quote me on it.
Um here's what Jen and I would do.
We would make sure we have gas for the generator in case the power goes out.
Now I would charge my solar battery pack so that we have power.
So if my solar system batteries are at 50% I would start bringing them up to 100% in case the power went out.
Um we would make sure did I say this?
That we had gas for the generator.
We would make sure we knew where our extension cords were.
Um and we would make sure on the farm that there was nothing outside that could blow away.
Okay?
Uh and then we would just wait for the storm to come.
Um and it would not be
And it would not be super enjoyable.
Um I do like a good storm.
I don't like a storm with gale force winds.
Muggy.
Warm and very humid making the air feel sticky and uncomfortable.
So I think I've taught this word before and when I teach this word I always say years ago I went on a trip to South Africa.
The weather the temperature was in the high 30s every day but it wasn't muggy and it was actually not that bad
When the air is muggy and it's 36 degrees it feels much warmer and here's why when there's a lot of moisture in the air
When the air is warm and very humid, it makes the air feel sticky and uncomfortable because when you sweat, your sweat doesn't evaporate as quickly.
Least I think that's why it feels that way.
Uh and it just feels like you have a blanket on.
If you've ever experienced humid muggy weather you'll know what I'm talking about.
It's like going outside and
And it's 35 degrees and then it feels like you have a blanket of air on you, making you even warmer.
So muggy, warm and very humid, making the air feel sticky and uncomfortable.
Not nice.
Here in Ontario, it's always humid and always muggy in the summer.
That's just part of the weather.
In South Africa, it was great.
I really, really liked it.
UV index.
Let me get this as big as possible.
How strong does
Sun's ultraviolet rays are and how quickly they can damage your skin.
So you can see here this is the weather forecast for today.
28 degrees.
Not too bad.
Chance of showers.
Sunny becoming a mix of sun and clouds in the afternoon.
High 28.
Humidex 31.
So there you see Humidex.
So it will feel like 31.
And
UV index nine or very high.
So today would not be a good day for me with my fair skin to go outside without suntan lotion on.
If I went outside today for a long period of time,
It would be important for me to wear a hat.
Um I would probably wear a long sleeved thin fabric shirt to protect myself from the UV rays but UV index how strong the sun's ultraviolet rays are and how quickly they can damage your skin.
Subzero.
So we're moving into more winter type terms now.
So subzero below zero degrees Celsius.
Subzero also a character I believe from Mortal Kombat whose move is to freeze people.
Is my Mortal Kombat move.
Um we also sometimes just say below zero.
So you might hear uh something like this on the weather.
Next week we will experience subzero temperatures.
Now this is in Celsius.
So I don't know what they say in the US.
They probably say freezing temperatures.
The US but sometimes in Canada you'll hear subzero or you'll hear freezing temperatures or below freezing.
So, it's cold.
The thermometer is going down.
Let's say it's one degree and you're watching the weather and they might say, next week, we are going to experience subzero temperatures.
It's going to be very, very cold.
White out.
Uh weather can
Out.
A weather condition where blowing snow makes it almost impossible to see.
We almost always use this word when we're talking about driving conditions in the winter.
It can be used to just describe winter weather in general.
But usually you'll hear things like this.
Be cautious on your drive to work.
Don't
Are white outs or there are white out conditions.
Meaning that it's snowing but there's also snow getting picked up by the wind and blowing and
It just makes it very very difficult to see.
This picture in my opinion doesn't accurately describe it.
If these were white out conditions you would only see one yellow pole.
You probably wouldn't see the other ones.
So
It is not very enjoyable to drive when there is like when you're driving in a whiteout, it's very very scary because if you keep going, you might not be able to see the road.
You might hit somebody.
You can't stop because someone behind you might hit you.
So, it's very very dangerous in that situation.
Squall a sudden brief period of strong winds that is often accompanied by snow
So when i was researching this word it said that squall can be used for any type of weather where there's strong winds and snow or rain
But in my area, we don't really use the word squall to talk about rain.
It's almost always used to talk about snow and I'm I'm assuming it can be.
Maybe in some areas they do but if you said to me there's going to be squalls this afternoon I would assume snow
So again sudden brief period of strong winds that is often accompanied by snow
We often use this in conjunction with the word white out
There's going to be snow squalls and white outs this afternoon so be careful
If you are driving in that weather visibility the distance you can clearly see through the air
Let's make this as big as possible
So this is a picture that's a little too big um from toronto 2026 and then from new york city 2023
So i guess it was
Uh 2023 when we last had the really really bad um I think Casey Neistat the YouTuber made a video about it way back then.
You can go look that up.
Um but yes, Toronto was very orange a couple days ago and New York City uh a few years ago was also orange.
So, visibility, as I mentioned,
When you look in the distance above my head, visibility is pretty low.
It's also something on the window there, I think.
Visibility is pretty low.
Actually, it's not too bad.
I would say it's medium, but it's the distance you can clearly see through the air.
Conditions.
So this is a general term to talk about the weather.
So the current state of the weather including things like the temperature, wind, rain, snow, and clouds.
So you could say to someone,
The weather like where you are?
And they could say oh it's sunny today it's going to be 25 degrees.
If you were speaking a little more formally you could say what are the weather conditions like there today?
And they can say oh the conditions aren't bad.
Um they
Think this is more used when you're talking about like is it a good day to go skiing?
Is it a good day to go to the beach?
So you'll probably hear someone say uh we're gonna go to the beach today because conditions look great.
Or we're gonna go skiing today cuz conditions look awesome for skiing.
So conditions are
When talking about the weather, the current state of the weather, including things like the temperature, wind, rain, snow, and clouds.
Now this will be different depending on where you live.
But I'm going to go through alert advisory watch warning.
So in my part of the world,
Alert is a message that lets people know that dangerous weather is possible or already happening.
So my phone is actually set up.
If there's really dangerous weather my phone will go off.
And there will be an alert.
And
And it will tell me what the alert is for.
In Canada, we have yellow, orange and red.
Those are the levels.
And I think you even saw that on the air quality slide.
You have to go way back to show you that you want to go way back.
Let's go way back.
Here we go.
We're almost there.
So you can see here.
Warning air quality.
So that's kind of the middle level of air quality.
That's the alert level.
That orange bar there.
Now I gotta find alert back.
Here we go.
So it's a message that lets people know that dangerous weather is possible or already happening.
And then you can see the three levels there.
An advisory, a warning about whether that could cause inconvenience or minor hazards.
So you can see here, there is a heat advisory, a heat and air quality advisory.
This is actually from yesterday.
This is real.
A heat warning has been issued by Environment Canada for our region due to dangerously high temperatures and humidity levels.
Air quality is also expected to be poor with reduced visibility.
To wildfire smoke.
So you can see a lot of the words I've been teaching you.
They do show up again as we look at actual material.
So that actually came on my I think it was on no I think it was just on the weather page yesterday.
An advisory.
So they're just kind of letting you know.
Then we move into watch and warning.
So watch is conditions are right for dangerous weather to develop.
And I have the same slide for both watch
Warning.
Okay?
So if we read here under the word under watch it says be prepared have a plan there is potential for severe weather.
Let me make this a bit bigger.
And then I'm gonna switch this.
Warning, dangerous weather is happening or is about to happen.
So, you should take action immediately.
And then it says here, take action under warning.
Severe weather is occurring or is imminent in the area.
So, again, when they say there's a watch, they might say, uh there's a storm watch.
So,
Um, basically it means conditions are right.
There might be a storm.
Okay.
There's a very good chance there will be a storm when they say there's a storm warning.
It means a storm is already happening somewhere and it's probably going to come to your area as well.
So watch basic or warning is basic.
Watch is basically get ready and warning is it's happening.
You better be ready.
Front.
So a front is the boundary where two different air masses meet.
Usually when I see a storm front coming in my part of the world, it looks a little bit like this, like a cloud in the distance that's coming my way.
And you can even sometimes see rain.
Coming down from the cloud as it approaches and then system a large area of weather such as a storm or high pressure area that moves across a region
Is very similar to what we talked about when we talked about hurricanes.
You can see it moving up the eastern seaboard of the United States.
So system then is a general term that
For the weather that is moving across your area or into your area.
Right now, we are experiencing a very pleasant weather system.
Um I know it's warm but it's not windy.
It's not raining.
It's not snowing but they could say a a storm system is moving in later today and you will experience really really bad weather.
