How to Talk About the Weather in English: Vocabulary, Typhoon Terms and Everyday Dialogues

The basics: a bright day is sunny, a grey day is overcast, rain falling right now is “It's raining.”, and the big storms Taiwan gets in summer and autumn are typhoons. To ask “How's the weather today?”, the most common pattern is What's the weather like today?

Weather is one of the easiest small-talk topics to start with. Whether you bump into a foreign colleague in the office lift, warm up with your teacher at a language school in the Philippines, or chat with co-workers on a working holiday in Australia, a simple “It's so hot today!” or “Looks like it's going to rain” makes a natural opener.

This guide puts weather English in one place: patterns for asking about the weather, words for sun, rain, heat and cold, typhoons and heavy rain, reading an English weather forecast, plus common idioms, small-talk dialogues and a short quiz. Bookmark it and practise one sentence every time the weather changes.

Start with these everyday expressions, then read on for more detailed vocabulary, example sentences and dialogues.

Quick tip: sunny, cloudy and cold are adjectives; rain can be a noun or a verb. For rain falling right now, say It's raining.; to say it often rains during a certain period, you can say It's rainy this time of year.

Learn how to ask and how to answer first; then the vocabulary has somewhere to go.

The most common answer structures are It's + adjective or It's + verb -ing (for weather that is happening right now):

• It's sunny. (The sun is out.)
• It's raining. (Rain is falling right now. Don't say It rains now.)
• It's going to rain. (Rain is coming soon.)
• It looks like rain. (The sky suggests rain is on the way.)
• It's supposed to be cold tomorrow. (You've heard or read that tomorrow will be cold.)

💡 sunny vs. clear: what's the difference? sunny stresses sunshine, so you don't say sunny at night; clear stresses that there are no clouds, so it works both day and night.

English uses different words for rain depending on how heavy it is and how long it lasts.

What is the Mei-Yu season called in English? The bilingual glossary of Taiwan's Central Weather Administration (CWA) uses Mei-Yu; you will also see Meiyu or the more literal plum rain. When you explain it to someone who doesn't know East Asian weather, add the early-summer rainy season in Taiwan, so you're not just giving them a name they won't understand.

Useful sentences:

• Take an umbrella just in case. (A friendly reminder before someone goes out.)
• The rain has stopped.
• It's clearing up. (The clouds are breaking and the weather is getting better.)
• It rained on and off all day. (on and off = stopping and starting.)

How hot is it?

How cold is it?

Saying temperatures: Celsius, Fahrenheit and “feels like”

• 30°C is read as thirty degrees Celsius; in conversation people often just say It's thirty degrees today.
• Five degrees below zero: minus five (degrees) or five below (zero).
• The US mainly uses Fahrenheit. Conversion formula: °F = °C × 9/5 + 32
  • 0°C = 32°F (the freezing point of water)
  • 30°C = 86°F
  • 20°C = 68°F
• Highest / lowest temperature: the high / the low, e.g. Today's high is 33 and the low is 26.
• “Feels like” temperature: It feels like 38 degrees. Weather apps often show this as Feels like 38°. The heat index combines air temperature and relative humidity to show how hot it feels; wind chill is how much colder the wind makes it feel in cold weather. Different apps may calculate “feels like” in different ways, so don't assume it always means the heat index.
• Temperature changes: Temperatures will drop / rise this weekend. (go down / go up)

Taiwan gets typhoons every summer and autumn, and these are some of the words that come up most often in English news.

Typhoon, hurricane, cyclone: what's the difference?

Tropical cyclone is the general term; typhoon and hurricane are the names used in certain ocean regions for tropical cyclones that reach the relevant strength. Don't decide which word to use based only on the country, and remember that not every tropical depression is called a typhoon.

• typhoon: used in the western North Pacific, including the seas around Taiwan, the Philippines and Japan.
• hurricane: used in the North Atlantic, the eastern North Pacific and the central North Pacific.
• tropical cyclone: common in official information for the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific (including the Australian region); in everyday speech it's often shortened to cyclone.

cyclone on its own can also mean any cyclonic low-pressure system, not necessarily a tropical cyclone. Intensity categories, wind-speed averaging periods and warning systems also differ from place to place, so you can't treat different agencies' categories as equivalent.

Typhoon vocabulary

Taiwan's national weather agency is the Central Weather Administration (CWA). Practice sentence: The Central Weather Administration (CWA) has issued a typhoon warning. The dialogues and example sentences in this article are for language learning only; they are not live weather information or official announcements about work and school closures.

💡 Reading typhoon news? Look beyond the name and category. Also check the maximum sustained winds, gusts, track and expected impacts, and follow the official warnings where you are for real safety decisions. This article does not convert other regions' Category 1–5 or super typhoon labels directly into Taiwan's own three typhoon intensity levels.

Heavy rain and other hazards

Taiwan's official English names for heavy rain tiers

In everyday conversation, heavy rain and torrential rain are just descriptive phrases. In advisories from Taiwan's Central Weather Administration (CWA), however, each tier has a clear rainfall threshold. The table below is based on the CWA's heavy rain advisories in Chinese and English:

Key point: in Taiwan's official tiers, extremely heavy rain is 豪雨, not 超大豪雨; other countries and media may not use the same tiers. For the areas under alert and the latest thresholds, check the CWA heavy rain advisory.

When you live abroad, an English weather app is what you check every day before you go out. Learn these terms and you won't dress for the wrong weather.

Forecast tip: chance of rain is the probability of rain at the forecast location during the forecast period. It isn't the share of the day it will rain, and it isn't the amount of rain. very high is the correct English for Taiwan's equivalent UV level; see the CWA UV index guide.

Now read a forecast aloud in news-style English (this is a mock forecast, not live information):

Tomorrow will be mostly cloudy with scattered showers in the afternoon. Highs around 28 degrees, lows around 22. There's a 60 percent chance of rain, so don't forget your umbrella.

Below are idioms, expressions and related words built on weather imagery. Some describe health, mood, work or relationships, and some still describe the weather itself; how often they're used and how they sound depends on the region and the situation.

💡 Is raining cats and dogs still OK to use? Yes. People will understand it, but it's quite vivid and sometimes a little humorous. For something simple and direct, say It's pouring.; in British and Australian speech you'll also hear It's bucketing down. You don't need to call every heavy rain raining cats and dogs.

Dialogue 1: Small talk in the office lift

A: Morning! Crazy weather, huh?
B: I know! It was sunny when I left home, and then it suddenly started pouring.
A: Typical Taipei. Did you get caught in it?
B: Yeah, I'm a bit soaked. I should've checked the forecast.
A: Apparently it's going to rain on and off all week.
B: Great. I'll keep an umbrella at my desk, then.

Dialogue 2: A typhoon is coming. Will we get tomorrow off?

A: Have you heard? The CWA just issued a land warning.
B: Really? Do you think we'll get a typhoon day off tomorrow?
A: Let's check the city government's official announcement.
B: Either way, I'm going to stock up on food and water after work.
A: Good idea. And charge your power bank in case there's a power outage.

Usage note: typhoon day off is a casual way to explain not having to go to work or school because of a typhoon; it isn't an official holiday name everywhere. When explaining it to a foreign colleague, you can also say Work and classes have been canceled because of the typhoon. Whether you actually need to go in still depends on official announcements and the rules that apply to you.

Dialogue 3: A warm-up chat with your teacher while studying abroad

Teacher: How was your weekend? Did you go to the beach?
Student: I wanted to, but it was cloudy and a little windy, so I stayed in.
Teacher: That's a shame. It's usually sunny this time of year.
Student: Is it going to be nice next weekend?
Teacher: The forecast says mostly sunny with a high of 32. Perfect beach weather!
Student: Great! If the weather stays good, I'll go this time.

How to practise: swap Taipei for the city you live in and 32 for today's forecast high, then act it out again using your own situation. If there are thunderstorm, typhoon or marine warnings, don't push ahead with a trip just because you want to say rain or shine.

💬 Understand weather English but run out of things to say? Start by practising this pattern: ask about the weather → say how you feel → follow up with a question. If you'd like someone to role-play with you and help you fine-tune your wording and responses, take a look at the Ambitious Learner one-to-one Life English course, or add AL on LINE to ask about a level check and a trial lesson.

The Philippines: dry season and rainy season

The Philippines has a tropical maritime climate. In its nationwide overview, the Philippine weather agency PAGASA describes the rainy season / wet season as roughly June to November, and the dry season as roughly December to May. The dry season can be further divided into the cooler cool dry season (December to February) and the hotter hot dry season (March to May).

This is a national overview, not a calendar that applies to every city. Terrain, monsoons and altitude all affect how rainfall is distributed, so Cebu and Baguio can't simply share the same rain or clothing advice. Baguio sits at a higher altitude and is usually cooler than low-lying cities, so don't assume “short sleeves all year round”. Before you go, check the recent forecast for your destination and pack rain gear; for Baguio, a light jacket is a good idea too.

For example, you could ask: Is Baguio cooler than Cebu? or Should I bring a jacket? For climate background, see PAGASA: Climate of the Philippines. The months don't mean that every day will be sunny or rainy.

Australia: seasons opposite to Taiwan's

Australia is in the Southern Hemisphere. Using the commonly used meteorological seasons, summer is December to February and winter is June to August, the opposite of Taiwan. But Australia is huge, and the tropical north is often described in terms of wet and dry seasons, so you can't treat every city as having the same weather. Some expressions you'll often hear in Australia:

• It's a scorcher today. (It's very hot today.)
• Slip, Slop, Slap, Seek, Slide. Australia's sun-protection slogan: wear sun-protective clothing, put on sunscreen, wear a hat, seek shade and wear sunglasses. The classic Slip, Slop, Slap covers only the first three, so it isn't the full current five-step reminder.
• bushfire season: the high-risk period varies by region, so check local fire warnings and workplace safety guidance before working outdoors.
• The tropical north has a wet season and a dry season, and you may also experience a cyclone.

For background on seasons and cyclones, see the Bureau of Meteorology's guide to the seasons and its introduction to tropical cyclones; for the sun-safety slogan, see Cancer Council Australia. To take weather English into work and daily life, you can also read how to prepare your English for an Australian working holiday.

• ❌ It's a good weather today. → ✅ It's good weather today. / The weather is nice today.
  • weather is an uncountable noun, so it can't take a.
• ❌ It rains now. → ✅ It's raining now.
  • Use the continuous tense for weather that is happening right now.
• ❌ Mixing up weather and whether → weather is the state of the sky and air; whether means “if”. The two words sound the same.
  • I don't know whether the weather will be nice tomorrow.
• Don't confuse wet and humid: We've had wet weather all week. (it's been rainy all week) is correct English. To stress that the air is damp, say It's very humid.; if it's hot, damp and stuffy, say It's muggy.
  • wet weather usually means rainy weather; it isn't a mistake.
• ❌ Today is very sun. → ✅ It's very sunny today.
  • sun is a noun; to describe the weather, use the adjective sunny. Likewise rain → rainy, cloud → cloudy, wind → windy.

Now that you have read the vocabulary, idioms and dialogues, try the 5 questions below. Choose an answer to see the explanation.

Once you understand the words, the next step is to use them in your own life. Try saying three sentences: today's weather, how you feel about it, and what you're doing next.

If you'd like someone to help you turn those sentences into conversations, take a look at the Ambitious Learner one-to-one Life English course, where you practise everyday, travel or life-abroad situations based on your level and goals. If you're planning to study in the Philippines or go on a working holiday in Australia, you can also tell an advisor which communication situations worry you most.

Add AL on LINE to ask about a level check and a trial lesson

Further reading:

• How to Prepare Your English for an Australian Working Holiday
• Travel the World: A Practical Guide to Learning Travel English
• News English: Australia's possible wettest El Niño year on record
• One-to-one Life English course: practise everyday situations

Weather terms and climate background checked on 20 October 2026 (2026-10-20). This article is English-learning material; its example sentences and dialogues are not live forecasts or disaster guidance.

• Central Weather Administration (Taiwan): bilingual glossary: terms such as Mei-Yu, tropical cyclone, tropical depression and extremely heavy rain.
• Central Weather Administration (Taiwan): heavy rain advisory (Chinese) and the English Heavy Rain Advisory: rainfall tier names and thresholds.
• Central Weather Administration (Taiwan): UV index levels (Chinese) and the English UV Index page: the very high and extreme levels.
• PAGASA: Climate of the Philippines: overview of the Philippines' dry and rainy seasons and regional climate differences.
• Bureau of Meteorology (Australia): What is a tropical cyclone?: regional names for tropical cyclones, typhoons and hurricanes.
• Bureau of Meteorology (Australia): Solstices, equinoxes and the seasons: the seasons commonly used in Australia.
• Cancer Council Australia: Preventing skin cancer: the Slip, Slop, Slap, Seek, Slide sun-safety slogan.