weather: adjectives + nouns

fog noun

ADJ. dense, heavy, thick | freezing | patchy Drizzle and patchy fog are forecast. | swirling

QUANT. bank, blanket, patch The town was shrouded in a thick blanket of fog.

VERB + FOG be shrouded in

FOG + VERB cover sth, lie, shroud sth A freezing fog lay over the valley. | close in, come down, descend, roll in A dense fog came down in the afternoon. A heavy fog rolled in from the sea. | clear, disperse, lift The fog had lifted by late morning. | drift, swirl fog drifting over the water | obscure sth A bank of fog obscured the farmhouse.

FOG + NOUN patches

PREP. in/into (a/the) ~ We got lost in the fog. | through (a/the) ~ We drove slowly through the fog.

rain noun

ADJ. driving, heavy, lashing, pouring, torrential | steady | fine, gentle, light, patchy The fine rain turned to mist in the early evening. The forecast is for wind and patchy rain. | warm | cold | constant, continuous, persistent | intermittent | overnight Overnight rain had freshened up the garden. | monsoon, tropical The monsoon rains started early this year. | autumn, spring, etc.

QUANT. drop, spot A few spots of rain had fallen. | inch, shower, spot (informal) We had three inches of rain last night. We could do with a spot of rain.

VERB + RAIN forecast Rain is forecast for tomorrow. | look like, threaten It looks like rain (= it looks as though it is going to rain). Black clouds threatened rain. | pour with It poured with rain all afternoon. | get caught in We got caught in the rain on the way home.

RAIN + VERB beat, come down, drip, drum, fall, lash, patter, pelt, pour down, splash, trickle Rain beat against the window all night. Rain dripped down his collar. | come, set in, start The rain came just as we set off. The rain had set in steadily by the time we got home. | cease, let up, stop The rain didn't let up all day. | continue The rain continued for most of the day. | threaten With rain threatening, we headed home as fast as we could. | drive sb The rain drove the players off the court.

RAIN + NOUN cloud, water

PREP. in the ~ We found her sitting in the pouring rain. | out of the ~ Come in out of the rain. | through the ~ We drove slowly through the driving rain.

sunshine noun

ADJ. blazing, bright, brilliant, dazzling | beautiful, glorious, pleasant two weeks of glorious sunshine | hot, sweltering, warm | hazy, mild, pale, watery, wintry | fitful It was a cool day with fitful sunshine. | afternoon, evening, morning | June, July, etc. | autumn, spring, etc. She sat on the wall, enjoying the spring sunshine.

VERB + SUNSHINE bask in, enjoy, soak up | be bathed in The town was bathed in spring sunshine. | gleam in, glow in, sparkle in

SUNSHINE + VERB beat down, flood, pour, slant, stream The sunshine came streaming in at the window.

PREP. in (the) ~ The race was run in bright sunshine. | into the ~ She followed us out into the sunshine.

snow noun

ADJ. heavy, thick | fine, light The plants were covered in fine snow. | deep | damp, wet | compacted, crisp, frozen, hard, packed The crisp snow crunched as we walked through it. The frozen snow was treacherous to walk on. | powder/powdery, soft | drifting, driving, falling, swirling They struggled on through the driving snow. | melted, melting | fresh, new, newly fallen | first the first snow of winter | spring, winter | artificial They had to use artificial snow at the Winter Olympics. | dirty

QUANT. flake | fall, flurry | patch | blanket, carpet | inch Three inches of snow fell had fallen.

VERB + SNOW be covered in The car was completely covered in snow. | clear, shovel, sweep She cleared the snow from the path.

SNOW + VERB cover sth, lie, pile (up), settle Snow covered everything from horizon to horizon. Snow had piled up against the walls of the cottage. It was too warm for the snow to settle. | drift, drive, fall, swirl | melt, thaw

SNOW + NOUN conditions, flurry, storm (also snowstorm) | plough (also snowplough) | blindness

PREP. across ~ They travelled across the snow in a sleigh. | in/into ~ The children are playing in the snow. | through ~ We struggled through the deep snow back to the chalet. | under ~ The steps were buried under the snow.

temperature noun

ADJ. high, warm Yesterday the town reached its highest ever February temperature. | cold, cool, low, sub-zero | moderate | normal | extreme Avoid exposing the instrument to extreme temperatures. | boiling, freezing, melting the boiling temperature of the solvent | maximum, minimum | average, mean | constant, stable, steady | daytime | daily | summer, winter, etc. | April, July, etc. | global The increase in the mean global temperature will be about 0.3°C per decade.| air, sea, water, etc. | ambient, room | oven | body | surface the surface temperature of our planet

VERB + TEMPERATURE have Some places had temperatures in the forties during the heat wave. | heat sth to, raise Heat the oven to a temperature of 200°C. | reduce | reach | control | expose sth to

TEMPERATURE + VERB go up, increase, rise | drop, fall, go down, plummet Overnight the temperature fell as low as -30°C.

TEMPERATURE + NOUN conditions | change, difference, increase, rise | gradient, range, variation a temperature range of 60?74°F | control, regulation | measurement | gauge, sensor

PREP. at ~ Serve the wine at room temperature. | in a ~ This plant grows well in temperatures above 55°F. | ~ above/below/between, ~ of The fish prefer a temperature of 24?27°C.

PHRASES a change/variation in temperature, a drop in temperature, an increase/a rise in temperature, a range of temperature

thunder noun

ADJ. loud The thunder was getting louder and louder. | dull The gunfire rumbled like dull thunder. | distant the rumble of distant thunder | approaching

QUANT. clap, crash, peal, roll, rumble

THUNDER + VERB boom, break, burst, crash, explode, roar Thunder boomed in the sky overhead. | growl, grumble, roll, rumble | rattle sth, shake sth The windows were shaken by a tremendous crash of thunder.

THUNDER + NOUN clap (also thunderclap) | cloud (also thundercloud)

PHRASES the sound of thunder, there's thunder in the air (= thunder is likely), thunder and lightning

wind noun

ADJ. fierce, gale-force, high, stiff, strong, terrible Rain and high winds are forecast. There was a stiff wind blowing. | light, moderate, slight | blustery, gusty | warm | biting, bitter, brisk, chill, cold, icy The icy wind cut right through us. | howling | fair, favourable, good They set sail the next morning with a fair wind. | adverse Adverse winds swept the boat off course. | head, tail A tail wind made the ride home very relaxing. | east, north, etc.

QUANT. blast, gust | breath There wasn't a breath of wind in the still air.

WIND + VERB blow, blow up, come, cut through sb/sth, sweep (through) sth The wind came from the west. A fierce wind swept through the countryside. | howl, moan, roar, whistle The wind roared through the tunnel. | buffet sth, rattle sth, whip sth (up) The wind whipped up the surface of the lake. | increase, pick up, rise | abate, die down, drop Let's wait until the wind drops before setting sail. | change The wind suddenly changed and began blowing from the north.

WIND + NOUN conditions, direction, power, pressure, speed

PREP. against the ~ We were rowing against the wind. | in the ~ a flag flapping in the wind | into the ~ We were sailing into the wind. | out of ~ Let's shelter out of the wind.

PHRASES the roar/sound of the wind