‘It is commonly observed, that when two Englishmen meet, their first talk is of the weather’, the 18th century writer Samuel Johnson famously remarked. This is still true today, but for most people it is rarely out of meteorological interest and indeed serves merely as an ice-breaker, an easy way to start a conversation. Most weather-related vocabulary in English describes typical British weather – it is overcast (grey), raining/drizzling (light rain), windy or foggy – but what about more extreme winter weather we experience in winter months?
Winter weather is characterised by lots of precipitation, which falls onto the ground in drops (rain and drizzle), or snow flakes. Sleet is a mix of rain and snow. When the snow thaws (or melts), it often turns into slush before it disappears. At very low temperatures, water vapour freezes on the ground into ice crystal to form frost, and water turns into ice, often forming long icicles hanging from roofs of houses.
In winter, weather conditions can sometimes be extreme, with very low temperatures and strong wind, such as blizzards. In the mountains with lots of snow there is a danger of avalanches, where large masses of snow roll down a mountain side, or a whiteout, where the visibility is severely reduced by huge quantities of snow blown by the wind. Wind can also create a sudden burst of snow called a flurry, and when it blows large masses of snow into a heap, it is a drift.
