What comes to your mind when you hear ‘British weather’? Blue sky and bright sunshine or foggy rainy days? Contrary to popular belief, it does not rain every day in the UK, believe me! However, bring some type of waterproof clothing with you just in case.
As I am sure you all know very well from your Geography lessons, Britain is an island nation and the surrounding sea gives England a variable climate. This is why it is difficult to predict what the weather will be like from one day to the other. One day it can be sunny and rainy the next. However, some say, the UK is blessed with ‘a lot of weather’ unlike places with fixed or predictable seasons.
The British climate can be described as mild, with temperatures not much lower than 0ºC in winter and not much higher than 32ºC in summer. In general, we have warm summers and cool winters. The best months to travel in England are May, June, September and October, because generally there is less rain and the temperatures are pleasant during these months. July and August are normally the warmest months in England, but they are also the wettest, while January and February are the coldest.
Interesting fact: there are weather records for this country dating back to 26 August 55BC.
But now… the most important thing you need to master is the weather talk. I will never forget my initial reaction when I first heard an Englishman telling me his thoughts on the subject of weather. He was a person I met on the bus, a total stranger, and at first I thought that this was an unusual behaviour, but a friend quickly explained it to me that it was very polite way of communicating with people we do not know very well. A way of saying 'Hello' in order to engage somebody in a conversation.
So now you know, British people absolutely love talking about the weather, you could say, some are even obsessed with it. The subject of weather is a perfect opener to a conversation, or, as we call it, an icebreaker for talking to strangers, bringing together new acquaintances for the first time, and leaving any initial awkwardness behind. So I suggest you should refresh your ‘weather’ vocabulary and learn some new phrases, because it is estimated that within 10 minutes or so of talking to a Briton you will be talking about the weather. Once you know those useful ‘weather’ expressions you will find it easy to start a conversation anytime and anywhere with anyone you meet.
Here you have some common questions and responses you may find useful:
When the weather is nice: It is a beautiful day today, isn’t it?
When is very hot: It’s absolutely boiling!
When is raining: It’s supposed to clear up later.
And just in case you get to see the rain while in the UK, here is vocabulary which might come in handy when describing the type of rain:
• Drizzle: to rain lightly with very fine drops
• Shower: a short period of rain
• Downpour: heavy rain
• Torrential rain: very heavy rain
• It's raining cats and dogs: (idiom) to rain heavily
Funnily enough, there is only one thing that is more British than talking about the weather. And this
is apologising for doing it! So be ready for anything, but I am sure you will love it.
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