Learning weather idioms can help us sound more natural and concise in our English speech. They also aid our listening comprehension – a double win!
What do you always try to do, come rain or shine? Has anyone ever told you that you just chase rainbows? When were you last snowed under? If any of these are unclear to you, read on to find out what they mean, and discover many more weather sayings, too!
Related: 50 Weather Sentences To Boost Your Vocab
Weather idioms
The sunniest place on Earth is Yuma in Arizona. It has over 4000 hours of sunshine per year. My guess is, dry spells are the norm there! Here are 10 general weather idioms. They cover many types of weather, from cold to hot. If you can use them in conversation, in the appropriate situation, then they will help you to improve your English speaking ability. You will sound more fluent. After looking at the meanings of these weather idioms, we will then go over example sentences.
Please note that many of them do not describe the weather, but use the topic to explain other things. For instance, chasing rainbows does not mean a person actually goes running after a rainbow, it is a figure of speech.
| Weather idiom | Meaning |
| If you can’t stand the heat get out of the kitchen | If something is too pressured or stressful, let other people do it instead of complaining about it |
| Blowing a gale | This means very strong wind. |
| Chase rainbows | If you chase rainbows, then you are going after an unrealistic dream. |
| Come rain or shine | You will do something, no matter how the weather is. Also no matter how you are feeling. |
| Dry spell | This is a period of very dry weather. |
| Wet spell | This is a period of wet weather. |
| Snowed under | This can mean we have experienced extremely heavy snowfall. It can also mean that I am too busy with work, and have piles of work waiting to be completed. |
| Windfall | This is a large amount of cash, or money in general, that you have surprisingly received, or won. Congratulations! |
| To get wind of something | This means that you hear some news about someone. It often has the connotation that you heard negative news. |
| Cloud nine | If we are on cloud nine, then we are feeling extremely happy! |
- This job is very demanding. If you can’t stand the heat, then get out of the kitchen.
- It is blowing a gale outside. It’s not exactly the best day to take the dog for a walk.
- I thought Emma was merely chasing rainbows, but she succeeded in becoming the owner of her own company!
- Theodore works on the farm come rain or shine. If he didn’t, then he wouldn’t be able to earn any money.
- Due to the dry spell, Theodore can’t grow as many vegetables as before.
- The garden is looking very lush, due to the wet spell.
- I am absolutely snowed under with English tests. I need to mark them all before the end of the week.
- I got wind that Tracy was planning to quit her job here.
- Liam received a large windfall when he won the lotto!
- After winning the lottery, Liam was on cloud nine!
Related: 25 Idioms About Summer
Idioms related to cold weather
The next five of our weather idioms will focus on cold weather. After looking at the meanings, we will go over example sentences for these sayings about the weather. They don’t exactly describe the weather being cold but referred to cold weather as a means to explain other things. These sayings about weather can be used in a variety of scenarios. For example, “snowball” could be used in business English, or to talk about a social situation.
| Cold weather idiom | Meaning |
| To break the ice | This means starting a conversation with a new person, in a comfortable way, using a light topic such as the weather or today’s traffic. |
| To be left out in the cold | This means that you are ignored. It can also mean something has been left outside during winter when it should have been inside. |
| To be on thin ice | This is a cautionary weather idiom! If you are on thin ice, then you are at risk of losing something, such as your job. It is like a final warning. |
| The dead of winter | This means the middle of winter. The darkest, coldest time. |
| To snowball | If something snowballs, then it gains size, weight, or significance continuously. Just like if you roll a snowball down the hill it gets bigger and bigger. |
- What’s a good way to break the ice in an elevator?
- Richard was left out in the cold because he failed to reach sales targets this year.
- I tell you, you are on thin ice. Don’t be late for work again.
- Even though it was the dead of winter, there were still leaves on the trees.
- This problem is going to snowball unless someone does something about it.
Related: 21 Winter Idioms + Snow Idioms: Better English Speaking
Idioms related to hot weather
The next five of our weather idioms are related to hot weather. We will look at five of these, then go over their meanings, and after that, we will make sentences with these weather sayings. Once again, these idioms are not all describing hot weather, but they are used as a way to describe various situations.
| Hot weather idiom | Meaning |
| Hot and bothered | If we are hot and bothered, then we feel irritated, and perhaps too warm. If someone’s face is sweaty, and they look irritated, then you can say they appear hot and bothered. |
| Hot under the collar | This is a feeling of stress or anxiety due to being under pressure. |
| A hot topic | This is a topic that is receiving a lot of attention, or it is a controversial issue. |
| A Scorcher | A scorcher is a phrase used to describe a really hot day. |
| I’m burning up | This is an expression to describe feeling very hot. Usually with fever. |
Storm idioms
Here are five more idioms about weather, related to bad weather. These storm sayings can be used to describe various social situations.
| Storm-related saying | Meaning |
| A storm in a teacup | This is used to describe a relatively small problem, that has been blown up out of all proportion. It is not as big a problem, as I first thought. |
| A storm is brewing | This weather idiom means trouble is coming. It is used for social situations. It could also be used to describe looking out at the sea and seeing bad weather forming. |
| The calm before the storm | The relative peace and quiet, before the storm begins. The storm may well be rhetorical, in that we describe the car before a certain period of trouble. |
| To ride out the storm | To bear and tolerate hardship, and eventually recover or survive such hard conditions. Just like a ship that sails out of a big storm on the ocean and doesn’t sink! |
| To kick up a storm | If we kick up a storm, then we make many people annoyed or angry. It might be following a comment we made or something we did. |
- Everyone in the office was worried about the company going under. It turned out to just be a storm in a teacup, and nothing happened.
- Noah wants to replace Charles as CEO. I really think a storm is brewing here. It could get nasty.
- It looks very peaceful in our garden right now, but this is just the calm before the storm. The hurricane is set to arrive tomorrow morning!
- How are we going to ride out the storm? Our company doesn’t have much money left in the bank.
- Theo’s parents kicked up a storm after he had invited 15 of his friends around to the house for a party.
Sun idioms
The last five of our weather idioms refer to the sun. Did you know that the sun was formed 4.6 billion years ago? It’s unbelievable to imagine this star is so old. It should come as no surprise that mini sayings about weather are connected to the sun.
| Sun idiom | Meaning |
| Everything under the sun | This means there is a huge variety of products available, or someone has every conceivable item. |
| A place in the sun | This idiom is used to refer to a situation of advantage or favor that you are receiving. It can also express being placed in a warm spot in a garden, or some other area.In that case, it wouldn’t exactly be an idiom. |
| Catch some rays | To catch some rays means to sunbathe, in order to feel good or get a suntan. |
| Make hay while the sun shines | This is an expression used to tell someone to work now, and be efficient. Don’t waste time. |
| Ray of sunshine | This is an optimistic, happy person. They make other people feel good, too. |
- This department store has everything under the sun. I love it!
- Ophelia has finally found her place in the sun. The management job is perfect for her.
- I’d like to catch some rays at the beach. My doc says it’s not good for my skin, though!
- You should really make hay while the sun shines. You won’t be in high school forever.
- Ava is such a ray of sunshine. She influences everyone around her, in such a positive way!
Weather idioms from hot to cold: Speak and improve English!
According to Wikipedia, there are an estimated 25 million idioms in the English language! Incredible! Obviously, we don’t need to learn anywhere near that many! But, whether it is idioms about cold weather, idioms for hot weather, or sun idioms, I hope these expressions have been of interest to you. One way to help improve our English is by using new phrases and idioms as much as possible. If we can do this, our English will sound more natural. It is one step on our English improvement journey! Please review these weather idioms every day until you know them by heart!