More Vocabulary For Talking About Winter Weather

Currently, the northern hemisphere is getting hit by a biting and bitter cold with temperatures dipping below zero. Here in Alsace, a blanket of snow already covers the ground as the snow continues to fall and a cold, blustery wind blows. Earlier in the day, there were only a few snowflakes that fell in a light snow called flurries. With such chilly weather, I would love to stay home curled up warm in front of a fireplace with a good book and a mug of hot chocolate! According to the weathermen, this current cold snap is to last until at least the 18th of this month!

Driving in this wintery weather isn’t easy either! You have to be extremely careful because when it snows heavily, you can have a whiteout which means that so much snow is falling that you cannot see clearly in front of you. The roads also get very slippery and if you have to be careful of black ice which are patches of ice that are difficult to see on the road. This is particularly true for bridges. During the day as the authorities salt or sand the roads, the snow starts to melt into what we call slush. This slush can refreeze during the night causing hazardous road conditions.

BONUS

How about some fun with a challenging winter crossword puzzle I found on the net?

To download it : Challenging Winter Crossword

Vocabulary In The News : Arctic Blast Freezes Northern Hemisphere

From this video you’ll get some excellent vocabulary for talking about winter weather.

For the full transcript, go to: http://www.newsy.com/videos/arctic_blast_freezes_northern_hemisphere

Vocabulary

an arctic blast	-	un coup de froid arctique
to make headlines	-	faire les gros titres, faire la une
to blanket (snow, etc.)	-	recouvrir
to bring to a standstill	-	paralyser
a cold snap	-	un coup de froid
a deep freeze	-	une gelée rigoureuse
to jeopardize	-	menacer
the citrus industry	-	l’industrie des agrumes
the wind chill	-	le refroidissement éolien, le facteur vent
to be off the charts	-	dépasser les limites
a cold streak	-	une vague de froid
to set in	-	s’installer
to linger on	-	persister
a heavy snow	-	une neige abondante
a forecaster	-	un météorologue, un météorologiste
stranded	-	bloqué, isolé
to huddle together	-	se serrer les uns contre les autres
a snow drift	-	une congère
a blast of winter	-	un coup d’hiver
to make too much of something	-	attacher trop d’importance à quelque chose
a big deal	-	un grand-chose