Here you'll find out what phrasal verbs might help you speak about the weather getting better or worse; changes of temperature; the weather preventing people from doing something; the sun; the clouds and the fog; the wind; and the rain.
Weather Getting Better
BRIGHTEN UP - if the weather (it) brightens up, the sun begins to shine and the sky becomes brighter
Ex. If the weather brightens up, we could walk down to the beach.
CLEAR UP - if the weather (it) clears up, it stops raining and becomes more pleasant
Ex. The weather forecast said that it would clear up later in the day.
LET UP - (of bad weather or an unpleasant situation) to stop or become less serious than before
Ex. I'll drive you into town as soon as the snow lets up.
LET-UP (noun, singular, uncountable) - a pause in bad weather or an improvement in an
unpleasant situation
Ex. Streets were flooded, but still there was no let-up in the rain.
BLOW OVER - (about a storm) to end
Ex. The Weather Center predicts that the snowstorm will quickly blow over.
BLOW itself OUT - (about a storm) to end
Ex. The hurricane moved along the northeast before blowing itself out over the North Atlantic.
Weather Getting Worse
CLOUD OVER - if the sky (it) clouds over, it become covered with clouds and the sun disappears
Ex. In the afternoon it clouded over and cooled down a bit.
CLOSE IN - (of bad weather) to start getting worse
Ex. The fog began to close in and we couldn't see a thing.
BLOW UP - (of a storm or strong wind) to suddenly start
Ex. The sky's getting dark - it looks like there's a storm blowing up.
COME ON - to statrt or be nearly starting
Ex. As soon as we had left the shelter, the rain came on.
Temperature Changing
WARM UP - to become warmer
Ex. In spring the weather soon starts to warm up.
COOL DOWN - to become slightly colder
Ex. The air has cooled down a little now.
COOL OFF - to return to a normal temperature after being hot
Ex. By late autumn Mediterranean islands have cooled off.
Weather Preventing Something from Happening
BE RAINED OFF (BrE) / BE RAINED OUT (AmE) -if an event (an outdoor activity) is raind off / out, it cannot take place or has to stop because it's raining
Ex. Last night's match with Leeds United was rained off.
BE SNOWED OFF (BrE) / BE SNOWED OUT (AmE) - if an event (an outdoor activity) is snowed off / out, it cannot take place or has to stop because it's snowing
Ex. Apparently, the game was snowed off.
BE SNOWED IN / BE SNOWED UP (BrE) - to be unable to leave the place where you are because there is so much snow on the ground
Ex. Many people are snowed in and cannot get to work.
BE FLOODED OUT - to be forced to leave your home because of floods
Ex. Hundreds of Londoners were flooded out after the worst rain for twenty years.
The Sun
BEAT DOWN - to shine very strongly
Ex. The sun was beating down on our backs and our throats were dry.
COME UP - (of the sun or moon) to move up into the sky where you can see it
Ex. We got up early to watch the sun come up behind the muontains.
Similar to: rise
GO DOWN - (of the sun) to gradually get lower in the sky until it disappears
Ex. It was six o'clock, and the sun was going down for the day.
Similar to: set.
COME OUT - (of the sun, moon or stars) to appear in the sky after being hidden
Ex. Just as we were about to leave the beach, the sun came out.
BREAK THROUGH (smth) - (of the sun or light) to appear from behind the clouds or mist
Ex. At that moment the sun broke through (the clouds).
GO IN (BrE) - (of the sun or moon) to disappear behind some clouds so you cannot see it any more
Ex. The sun had gone in and it was starting to get cold.
Clouds and Fog
ROLL IN - (of clouds or fog) appear in large amounts
Ex. Fog rolled in from the sea.
BLOT OUT smth / BLOT smth OUT - to cover and prevent fromn being seen.
Ex. The clouds blotted out the sun.
FOG / MIST / STEAM UP - (of windows or glasses) to become covered with small drops of water so you can't see through them.
Ex. My windshield fogged up, making it nearly impossible to see the road.
The Wind
GET UP (BrE) - to start and get stronger
Ex. The wind got up during the night and blew their tent away.
PICK UP - to become stronger
Ex. That evening the wind picked up and storm clouds started moving over from the east.
DIE DOWN - to become less strong
Ex. At last the storm died down.
Raining a Lot
POUR DOWN / BEAT DOWN - to rain very hard
Ex. It's been pouring down all morning.
At that moment the sky darkened and the rain began to beat down
DOWNPOUR (noun, countable) - when a lot of rain falls quickly in a short period of time
Ex. A heavy downpour delayed the firework display.
LASH DOWN - if the rain lashes down, a lot of rain falls and there is also often a lot of wind
Ex. It was a wild evening. The rain was lashing down and the wind was howling through the trees.
BE PELTING DOWN (informal) - used to say that it is raining very heavily
Ex. It's been pelting down all morning.
BE BUCKETING DOWN (BrE, informal) - used to say that it is raining very heavily
Ex. It's been bucketing down all afternoon.
BE TIPPING DOWN (BrE, spoken, informal) - used to say that it is raining very heavily
Ex. It's been tipping down all morning.
BE CHUCKING (IT) DOWN (BrE, spoken, informal) - used to say that it is raining very heavily
Ex. It's been chucking down for days now - when is it going to stop?
Not Raining (Although You Expect It to)
HOLD OFF - (of rain or snow) not to start, although it looks like it will soon
Ex. It looks like snow's on the way - I hope it holds off until we get home.
KEEP OFF (BrE) - (of bad weather) not to start, although it looks as if it might begin soon
Ex. The rain kept off until we boarded our coach at 6.15.
