Weather Phrases Around The World

[Johnny]

I thought it might be interesting to gather phrases from around the world to describe the weather, for example an obvious one here in Britain "It's raining cats and dogs out there" "It's cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey" Maybe you use these in your country as well. So list below with your phrase, your country and even an explanation if you know it.

[Jachym]

In Czech we say:

"Pršely trakaře" - it was raining carts (equivalent to cats and dogs in English)

"Je tam hnusně, že by psa ven nevyhnal" - "the weather is so bad you wouldnt get even a dog outside"

[Johnny]

In Czech we say: "the weather is so bad you wouldn't get even a dog outside"

Nice one

[Jachym]

yes, not a dog, but me quite easily

[nitrx]

Cats and dogs in Dutch. Het regent pijpenstelen. Translated something like' it rains pipes'

[Johnny]

Another quite old one in Britain, you don't hear it much now "It's taters out there" in other words it's cold out.

[Jachym]

When it rains quite a lot you can also say it is raining "ropes of water" (provazy vody)

[Didiersm]

In Czech we say: "the weather is so bad you wouldn't get even a dog outside"

Nice one

we have the same in fFrance
"un temps à ne pas mettre un chien (ou un chat) dehors!"

"Il pleut des cordes" (corde=rope) , same as raining cats and dogs

[Didiersm]

An another famous one in France
"Rouge au couchant, demain beau temps" (red sunset tomorrow sunny)
if the clouds are red in the west during sunset, weather will be fine tomorrow

[Jachym]

Prší zebry a lišky - "It is raining zebras and foxes

[Johnny]

We have something similar in Britain "Red sky at night, shepherd's delight. Red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning" Not sure if it really stands up to scrutiny - maybe someone else could let us know.

[Jachym]

Indeed. A red sky at sunset means high pressure is coming in from the west so the next day will usually be nice and dry.

[Johnny]

I never knew if this was factual or not, now we know

[Semtex]

Rosso di sera bel tempo si spera
Rosso la mattina la pioggia si avvicina

Red sky at night, good weather hopefully
Red sky in the morning the rain is approaching

excuse my english use google translate

[Jachym]

Nice

Yes, all those "red sky" things are actually based on scientific facts. It has to do with how high/low pressure affects the atmosphere, light dispersion etc., but I wont go into too much details. It is of course not 100% accurate, but also not just a saying

Btw. those zebras and foxes... we of course don't say that I do... as of today

[Johnny]

Rosso di sera bel tempo si spera
Rosso la mattina la pioggia si avvicina

Red sky at night, good weather hopefully
Red sky in the morning the rain is approaching

excuse my English use google translate

Sounds good to me - crystal clear, looks like many of us use this term. Here's another quite old one "It's a bit parky out there" - meaning it's chilly.

[Jachym]

You would be surprised how much you can tell just by looking at the sky

For example, when the sky is blue, it is usually nice weather. When it is white/greyish it is usually overcast and believe it or not, when it is black it is usually night! Yes I know, amazing. And when the sky is compltely redish/orange.... then we are screwed

[Johnny]

Now on BBC One the Nuclear weather forecast....

https://youtu.be/FBWoRTf2iew

[MeteoTwischkamp]

"Abendrot- Schönwetterbot'
literally translated
"Evening red brings nice weather", since our weather mostly comes from the Atlantic (West), a red sunset/afterglow can (often) be an indicator of nice weather for the next 12-24 hours.

And analogically: "Morgenrot- schlecht Wetter droht"
Which means a red morning sky, is often followed by worsening weather conditions later.

A "its raining cats and dog" equivalent would be "es gießt aus Eimern", literally "it pours in buckets"

[PaulMy]

A couple used often here.

"Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky in the morning sailor's warning."

Yes. You may also have heard this saying with shepherds instead of sailors because sailors, shepherds and farmers needed to know what the next day's weather would be. In any case, this rhyme works well in Canada because the prevailing winds come from the west. High pressure systems which usually bring fair weather are characterized by settling air which traps dust and small particles. When the sun's rays shine through the particles, they colour the sky red. So if the sky is red in the west at night, then the high pressure area and the fair weather usually associated with high pressure systems are coming towards you. If the sky is red in the morning, though, that means the high pressure area and its fair weather have passed you by.

"Showers before seven, fine before eleven."

Yes. Showers in the morning usually do not last long - for good reason. If they formed during the night when it was cool, then when the sun comes up and heats up the day, the humidity drops, the clouds dry out and the rain ends.

Paul

[wx_jon]

And when the sky is compltely redish/orange.... then we are screwed

Ooh. I'm definitely screwed then. Look at our smokey sunsets.

[Didiersm]

In the same way
"Ciel rouge le soir laisse bon espoir
Ciel rouge le matin, pluie en chemin"

It's really factual!
When the sky is red in the morning very often wind is blowing in the mornig and the rain comes after!
Today no rain planed

[georg]

One from Denmark:
"When the sun goes down in a sack, it rises in a brook" (når solen går ned i en sæk, står den op i en bæk)
-

[Johnny]

I'm still thinking about that one Georg, by the way nice pictures at the bottom of MT homepage

Here's another from Britain "It's like pea soup out there" referring to it being very foggy out.

Another one, a weather presenter might say "Jack Frost will be leaving him mark in the morning" meaning it will be frosty leaving patterns on your windows.

https://callmexntrick.deviantart.com/ar ... -107004061

[gillesroszak]

Hi,

il fait un vent a décorner les boeufs:
litterally: it makes a wind to remove the horns of the bulls(or Ox)

before, when the farmers wanted to cut the cows or bulls horns for prevented the animals from getting hurt, they did it on a windy days because the windy weather healed the wound faster.