Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Why do the English talk about the weather so much?



Have you ever wondered why English people talk about the weather so much? Well, it has been proven in a survey by the Telegraph that the forecast is the top conversation discussed by English people. Want to know why? Read on to find out what is so interesting about the weather in England.

If it’s filling in an awkward silence or breaking the ice at an interview, it is always very easy to get a conversation rolling when talking about what is going on in the skies. This is probably the main reason why we nervy Brits retreat to talking about the weather so much. We analyse it, complain about it, love it, hate it and are never completely satisfied with our climate. When it’s cold, we want to it be hot, and when it’s hot, we want it be mild, and when it’s mild, we want it to be hot again… the forecast will never win against Britain. To be fair to Brits, the weather in England is extremely random and you can never bet on what the weather will be like tomorrow even if you watch the weather forecast. It could go from being 20 degrees, to raining for 2 weeks straight, to snow and thunder, to sunny and bright but cold and crisp; British weather really is mayhem. If there’s a persistent outbreak of snow or rain, the English predictably resort to another trait they are well known for – moaning.


The truth is, we don’t have any reason to moan. We don’t have the freezing cold conditions of North America reaching -30 in the winter, or the danger of typhoons and hurricanes sweeping the roofs off our houses, and neither do we have 50 degree climates creating frantic forest fires. So why do Brits feel the need to talk about our low risk dull weather all the time? Experts claim that at our location on the globe, we have a very unpredictable and frequently changing climate. This is what can cause us to have brand new weather points to talk about every couple of days or even daily! It’s good to know that there is a reason behind the constant day-to-day chat about the weather, and we guess Brits aren’t moaning about how bad the weather is, they’re complaining about/discussing how inconsistent it is.



It is known that the British use unusual sayings to talk about the weather. Test yourself to see if you can understand or guess what these sayings mean…

1.       ‘Red sky at night, shepherd’s delight – Red sky in the morning, shepherds warning’
2.       ‘Three days of rain will empty any sky’
3.       ‘When the wind is in the East, ‘tis good for man nor beast’
4.       ‘In the morning mountains, in the afternoon fountains’
5.        ‘Cold is the night when the stars shine bright’


Now you’re waiting for the answers right? If you’ve guessed any of these sayings right then you’ve done pretty well… Scroll down to find the answers.

1.       Deep red sunsets are associated with dry weather. This could indicate a spell of nice weather in days to come. It’s the red sky around the sun, not the clouds, that indicates this weather.
2.        In the British climate heavy rain doesn’t last for a very long time. Gloomy days and cloudy days can last for a while but heavy rain normally clears in a day or two. Very rarely does it last for three.
3.       This saying is insisting that Britain normally gets its harsh winter from Eastern Europe. Years ago, if a farmer in Britain felt a cold, icy wind, he would expect snow and cold conditions to be on their way.
4.       Clouds building in the morning tend to turn into thunderstorms in the afternoon. This happens more often in the summer months as the sun heats the ground and air; it causes these clouds to build up in the morning and rain in the afternoon.
5.       This weather saying has the answer in the title already… When the air is dry and cold, (having come from the artic), it’s much easier to see the stars shine at night.