SULTRY but not DREICH today

[jack.h...@gmail.com]

Before the cloud broke, with a high humidity I said to my wife: "It's very SULTRY"

That started a minor conversation about some of the strange expressions used to describe human reaction to different weather phenomena.

In my native Great Yarmouth, the seaside advertising described the weather as BRACING, a euphemism for cold sea breezes.

FRESH(ER) suggests that OPPRESSIVE warm and humid maritime air is replaced by cooler polar air.

SPARKLING is used, particularly with regard to visibility, in polar or arctic air.

BLEAK (as in midwinter) has I believe been used by the likes of Dickens, but despite my many interests I'm not into literature.

DREICH is an excellent Scottish word to describe - well - dreich weather (miserable for one or many reasons).

Over to you for more strange but useful weather words.

Jack

[Nick Gardner]

My gran used to describe humid weather as CLOSE and that we need a thunderstorm to CLEAR the air, i.e., make it less humid.

Last night's rain and thunderstorms didn't clear the air so gran would have been disappointed, it's just as MUGGY here to day as yesterday with 20°C dew points though a little cooler.

--
Nick Gardner
Otter Valley, Devon
20 m amsl
http://www.ottervalleyweather.me.uk  

[Julian Mayes]

It is still quite CLOSE and MUGGY here in Surrey today, and any thunderstorms last night failed totally to CLEAR the air, or indeed to do anything apart from give 0.1mm of rain. 

I do wish people would think more carefully about the vocabulary of the weather - especially some weather forecasters. There's a social history of weather to tap into, isn't there.  

I wonder how many of these words have a regional origin - as well as dreich, obviously. My Wiltshire grandmother and my mother certainly would refer to 'close' weather, rather than muggy or humid.  

This is the kind of thread that brings me back here. 

Julian   

[jack.h...@gmail.com]

Stella has just suggested INVIGORATING.

With my arthritic knees / hips / you name the body part,  I would appreciate weather matching that description.

Jack

[Len W]

The weather in these parts is often called PERMISSIVE

Len

[jack.h...@gmail.com]

On Saturday, 24 July 2021 at 23:14:23 UTC+1 Len W wrote:

The weather in these parts is often called PERMISSIVE

What does PERMISSIVE mean in this context? 

Not quite along the same lines, but Nick's reference to his gran reminded me.

At age six or seven I was out for a walk with my granny when she said: "We'd better go home now.  There's a TEMPEST on it's way."

I had little idea what a TEMPEST was but it sounded really scary.  My recollection of the event was that a heavy shower was approaching, perhaps with gusty winds.

Maybe there was some nautical connotation to her choice of words.  Husband (who I never met - apparently he took off with a shop girl) was a seafarer.

Jack

[Len W]

PERMISSIVE

There are two lines of thought on this one.

1. Lovely weather allowing you to do anything you like.

or

2. Anything can happen. An uncetain forecast.

Len

Wembury