Animals and nature · hangman category
Weather Hangman Words
Weather hangman words from rain and fog to cumulus, barometer and precipitation. Play online with this list or print a sheet with an answer key.
Read the word list
Weather vocabulary splits into two groups, and this list uses both. The everyday words, such as rain, snow, fog and breeze, are familiar to every child. The science words, such as barometer, evaporation, precipitation and meteorologist, show up in elementary and middle school units and are much harder to spell from memory.
That split makes the list useful across ages. A kindergartner can handle hail and mist, while a fifth grader can try anemometer or condensation. The cloud names cumulus, stratus, cirrus and nimbus give older players a pattern to learn, and the storm words tornado, hurricane and blizzard keep interest high. The phrases, like cold front and water cycle, match the language of weather reports and science textbooks.
67 entries. Our solver needed 3.3 wrong guesses on average: 19 easy, 31 medium and 17 hard. The toughest is fog (12 misses), the quickest forecast (0).
- rain Medium · 2
- snow Hard · 5
- sleet Easy · 1
- hail Hard · 5
- fog Hard · 12
- mist Medium · 4
- cloud Hard · 6
- thunder Easy · 1
- lightning Medium · 2
- tornado Medium · 2
- hurricane Easy · 1
- blizzard Medium · 2
- drizzle Medium · 3
- humidity Medium · 3
- forecast Easy · 0
- barometer Easy · 0
- thermometer Easy · 1
- temperature Easy · 1
- breeze Medium · 3
- gust Hard · 7
- storm Medium · 2
- cyclone Medium · 3
- monsoon Medium · 3
- drought Medium · 3
- flood Hard · 5
- frost Medium · 2
- freeze Medium · 2
- rainbow Easy · 1
- sunshine Medium · 2
- windy Hard · 7
- cloudy Hard · 5
- stormy Medium · 2
- foggy Hard · 9
- icy Hard · 6
- meteorologist Easy · 0
- precipitation Easy · 0
- evaporation Easy · 0
- condensation Easy · 0
- atmosphere Easy · 0
- pressure Easy · 1
- cumulus Medium · 4
- stratus Medium · 2
- cirrus Medium · 4
- nimbus Medium · 4
- anemometer Easy · 0
- typhoon Medium · 3
- squall Medium · 3
- humid Hard · 6
- overcast Medium · 2
- thaw Hard · 6
- thunderstorm Easy · 1
- climate Easy · 1
- season Easy · 1
- cold front Medium · 4
- warm front Medium · 3
- heat wave Hard · 12
- rain gauge Medium · 2
- weather vane Medium · 3
- water cycle Medium · 3
- partly cloudy Medium · 4
- wind chill Hard · 10
- severe weather Medium · 2
- weather forecast Easy · 1
- freezing rain Medium · 2
- dew point Hard · 6
- high pressure Hard · 7
- low pressure Hard · 9
Words worth a closer look
- lightningNot to be confused with lightening, the act of making something lighter. The missing e in the middle is the usual spelling slip.
- cumulusLatin for heap or pile, a good match for the puffy cloud. Luke Howard, an English pharmacist, proposed the Latin cloud names cumulus, stratus and cirrus in 1802.
- cirrusFrom the Latin word for a curl of hair, which describes the thin wispy streaks high in the sky. Double r and only two vowels, i and u.
- meteorologistThirteen letters. The root is the Greek meteoros, meaning high in the air, which is also where the word meteor comes from. The word is about weather, not meteors.
- hurricaneReached English through the Spanish huracan, which borrowed it from a language of the Caribbean. Players tend to guess r early because it appears twice.
- anemometerAn instrument for measuring wind speed, from the Greek anemos, meaning wind. Three e's and two m's in ten letters make it long but patterned.
- squallA sudden, short burst of wind. Only one vowel, a, and a double l at the end. The sq start gives much of it away once the first blanks fill.
Using this list in class
Pair this list with a weather unit in second through fifth grade. Early in the unit, the everyday words work as a warm-up. Later, move to the science words once students have met a barometer or a rain gauge in class. A weekly weather station with a chart and a daily hangman word keeps the topic in front of students for a month.
Spelling teachers can build a lesson on the sound families here: the ight pattern in lightning, the ou in cloud, and the double letters in blizzard and squall. Printing the sheet gives substitute teachers a ready-to-use activity during a rainy-day indoor recess.
Print a Weather Hangman worksheet
Eight puzzles on one US Letter page, with a clue, letter blanks, an empty frame to draw in, an alphabet strip to cross off and circles to count misses. Page two is the answer key.
Need another sheet?
Draw eight different words from this list, right here. Same layout, new answer key.
Keep going
- Science Hangman WordsScience hangman words drawn from elementary and middle school units: the scientific method, matter, energy, life science and earth science.
- Winter Hangman WordsWinter hangman words about snow, ice, cold weather and animals, with phrases and teaching notes. Play online or print a sheet with an answer key.
- Spring Hangman WordsSpring hangman words on flowers, rain, growing things and baby animals, with phrases and teaching notes. Play online or print with an answer key.
- Fall Hangman WordsFall and autumn hangman words on leaves, harvest, orchards and cozy weather, with phrases and notes. Play online or print with an answer key.
- Earth Day Hangman WordsEarth Day hangman words on recycling, climate, wildlife and caring for the planet. Play the list online or print a free sheet with an answer key.
- Animals Hangman WordsHangman words for animals from around the world, from lions and zebras to platypus and armadillo. Play online or print a sheet with an answer key.