How do you describe the weather in Spanish?
Knowing how to describe and talk about the weather is very important when it comes to our everyday conversation. Besides, the weather is a classic example of general small talk, which can be used as an easy icebreaker! It’s also a nice starter topic when someone wants to start learning a new language. Other easy-to-learn topics are month and time in Spanish. When it comes to grammar about the weather, it won’t really make sense for English speakers.
In this article, we will discuss how to talk about the weather in Spanish and make the grammar easier to understand by listing out nouns, adjectives, verbs, and helping verbs that you can use when talking about the weather in Spanish!
Before we get into the thick of it, here is a little introductory video to ease you into the weather in Spanish!
Weather in Spanish: Nouns, Adjectives, and Verbs.
As mentioned before, Spanish grammar might be a bit tricky to understand for English speakers. To make it easier, we have broken down the different ways to talk about the weather into parts listed below: nouns, adjectives, verbs, and lastly helping verbs.
Spanish nouns about the weather
- Season: la temporada
- Fall: el otoño
- Spring: la primavera
- Winter: el invierno
- Wind: el viento
- Storm: la tormenta
- Sleet: las aguanieve
- Frost: la helada
- Hail: el granizo
- Hailstorm: la granizada
- Hurricane: el huracán
- Rainbow: los arco iris
- Breeze: la brisa
- Temperature: la temperatur
- Lightning: el relámpago
- Windstorm: la tormenta de viento
- Fog: la niebla
- Snow: la nieve
- Blizzard: la tormenta de nieve
- Rain: la lluvia
- Weather: el tiempo/clima
- Sun: el sol
- Clouds: las nubes
- Tornado: el tornado
Spanish adjectives about the weather
- Hot: calor
- Warm: cálido
- Sunny: soleado
- Clear: despejado
- Good weather: buen tiempo
- Humid: húmedo
- Cold: frío.
- Cool: fresco
- Cloudy: nublado
- Windy: ventoso
- Misty: neblina
- Foggy: niebla
- Bad weather: mal tiempo
- Freezing: glacial
- Chilly: friolero
Spanish verbs about weather
- Shining: brillando
- Raining: lloviendo
- Drizzling: llovizna
- Sleeting: agobiante
- Pouring: torrencial
- Hailing: llamando
- Storming: asaltando
- Snowing: nevando
An interesting tidbit: Did you know that certain zodiac signs in Spanish tend to like or re-tied certain types of weather? Does your hold true?
Helping verbs; Hacer, Ester, and Haber
A helping, or auxiliary verb, means to add more context to the main verb. For example, instead of saying ella está caminando (she is walking), you say ella está caminando rápido (She is walking fast) rápido means fast, which means to say she is walking (main verb) fast (helping verb).
When it comes to weather in Spanish, there are three relevant helping words:
Hacer
Hacer means “to do” or “does”. As in, what the weather is doing. This helping verb can be used when you describe the weather to someone.
The general formula is: Hace + adjective about weather
For example:
Hace sol (It is hot)
Hace frío (it is cold)
Hace mal tiempo (The weather is bad)
Hace buen tiempo (The weather is good)
Estar
Estar means “to be” or “it is”. As in, what the weather is like at that moment in a non-permanent state. This helping verb can be used when you tell someone what the weather is like at that moment. This is more specific than hacer.
The general formula is: Está + Verb about weather
For example:
Está lloviendo (It is raining)
Está soleado (It is sunny)
Está asaltando (It is storming)
Está nevando (It is snowing)
Haber
Haber means “there is” or “it is”. As in, what is the weather like, what is there? Sun? Rain?
The general formula is: Hay + adjective or noun about the weather
For example:
Hay lluvia (There is rain)
Hay viento (It is windy)
Hay helada (There is frost)
Hay nublado (It is cloudy)
Spanish Questions and Responses about the weather
Here are some examples of how to ask and answer questions about the weather in Spanish.
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Person 1: ¿Como es el clima de allá? (What is the weather like there?)
Person 2: ¡Hace mucho calor aquí! (It is very hot here)
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Person 1: ¿Qué tipo de clima es tu favorito? (What type of weather is your favorite?)
Person 2: Clima frío. Sobre todo cuando nieva o llueve. (Cold weather. Especially when it snows or rains.)
-
Person 1: Hace buen tiempo hoy, ¿no? (Nice weather today, isn’t it?)
Person 2: Sí. ¡Me encanta el verano! (Yes. I love summer)
-
Person 1: ¿Lloverá hoy? (Will it rain today?)
Person 2: No sé. Consulta la aplicación meteorológica. (I don’t know. Check the weather app.)
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Person 1: ¿Cómo está el clima hoy? (How’s the weather today?)
-
Person 2: Muy caliente. Aunque puede que llueva más tarde. (Very hot. It might rain later though.)
Spanish phrases about the weather
Here are some commonly known Spanish phrases about the weather, to spice up your conversational skills!
It’s raining the seas – llueve a los mares
It means it’s raining a lot.
Person 1: ¿Cuánto está lloviendo? (How much is it raining?)
Person 2: llueve a los mares!
It’s raining jugs – Llueve a cántaros
Similar to the previous phrase, it means to say it is raining a lot.
Person 1: Creo que viene una inundación. Llueve a cántaros (I think a flood is coming. It’s raining jugs)
Person 2: Tenemos que estar atentos. (We need to keep an eye out)
The weather is terrible – Hacer un día de perros
This phrase does not translate well into English, but it is basically the same as “It is raining cats and dogs”, as in, the weather is very bad.
Person 1: ¿Todavía vienes? (Are you still coming?)
Person 2: ¿Me estás tomando el pelo? No ire a ninguna parte. Hacer un día de perros. (Are you kidding me? I am not going anywhere. The weather is terrible.
Spring alters blood – La primavera, la sangre altera
Imagine this, you wake up, say good morning in Spanish and feel that, after a long cold winter, there are some signs in the air that spring is coming! That is what the phrase means
Person 1: ¿Crees que es prudente plantar esas flores ahora? (Do you think it’s wise to plant those flowers now?)
Person 2: Sí. Como ellos dicen, la primavera, la sangre altera. (Yes. As they say, spring alters blood).
It’s so cold, it burns – Hace un frío que pela
Ever touched ice for long enough that your skin starts to feel like it’s burning? This phrase means to embody this feeling.
Person 1: ¡Qué frío hace hoy! (It’s so cold today!)
Person 2: ¡Yo se, verdad! Hace un frío que pela (I know right! It’s so cold, it burns!)
Warm up your conversational Spanish!
You are now equipped to break the conversational ice with Spanish speakers, or, you know, genuinely ask about the weather.
If you struggle with Spanish, want to learn simple phrases like “I love you” in Spanish, or want to start learning a new language entirely, the best course of action is to get a tutor. The best online tutors can be found right on your computer screen— at AmazingTalker! With AmazingTalker‘s fantastic online tutors, you will achieve your language-learning goals in no time, and even hold conversations with natives with ease!
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