Would you like to know how to talk about the weather in Spanish? Or which are the most popular weather expressions in Spanish? ☀️

Chatting about the weather is something everybody can relate to — from your friends to that random person you met at the bus stop. And even though it’s small talk, what better way to practice your Spanish skills? Or as I’d like to say… for breaking the ice (romper el hielo)? Whether you are traveling to a Spanish-speaking country, having a conversation with your Spanish-speaking friends, or trying to be cheery in a store, the weather is an easy conversation starter or filler. Everyone’s willing to vent a little about the weather — it’s too hot, too rainy, too cold, and so on.

If you want to sound like a native Spanish speaker, try peppering your conversations with these Spanish filler words — for example, bueno or pues — when chatting about the weather. It can save you from some awkward pauses.

How do you say weather in Spanish?

In Spanish, we translate weather as el clima or el tiempo. For example: El clima está terrible hoy (The weather is terrible today) or Espero que tengamos buen tiempo para el paseo (I hope we have good weather for the walk.) When having a conversation about the weather in Spanish, go with el clima. It’s the main expression and also easy to remember.

By the way, the word el tiempo has a lot of different meanings in Spanish: from “time” or “weather” to “tempo” or “grammar tense.” In our weather context, el tiempo is used to emphasize the relation between seasons, time and weather. On the other hand, el clima (think about “climate” in English) can be used to describe both current weather and the general weather of an area.

Verbs for describing weather expressions in Spanish

There are three verbs you should use when talking about the weather. The first one is hacer (“to do,” “to make”), the second one is estar (“to be”), and the third one is haber (“to have”). Hacer is largely used to describe the general “feel” or “sensation” of the weather, while estar and haber are more specific.

To make it easier, have a look over how to conjugate hacer, estar and haber. These three verbs are often used in Spanish, so it’s good to familiarize yourself with them. And they will help you better understand the Spanish weather expressions.

Spanish weather expressions

Let’s talk about weather expressions in Spanish. The weather is a diverse topic, and depending on where you live, you can experience a variety of weather phenomena. From different seasons to tornadoes or heat waves, there’s a lot of ground to cover. First, let’s go over the words that describe the weather, followed by essential Spanish weather vocabulary and phrases — including popular weather expressions in Spanish.

• The seasons in Spanish: la temporada/la estación (season), las estaciones (seasons), la primavera (spring), el verano (summer), el otoño (fall), el invierno (winter)
• Spanish weather nouns: el frío (cold), el calor (heat), el sol (sun), el rayo del sol (sunshine), el cielo (sky), el viento (wind), las nubes (clouds), la lluvia (rain), el granizo (hail, sleet), la humedad (humidity), la niebla (fog), la nieve (snow), la helada/la escarcha (frost), la brisa (breeze), la tormenta (storm), el trueno (thunder), el relámpago (lightning), los arco iris (rainbow),  la temperatura (temperature), los grados (degrees), el pronóstico del clima (weather forecast), las condiciones del clima/las condiciones climáticas (weather conditions)
• Spanish weather adjectives: soleado (sunny), calor (hot), cálido (warm), despejado (clear), nublado (cloudy), ventoso (windy), fresco (cool), friolero (chilly), niebla (foggy), neblina (misty), húmedo (humid)
• Extreme weather conditions: el ciclón (cyclon), el huracán (hurricane), el tornado (tornado), el frente frío (cold front), la ola de calor (heat wave), la tormenta eléctrica (thunderstorm), la granizada (hailstorm), la tormenta de viento (windstorm), la tormenta de nieve (blizzard), el terremoto (earthquake), la inundación (flood), la insolación (sunstroke)

What are weather expressions in Spanish?

Imagine yourself having a casual conversation about the weather. You can talk about how the weather is in your city or in general, ask questions, and chat about your favorite season. We’ll start with the weather conditions in Spanish using the verbs hacer, estar, and haber, and end with some common phrases about the weather. By the way, you can also ask questions with hacer, estar, and haber. For example: ¿Está lloviendo afuera? (Is it raining outside?) or ¿Hay nieve? (Is it snowing?). And since we’re on the topic, also learn how to say “now” in Spanish.

Common questions and weather expressions in Spanish

• ¿Qué tiempo/clima hace? (What’s the weather like?), ¿Qué tiempo/clima hace hoy? (What’s the weather like today?)
• ¿Cómo está el tiempo/clima? (How is the weather?), ¿Cómo está el tiempo/clima hoy? (How is the weather today?)
• ¿Cómo está el clima en…? (What’s the weather like in…?)
• ¿Cómo es afuera?, ¿Cómo está por fuera? (What’s it like outside?)
• ¿Hace calor/frío/fresco afuera? (Is it warm/cold/cool outside?)
• ¿Crees que hoy va a hacer frío? (Do you think it’ll be cold today?)
• ¿Cuál es el pronóstico del clima para hoy? (What’s the weather forecast today?), ¿Cuál es el pronóstico para mañana? (What’s the weather forecast for tomorrow?)
• ¿Tienes calor/frío? (Are you hot/cold?)
• ¿Cuál es la temperatura?, ¿Qué temperatura es? (What’s the temperature?)
• ¿Cuál es tu temporada favorita? (What’s your favorite season?)

Describing weather in Spanish:

• Nevó toda la noche. (It snowed all night.)
• Graniza en las montañas. (It’s snowing in the mountains.)
• En las noches, hace frío. (It’s cold at night.)
• Había truenos fuertes. (It was thundering loudly.)
• Diluvió con duración de tres días. (It poured rain for three days.)
• Hace mucho calor en… Los Angeles. (It’s very hot in… Los Angeles.)
• No hay mucho sol. (It isn’t very sunny.)
• El día está soleado. (The day is sunny.)
• Mañana estará caluroso. (Tomorrow it will be hot.)
• Temo que haya lluvia. (I’m afraid it will rain.)
• Ayer estuvo nublado. (Yesterday it was cloudy.)
• Tengo calor/frío. (I’m hot/cold.)
• El clima es agradable. (The weather is nice.)
• Durante el otoño, el clima es ventoso. (During the fall, the weather is windy.)
• El invierno es muy frío. (Winter is very cold.)
• Va a llover/nevar/helar. (It’s going to rain/snow/freeze.)

Top 11 weather expressions in Spanish

Discover some colorful weather expressions in Spanish. From llueve a mares to es un horno afuera, you can easily picture the scene. Here are some of the most popular weather expressions in Spanish:

1. ¡Llueve a mares! (literally: It’s raining seas!) This expression is the Spanish equivalent of “it’s raining cats and dogs”.
2. ¡Llueve a cántaros! (It’s raining jugs!)
3. Siempre que llovió, paró. (Whenever it rained, it stopped.) A form of “this too shall pass.”
4. Hace un frío que pela. (It’s so cold, it burns.)
5. ¡Me estoy congelando! (I’m freezing!)
6. Hace un calor tremendo. (It’s a tremendous heat.)
7. ¡Es un horno afuera! (It’s an oven outside.) For those very very hot days…
8. ¡Es una nevera fuera! (It’s an icebox outside.)
9. No hay ni una nube. (There is not a cloud in the sky.)
10. ¡Me muero de calor/frío! (I’m dying of heat/cold.)
11. La primavera, la sangre altera. (Spring alters blood.) Spring is coming.