Most weather expressions use HACER (Hace calor) or HAY (Hay niebla), but SER and ESTAR are also very useful for talking about the weather and seasons in Spanish. The verb ESTAR will be used to say what the weather is like at a given moment, that is temporary weather conditions, for example: “Está nublado”. On the other hand, SER will be used in a more descriptive and general way, for example: “El clima es cálido en mi ciudad” (the climate is warm in my city – it means it is generally warm).
You may need to check and understand the weather report in order to make plans for your day. Let’s check out a few weather expressions in Spanish and get to know the names of the seasons!
Common phrases for each season:
| La primavera – Spring |
| Hace viento – It’s windy. Llueve. / Está lloviendo. – It’s raining. |
| El verano – Summer |
| Hace sol. – It’s sunny. Hace calor. – It’s hot. |
| El otoño – Fall |
| Está nublado. – It’s cloudy. Hace fresco. – It’s chilly. |
| El invierno – Winter |
| Hace frío. – It’s cold. Nieva. / Está nevando. – It’s snowing. |
Two of the most commonly used phrases are:
Hace buen tiempo. = The weather is nice/good.
Hace mal tiempo. = The weather is bad.
Here are 20 phrases in Spanish to describe the weather, with their English translations. These should be useful for beginners:
- Hace buen tiempo – The weather is good.
- Hace mal tiempo – The weather is bad.
- Hace calor – It’s hot.
- Hace frío – It’s cold.
- Hace sol – It’s sunny.
- Hace viento – It’s windy.
- Está nublado – It’s cloudy.
- Está lloviendo or Llueve – It’s raining.
- Está nevando or Nieva – It’s snowing.
- Hay tormenta – There’s a storm.
- Hay relámpagos – There’s lightning.
- Hay un arcoíris – There’s a rainbow.
- Está húmedo – It’s humid.
- Está seco – It’s dry.
- Hace fresco – It’s cool (as in mildly cold).
- El cielo está despejado – The sky is clear.
- Hay niebla – It’s foggy.
- La temperatura es alta – The temperature is high.
- La temperatura es baja – The temperature is low.
- El pronóstico del tiempo para hoy es… – Today’s weather forecast is…
These phrases will help you talk about the weather in different contexts. Practice using them and you’ll become more comfortable with them over time.