Imagine this: you are at a wedding party in Mexico, sitting next to a complete stranger and desperately trying to find something to talk about.
Or a different scenario: you’re at a business lunch with a Spanish partner and while you’re waiting for everybody to arrive you struggle to get the conversation going.
I’ve written about good Spanish conversation starters before and you are more than welcome to check them out.
Today, however, I’d like to focus on the absolute king of small talk: the weather.
Easy, engaging and politically correct. Plus, it doesn’t require any scientific background or previous knowledge.
A perfect topic to talk about with absolutely anybody, no matter the age or formality level.
The question is: what are some good Spanish weather expressions?
Let’s build your weather vocabulary
First and the most important – the word “weather” itself.
In Spanish it’s “el tiempo”.
Hold on. Doesn’t it mean “the time”?
Sure it does. But it also means “the weather”.
Therefore, you say:
🇪🇸 ¿Cómo está el tiempo en Madrid?
🇬🇧 What’s the weather like in Madrid?
🇪🇸 ¡Veamos el pronóstico del tiempo!
🇬🇧 Let’s watch the weather forecast!
🇪🇸 El tiempo está muy raro últimamente, ¿cierto?
🇬🇧 The weather has been quite strange lately, hasn’t it?
Having clarified that, time for some more weather related vocabulary.
To start forming Spanish weather expressions, you only need a bunch of verbs, adjectives and nouns. Let’s have a look:
| Verbs | Nouns | Adjectives |
| llover to rain | lluvia rain | lluvioso rainy |
| nevar to snow | nieve snow | nevado snowy |
| brillar to shine | el sol the sun | soleado sunny |
| una nube a cloud | nublado cloudy | |
| tormenta storm | tormentoso stormy | |
| el calor the heat | caluroso hot | |
| el frío the cold (weather) | frío, helado cold |
Now, check out how much you can do just with the verb TO RAIN, as long as you get your tenses right.
Remember to use the 3rd person singular!
Also – an important thing to keep in mind – there is no explicit subject accompanying this verb.
No need to look for a substitute for “it”.
Take a look:
🇪🇸 Aquí siempre llueve mucho.
🇬🇧 It always rains a lot here.
🇪🇸 Está lloviendo.
🇬🇧 It’s raining.
🇪🇸 Anoche llovió.
🇬🇧 It rained last night.
🇪🇸 Test Your Spanish Knowledge 🇪🇸
🇪🇸 Ha llovido todo el día.
🇬🇧 It has rained the whole day.
🇪🇸 ¿Crees que va llover mañana?
🇬🇧 Do you think it is going to rain tomorrow?
🇪🇸 Dijeron que iba a llover, pero se equivocaron.
🇬🇧 They said it would rain, but they were wrong.
And now, the same exercise with the verb nevar (to snow).
Pay attention to its conjugation. It is a “-AR” verb and follows the same conjugation rules as cantar, tomar, escuchar, cocinar, etc.
🇪🇸 Está nevando desde las ocho de la mañana.
🇬🇧 It’s been snowing since 8AM.
🇪🇸 La semana pasada nevó en todo el país.
🇬🇧 It snowed in all the country last week.
🇪🇸 Antes nevaba mucho en esta ciudad.
🇬🇧 It used to snow a lot in this city.
🇪🇸 Es posible que nevará de nuevo.
🇬🇧 It’s possible it’s gonna snow again.
🇪🇸 En Canadá nieva todo el invierno.
🇬🇧 It snows all winter in Canada.
You see? Just one simple verb and so many possibilities!
Now, let’s see some more examples of Spanish weather expressions.
🇪🇸 ¡Qué día tan soleado!
🇬🇧 What a sunny day!
🇪🇸 ¿Ves estas nubes negras? Parece que se viene una tormenta.
🇬🇧 Can you see these dark clouds? It looks like a storm is coming.
🇪🇸 Ponte bloqueador. El sol está demasiado fuerte.
🇬🇧 Put some sunscreen on. The sun is too bright.
🇪🇸 Le ofrezco un refresco? Está muy caluroso hoy.
🇬🇧 Would you like a cold drink? It’s very hot today.
🇪🇸 Cuando hace frío prendemos la chimenea.
🇬🇧 When it is cold we light the fire in the fireplace.
🇪🇸 Hay unas pocas nubes, pero no creo que llueva.
🇬🇧 There are a few clouds, but I don’t think it’s gonna rain.
Now, let’s take a closer look at last 3 examples above
“Está caluroso”.
“Hace frío”
“Hay nubes”.
I guess I should clarify how the verbs ESTAR, HACER and HABER work with the weather.
Does the weather DO?
Some basic rules about weather vocabulary can be quite tricky for English speakers, especially if you try to translate them literally.
🇪🇸 Hace frío.
🇬🇧 It’s cold.
🇪🇸 Hizo calor.
🇬🇧 It was hot.
🇪🇸 Parece que mañana hará buen tiempo, no cierto?
🇬🇧 It looks like the weather is going to be nice tomorrow, doesn’t it?
As you see, all these expressions use the verb HACER, which literally means TO DO.
On the other hand, there are other expressions that require you to use the verb HABER.
🇪🇸 Siempre hay mucha lluvia en esta ciudad.
🇬🇧 There is always a lot of rain in this city.
🇪🇸 La semana pasada hubo tanta nieve que cerraron los colegios.
🇬🇧 There was so much snow last week that all schools were closed.
🇪🇸 Dicen que va a haber sol todo el fin de semana.
🇬🇧 They say it is going to be sunny all weekend.
🇪🇸 Antes no había tantas tormentas aquí. ¿Será el cambio climático?
🇬🇧 There did not use to be so many storms here. Is it climate change?
Useful Spainish Weather Vocablary
When you want to build more sentences and weather expressions in Spanish, there are certain additional words that you are going to need to make the conversation a little more developed.
| Las estaciones del año The seasons of the year | La ropa y los accesorios Clothes and accessories | Temperatura Temperature |
| primavera spring | un paraguas an umbrella | 30 grados Celsius 30 degrees Celsius |
| verano summer | botas de agua rubber boots, wellies | 5 grados bajo cero 5 degrees below zero |
| otoño autumn / fall | lentes de sol sunglasses | fresco chilly |
| invierno winter | un quitasol a sunshade | templado mild |
| hawaianas flip flops | ||
| un impermeable rain coat | ||
| guantes gloves | ||
| una bufanda a scarf |
Spanish Weather expressions for A1-B1
OK, so we’ve clarified the main grammar aspects and we’ve built the most important vocabulary.
Now it is time to see how to use them conversationally.
Check out these simple dialogues. I am sure you can pull out lots of good ideas of Spanish weather expressions.
🇪🇸
A: Qué lindo día, no cierto?
B: Si, me gusta mucho el sol.
A: A mi también. No soporto el frío.
🇬🇧
A: What a nice day, isn’t it?
B: Yes, I love how sunny it is.
A: Me too. I hate when it’s cold.
🇪🇸
A: ¿Hace muchísimo frío hoy, no cierto?
B: Demasiado! En la mañana hubo 15 grados bajo cero!
A: Menos mal que tengo buenos guantes.
🇬🇧
A: It’s so very cold outside, isn’t it?
B: Too much! It was 15 degrees below zero in the morning.
A: Luckily I have a good pair of gloves.
🇪🇸
A: ¿Cómo son los veranos en su país?
B: Depende. A veces hace mucho calor, pero también llueva bastante.
A: Entonces la próxima vez tengo que empacar tanto mis hawaianas cómo el paraguas.
🇬🇧
A: What are summers like in your country?
B: It depends. Sometimes it is very hot, but it also rains quite a lot.
A: So the next time I have to pack both my flip flops and my umbrella.
🇪🇸
A: No sabía que en Lima llovía tanto.
B: Si, aquí todos andamos siempre con un paraguas. Le recomiendo comprarse uno.
A: Buena idea. Parece que el impermeable no será suficiente.
🇬🇧
A: I didn’t know it rained so much in Lima.
B: Oh yes, we carry an umbrella with us all the time here. I recommend you to get one.
A: Good idea. It looks like my raincoat will not be enough.
Spanish Weather expressions for B2 – C2
As your Spanish gets better you’ll find it easier and easier to talk about a variety of topics.
It doesn’t mean, though, that you have to throw the old, good weather in the garbage.
It makes a perfect conversation starter no matter what your level of Spanish is. A better grasp of weather vocabulary will let you impress anyone with how well you speak.
Look at these examples. Don’t they look fancy?
🇪🇸
A: ¿Escuchaste la tormenta anoche?
B: Si, se escuchaban muy fuerte los truenos.
A: ¿Y viste los relampagos? Parecía estar de día.
🇬🇧
A: Did you hear the storm last night?
B: I did, the thunder was very loud.
A: And did you see the lightning? It was bright as day.
🇪🇸
A: ¿Está lloviendo afuera?
B: Ahora está chispeando un poco, pero dicen que en la noche va a llover a cántaros.
A: Gracias a avisar, voy a tener que cerrar todas las ventanas. Espero que no granice.
🇬🇧
A: Is it raining outside?
B: It’s only drizzling a little now, but it is said to rain heavily tonight.
A: Thanks for the heads up, I’m gonna have to close all the windows. I hope it doesn’t hail.
🇪🇸
A: Mejor no salgas hoy en auto.
B: ¿Y por qué?
A: Hay demasiada neblina. Con tan poca visibilidad es fácil chocar.
🇬🇧
A: You’d better not use the car today.
B: And why is that?
A: The fog is too heavy. With so little visibility it is easy to get into a crash.
🇪🇸
A: ¿Ha nevado alguna vez en esta ciudad?
B: Que yo recuerdo, muy pocas veces. Y fue más bien un poco de agua nieve que se derritió al instante.
A: ¡Qué lástima! Donde yo vivo, a los niños les encanta la nieve.
🇬🇧
A: Has it ever snowed in this city?
B: Only a few times, as far as I remember. And it was sleet rather than snow and it melted right away.
A: What a shame! Where I live, kids love the snow.
🇪🇸
A: ¡Qué cambiante el tiempo! Ayer me estuve asando de tanto calor y hoy me estoy congelando de frío.
B: Así son los veranos en el sur de Chile, linda. Acá siempre andamos con un buen chaleco por si acaso.
A: Me voy a tener que conseguir uno. Traje pura ropa liviana.
🇬🇧
A: The weather here is so fickle! It was boiling hot yesterday and now I’m freezing to death.
B: This is what summer in the south of Chile looks like, honey. We always take a warm sweater here, just in case.
A: I’ll have to get one, then. I’ve only brought light clothes.
🇪🇸
A: Mire (usted), por fin paró de llover y se está despejando.
B: Sí, pero acá siempre después de la lluvia baja la temperatura. Mañana se espera una mínima de 3 grados bajo cero. Seguro que habrá escarcha. Es super peligroso, sobre todo si te toca manejar.
A: Oh, no tenía idea. Voy a andar con mucho cuidado entonces.
🇬🇧
A: Look, it stopped raining finally and the sky is clearing up.
B: Yes, but after the rain the temperature always drops here. They are forecasting 3 degrees below zero as the minimum temperature for tomorrow. I’m sure there is gonna be frost. It is super dangerous, especially if you need to drive.
A: Oh, I had no idea. I’m gonna be extra careful, then.
Few extra expressions to talk about the climate
Of course. The weather talk often includes climate. Especially nowadays, given all the climate changes we are witnessing and environmental issues being more relevant than ever.
Here are some useful phrases:
🇪🇸 Cambio climático.
🇬🇧 Climate change.
🇪🇸 Efecto invernadero.
🇬🇧 Greenhouse effect.
🇪🇸 La sequía
🇬🇧 The drought
🇪🇸 La temperatura promedia está subiendo.
🇬🇧 The average temperature is rising.
🇪🇸 Algunas areas se inundaron.
🇬🇧 Some areas have been flooded.
🇪🇸 Los ríos se están desbordando.
🇬🇧 Rivers are overflowing.
And here is a sample dialogue about climate change.
🇪🇸
A: Increible como ha cambiado el clima en este país.
B: Si, me acuerdo que antes llovía mucho. Ahora hace varios meses que no ha caído ni una gota de agua.
A: Si sigue así vamos a tener un problema serio con la sequía.
B: Si, he leido que muchos cultivos están arruinados. Esto seguramente afectará los precios.
🇬🇧
A: It is unbelievable how much the climate has changed in this country.
B: Yes, I remember it used to rain a lot. Now, it’s been months since we’ve seen even a drop of rain.
A: If it goes on like this, we’re gonna have a serious drought problem.
B: Yes, I’ve read that many crops have been ruined. This will surely affect the prices.
***
That’s all for today, folks. I’ve given you lots of useful Spanish weather expressions.
If you learn at least some of them, I’m sure you won’t have any problem the next time you need a good small-talk topic!
