Weather Expressions

Talking about the weather -- il tempo -- is a universal conversation starter, and Italy's climate gives you plenty to talk about. From the hot summers of Sicily to the snowy winters of the Alps, weather vocabulary is essential for daily conversation.

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Asking About the Weather

Italian	English
Che tempo fa?	What is the weather like?
Com'è il tempo oggi?	How is the weather today?
Che tempo farà domani?	What will the weather be like tomorrow?
Quali sono le previsioni?	What is the forecast?

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Weather with "Fare"

Many common weather expressions use the verb fare (to make/do) in the third person.

Italian	English
Fa caldo.	It is hot.
Fa freddo.	It is cold.
Fa fresco.	It is cool.
Fa bel tempo.	The weather is nice.
Fa brutto tempo.	The weather is bad.

Intensifiers

To say "very," use molto (not tanto or troppo for simple emphasis):

• Fa molto caldo. -- It is very hot.
• Fa molto freddo. -- It is very cold.

Tip: In these expressions, caldo and freddo function as nouns, so you use molto (not molto/a as an adjective). Compare with Ho molto caldo (I am very hot -- using avere).

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Weather with "Esserci" (C'è / Ci sono)

Use c'è (there is) or ci sono (there are) for weather phenomena that are present:

Italian	English
C'è il sole.	It is sunny. (There is sun.)
C'è vento.	It is windy. (There is wind.)
C'è nebbia.	It is foggy. (There is fog.)
C'è un temporale.	There is a storm.
Ci sono nuvole.	There are clouds.
C'è un arcobaleno.	There is a rainbow.

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Weather Verbs (Impersonal)

Some weather phenomena have their own verbs, used in the third person singular only:

Italian	English	Present Tense
piovere	to rain	Piove. (It is raining.)
nevicare	to snow	Nevica. (It is snowing.)
grandinare	to hail	Grandina. (It is hailing.)
tuonare	to thunder	Tuona. (It is thundering.)
lampeggiare	to flash (lightning)	Lampeggia. (There is lightning.)
gelare	to freeze	Gela. (It is freezing.)

Past Tense Examples

• Ieri ha piovuto tutto il giorno. -- Yesterday it rained all day.
• La scorsa settimana ha nevicato. -- Last week it snowed.
• Stamattina ha grandinato. -- This morning it hailed.

Note: Weather verbs can take either avere or essere as their auxiliary in the past tense. Ha piovuto and è piovuto are both correct, though ha piovuto is more common in modern Italian.

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Weather Adjectives