Weather Expressions

Talking about the weather is one of the most common topics in everyday conversation. In Spanish, weather expressions use a variety of structures -- some use the verb hacer (to do/make), some use estar (to be), some use haber (there is/are), and others are standalone verbs. Mastering these patterns is essential for natural-sounding Spanish.

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Weather with "Hacer"

The most common weather expressions use hace (third person singular of hacer). These expressions are impersonal -- there is no real subject.

Spanish	English	Literal Translation
Hace calor.	It is hot.	It makes heat.
Hace frío.	It is cold.	It makes cold.
Hace sol.	It is sunny.	It makes sun.
Hace viento.	It is windy.	It makes wind.
Hace buen tiempo.	The weather is good.	It makes good weather.
Hace mal tiempo.	The weather is bad.	It makes bad weather.
Hace fresco.	It is cool / chilly.	It makes coolness.

Important Grammar Notes

• Because these use nouns (calor, frío, sol, viento), you say mucho (not muy) to intensify them:

  • Hace mucho calor. -- It is very hot. (NOT Hace muy calor.)
  • Hace mucho frío. -- It is very cold.
  • Hace mucho viento. -- It is very windy.

• To talk about past or future weather, conjugate hacer:

  • Ayer hizo mucho calor. -- Yesterday it was very hot.
  • Mañana hará frío. -- Tomorrow it will be cold.

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Weather Verbs

Some weather phenomena are expressed as standalone verbs in the third person.

Spanish (Present)	Infinitive	English	Example Sentence
Llueve.	llover	It is raining.	Hoy llueve mucho.
Nieva.	nevar	It is snowing.	En enero nieva en las montañas.
Truena.	tronar	It is thundering.	Truena esta noche.
Llovizna.	lloviznar	It is drizzling.	Solo llovizna un poco.
Graniza.	granizar	It is hailing.	Ayer granizó durante la tormenta.
Hiela.	helar	It is freezing.	Por la noche hiela.

Tip: These verbs are stem-changing: llueve from llover (o > ue), nieva from nevar (e > ie), truena from tronar (o > ue). They only conjugate in the third person singular.

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Weather with "Estar"

Use está (from estar) with adjectives to describe the current state of the sky or atmosphere.

Spanish	English	Example Sentence
Está nublado.	It is cloudy.	Hoy está nublado pero no llueve.
Está despejado.	It is clear.	El cielo está despejado.
Está soleado.	It is sunny.	Mañana estará soleado.
Está húmedo.	It is humid.	En verano está muy húmedo.
Está oscuro.	It is dark.	A las seis ya está oscuro.
Está lloviendo.	It is raining (right now).	Mira, está lloviendo.
Está nevando.	It is snowing (right now).	¡Está nevando! Mira por la ventana.

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Weather with "Hay"

Use hay (from haber, meaning "there is/are") with nouns for certain weather conditions.