Beyond “¿Qué tiempo hace?” — Describe el clima con detalle en español
Ever been stuck at “Hace sol” and wished you could say more? Today, you’ll learn to describe the weather in Spanish with real detail — from clouds and wind, to temperatures, humidity, and what the forecast says. We’ll practice the core patterns (hace/está/hay), common adjectives, and rain/snow verbs so your weather talk sounds natural and clear.
The Big Three: hace, está, hay
Spanish uses three main patterns to talk about weather:
- Hace + noun: “It’s [noun-y].” Example: Hace calor (It’s hot), Hace viento (It’s windy).
- Está + adjective: “It’s [adjective].” Example: Está nublado (It’s cloudy), Está despejado (It’s clear).
- Hay + noun: “There is / There are.” Example: Hay niebla (There is fog), Hay tormenta (There’s a storm).
Use these like building blocks to add detail: Hoy hace mucho calor, pero está nublado por la tarde (Today it’s very hot, but it’s cloudy in the afternoon).
Hoy calor.
En Madrid muchas nubes.
El cielo despejado esta mañana.
Adjectives and nouns to add detail
Let’s add color to your description with common words.
- soleado = sunny
- nublado = cloudy
- despejado = clear (sky)
- húmedo = humid
- seco = dry
- tormenta = storm
- niebla = fog
Spanish mix: Está muy nublado, pero por la tarde estará más despejado (It’s very cloudy, but in the afternoon it will be clearer).
Rain, snow, and weather verbs
Two key verbs: llover (to rain) and nevar (to snow). You’ll often hear the simple form and the progressive:
- Llueve = It rains / It’s raining
- Está lloviendo = It’s raining (right now, ongoing)
- Nieva = It snows / It’s snowing
- Está nevando = It’s snowing
Both are fine, but the progressive highlights the action happening now. Example: Ahora está lloviendo fuerte (Right now it’s raining hard).
| Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| yo | lluevo |
| tú | llueves |
| él/ella/usted | llueve |
| nosotros | llovemos |
| vosotros | llovéis |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | llueven |
Arrange a natural Spanish sentence about morning weather.
Temps and time frames: grados y pronóstico
To talk temperatures:
- La temperatura es de 20 grados. = The temperature is 20 degrees.
- La máxima es 26 (veintiséis). La mínima es 14 (catorce). = The high is 26. The low is 14.
- Por la mañana… / Por la tarde… / Por la noche… = In the morning / afternoon / evening.
Spanish mix: Mañana la máxima será de 30 grados, con humedad alta (Tomorrow the high will be 30 degrees, with high humidity).
Fun vocab: paraguas (umbrella) literally means “stop-waters.” Lleva el paraguas si hay pronóstico de lluvia (Take the umbrella if there’s a forecast for rain).
This mini forecast says: Morning is sunny but windy; asking if it will rain in the afternoon; answer is “No, 22°C and no rain,” so the person goes out without an umbrella.
Quick review phrases
- Hoy hace buen tiempo. = The weather is nice today.
- Está despejado esta noche. = It’s clear tonight.
- Hay tormenta cerca de la costa. = There’s a storm near the coast.
- Mañana la mínima será de 10 grados. = Tomorrow the low will be 10 degrees.
Practice saying a full report: Hoy hace calor y está húmedo; por la tarde habrá nubes, pero no va a llover (Today it’s hot and humid; in the afternoon there will be clouds, but it won’t rain).
You’ve got this!
With hace/está/hay, a few adjectives, and the rain/snow verbs, you can describe any day clearly. Next time someone asks “¿Qué tiempo hace?”, go beyond basic: give a mini forecast with times, temperatures, and details. ¡Buen trabajo!