Spanish Weather Terms

The weather / El tiempo

Perhaps people have told you before that Spain is a land of perpetual sunshine. Yes, it is true that we have more hours of sunshine every year than in other European countries, but we also have clouds, the occasional rain shower in the city, snow, and the beautiful areas in the north of our country depend on rain most of the year to boast such spectacular green landscapes. We have a lot of varied weather, and you are likely to come across some changing weather types during your stay even if it is just a short one.

For this reason we think that it is very important that you know some of the meteorological terms used in Spain. Do not worry; the ones that we have selected are not complicated technical terms but words which we use on a daily basis in conversation to describe what we see outside of our windows. This is all vocabulary which will be very useful for you during all your outings, trips and travels! Of course, one of the favourite pastimes for many people is to talk about the weather, and often when we meet someone new and we are not sure about what to say we like to chat about this kind of phenomenon because it is something that we can all understand and notice. It is not likely that you will get blank looks when you discuss whether it has been raining or sunny recently! For this reason it can be a good idea to get these kinds of terms in your head as a tool which you can use in social situations, to ensure that the conversation flows well and it is not awkward for you.

We have included not just the different types of basic weather which you can experience, but also some more descriptive terms, as well as general words which are used to talk about the weather. You might see these phrases being used on a news program’s weather forecast, or you might simply use them yourself, whether you are talking about what is happening now, what happened in the past, or what is predicted for the future. You can keep this list in your bookmarks if you want to check it later on!