Talking about precipitation

When discussing the weather in Spanish, you’ll often need to talk about precipitation. This guide covers essential vocabulary and phrases to help you describe various types of precipitation and weather conditions fluently.

Basic Precipitation Terms

The most common precipitation terms you’ll encounter are:

  • la lluvia (rain) – The most frequent type of precipitation in Spanish-speaking regions
  • la nieve (snow) – Common in mountainous areas and during winter months
  • el granizo (hail) – Frozen precipitation that can range from small pellets to large hailstones
  • la llovizna (drizzle) – Light rain that often occurs in coastal areas
  • el aguacero (downpour) – Heavy rainfall that typically occurs during storms
  • el chubasco (shower) – A brief, intense burst of rain
  • la garúa (mist) – Very light rain or fine drizzle

Using Weather Verbs

Spanish uses special verbs to describe precipitation. These verbs are used impersonally (without a subject):

  • llover (to rain)
    • Present: Está lloviendo (It’s raining)
    • Past: Llovió ayer (It rained yesterday)
    • Future: Va a llover mañana (It’s going to rain tomorrow)
  • nevar (to snow)
    • Present: Está nevando (It’s snowing)
    • Past: Nevó en las montañas (It snowed in the mountains)
    • Future: Va a nevar esta noche (It’s going to snow tonight)
  • granizar (to hail)
    • Present: Está granizando (It’s hailing)
    • Past: Granizó durante la tormenta (It hailed during the storm)
    • Future: Va a granizar (It’s going to hail)

Describing Intensity

You can modify these terms with various intensity descriptors:

  • Llueve/nieva/graniza…
    • mucho (a lot)
    • poco (a little)
    • fuerte (heavily)
    • suavemente (lightly)
    • intensamente (intensely)
    • débilmente (weakly)

For example:

  • Está lloviendo mucho (It’s raining a lot)
  • Nevó suavemente toda la noche (It snowed lightly all night)
  • Está granizando muy fuerte (It’s hailing very heavily)

Weather Expressions

Common expressions involving precipitation:

  • Hay probabilidad de lluvia (There’s a chance of rain)
  • Amenaza lluvia (Rain is threatening)
  • Se avecina una tormenta (A storm is approaching)
  • Llueve a cántaros (It’s raining buckets)
  • Caen chuzos de punta (It’s raining cats and dogs)
  • Hace un día lluvioso (It’s a rainy day)
  • Hace un día soleado (It’s a sunny day)
  • Hace frío (It’s cold)
  • Hace calor (It’s hot)

Regional Variations

Different Spanish-speaking regions may use alternate terms:

  • aguacero/chaparrón (downpour) – Common in Latin America
  • páramo (drizzle) – Used in Colombia and Venezuela
  • chubasco/aguacero (shower) – Varies by country
  • cellisca (sleet) – More common in Spain

Weather Patterns

To describe weather patterns involving precipitation:

  • lluvia estacional (seasonal rain)
  • temporada de lluvias (rainy season)
  • monzón (monsoon)
  • precipitaciones (precipitation – formal term)

For example:

  • La temporada de lluvias comienza en junio (The rainy season begins in June)
  • Las precipitaciones son más frecuentes en primavera (Precipitation is more frequent in spring)

Remember that weather terms often appear in weather forecasts (el pronóstico del tiempo) and news reports, so familiarity with these terms will help you understand these important sources of information.

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