In today’s lesson you’ll learn to talk about the weather in Italian. If you’re planning on visiting Italy it’s probably best to learn some key words so you can understand basic discussions about the weather to help you decide what you should wear or if it makes more sense to take a stroll or stay inside. Knowing how to speak about the weather is especially important in Italy because it can vary so much from region to region and depending on the time of year. So, while you may find dry and sunny days in Catania in July, the same time of the year in Padova is muggy and humid.
Let’s take a season: Autumn, for instance, which is an ideal time of the year to go to Italy. Not only do you miss the intense heat of July and August (when most Italians are escaping cities to beaches or breezy mountains), but you also beat the crowds, and travelling at this time of year is more economical than in peak season. Generally this time of year it’s not too hot and not too cold and if you’re lucky you’ll find some of the loveliest weather of the year. Autumn in Italy is often characterized by warm days without the humidity of the summer, but it is a season of change and sometimes things can turn cold quickly so knowing how to ask about the weather is important. Read on for some weather expressions and tips!
Let’s talk about the weather: a beautiful double rainbow over Rapallo (by pmonaghan at flickr flic.kr/p/d38QTo)
Common Weather Expressions
Com’è il tempo? = What’s the weather like?
Soleggiato = sunny
Ventoso = windy
Vento = wind
Temporale = thunderstorm
Giornate fresche = cool days
Mite = mild
Foschia = mist
Brina = white frost
Brezza, venticello = breeze
Si muore dal caldo qui dentro! = It’s way too hot in here!
Afoso = muggy (humid)
Appiccicoso = sticky
Lampo = lightning
Umido = humid
Hot = caldo
Sole splendente = bright sunshine
Brezza rinfrescante = cooling breeze
Tromba d’aria = tornado
Grandine = hailstone
Caldo = heat, hot (in summer, hot or very warm means more than seven degrees Celsius above normal temperatures).
Bassa pressione = low pressure
Uragano = hurricane
Ciclone = cyclone, typhoon (if in a tropical area)
Velocità del vento = wind speed
Sabbia = sand
Precipitazioni = precipitation (the falling to earth of any form of water, ie. rain, snow, hail, sleet or mist)
Visibilità = visibility
Tramonto = sunset
Alba = dawn
Cielo sereno = clear sky (virtually cloud- free)
Buona visibilità = good visibility
Raffica di vento = gust
Indice di calore = heat index (an index that combines air temperature and humidity to give an apparent temperature, ie. how hot it feels).
Ondata di calore = heat wave (a period of abnormally hot weather lasting several days.)
Arcobaleno = rainbow
Siccità = drought (a shortage of rainfall)
Brezza di mare = sea breeze
Piogge scarse = scattered showers
Turbolenza = turbulence
A cloudy sky over Siena’s cathedral (by Daniele Paccaloni at flickr.com flic.kr/p/bSnDXr)Easy Ways to Describe the Weather
It’s sunny = è soleggiato
It’s cloudy = è nuvoloso
It’s raining = sta piovendo
It’s snowing = sta nevicando
It’s foggy = è nebbioso
It’s a clear day = è sereno
It’s cold = fa freddo
It’s hot = fa caldo
It’s too cold = fa troppo freddo
there’s plenty of sun = c’ è molto sole
There’s a lot of rain = c’è molta pioggia
It’s colder than yesterday = fa più freddo di ieri
It’s raining more than yesterday = piove più di ieri
It’s a… = è….
…foggy day = una giornata nebbiosa
…rainy day = una giornata piovosa
…misty day = una giornata umida
…cloudy day = una giornata nuvolosa
…sunny day = una gionata soleggiata
…windy day = una giornata ventosa
It’s only a shower = è solo uno scroscio (di pioggia)
C’è una pioggia scrosciante = it’s pouring
Sta diluviando = it’s bucketing down
Piove tutto il giorno = it’s been raining all day
Sono bagnata/o fino alla pelle= I’m soaked to the skin
Sono inzuppata/o = I’m drenched
E’ bello e caldo oggi = It’s nice and warm day
Fa veramente caldo, non è vero? = It’s pretty hot, isn’t it?
Abbiamo un’ondata di calore = we are having a heatwave
Caldo afoso, soffocante = stifling heat
Qui si gela = It is freezing cold here
Ieri notte è gelato = There was a frost last night
E’ una giornata piacevole = it’s a lovely day
E’ una bella giornata soleggiata, non è vero? = It’s sunny day, isn’t it?
The sun shines over San Gimignano and its vineyards (by Antonio Cinotti at flickr flic.kr/p/k91bcC)
Hope all your days in Italy are filled with warm weather and sunshine!
By Elisa Bressan
