Describing the weather

Since the weather seems to be the main topic of concern both here in Spain and in Britain, it is appropriate that Peter from StreetwiseSpanish.Com should send out this tip.

Vale, I'm sure you're familiar with phrases such as hace calor, hace frío, hace buen/mal tiempo and está lloviendo and although these phrases are perfectly fine for describing the weather, they lack a bit of vibrancy and colour.

Let's look at a few phrases that will brighten up your Spanish!

Two useful ones for those times when it's neither baking hot or bitingly cold you can easily add are: Hace Fresquito - It's chilly and Hace Calorcito - It's nice and warm.

But if the weather is really hot, here's a cracking phrase for you:Hace mucho calor hoy,¡el sol pega fuerte! - It's so hot today, the sun is beating down hard!

If the weather is unsettled, just say: Hace tiempo revuelto

You know how when it's raining heavily we say in English: "It's raining cats and dogs!" Well the equivalent in Spanish is:¡Mira, llueve a cántaros! - Look it's raining cats and dogs! which literally translates as "It rains to pitchers."

And if the weather is particularly bad, here's a couple of phrases that will really paint a picture:¡Qué tormenta! ¡Hace un viento de mil demonios! - What a storm, there's a wind of a thousand demons! Hace un tiempo de perros hoy - It's the weather of dogs today.

Thanks Peter I will try and bear those in mind.