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Let’s Talk About The Weather

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

 

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