Weather in French
Want to know some words for the weather in French? In this French audio lesson you will learn some French words for weather (usually described as météo or le temps)and how to talk about the conditions.
Is it going to rain, snow, or hail? Will the sun shine all day? Will it be a great day for going to the beach or shall we go to the art gallery instead? You might want to ask about the weather in French before making plans.
Resources for further reading:
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D'après la météo, il fera beau.
According to the weather forecast, it will be fine.
French weather questions
Quel temps est prévu pour aujourd'hui ?
What's the weather forecast for today?
Quel temps est prévu pour cette semaine ?
What's the weather forecast for this week?
Quel est le climat ?
How's the weather?
Il fait quel temps ?
What's the weather like?
Il fait quel temps dehors ?
What's it like outside?
There are a lot of possible answers to that question. Here are the most common ones…
French weather vocabulary
C'est agréable.
It's warm.
Il fait froid.
It's cold.
Il y a du vent.
It's windy.
C'est orageux or il y a de l'orage
It's stormy.
Il fait très chaud.
It's hot.
Il y a du soleil.
It's sunny.
Il n'y a pas de nuages.
It's clear.
C'est nuageux.
It's cloudy.
Il fait beau.
It's nice (out).
C'est gelé.
It's icy.
C'est humide
It's humid
You can use the word “Très” (very) for all of the above phrases to emphasize that it’s not just cold or warm, but very cold or very warm. For example:
Il fait très froid.
It's very cold.
Le temps est très agréable.
It's very warm.
Il fait très chaud.
It's very hot.
C'est très gelé.
It's very icy.
When talking about rain you can use the following expressions …
Il pleut.
It's raining
C'est pluvieux.
It's rainy.
For a farmer rain might be all he needs, whereas a soccer team might be hoping for a sunny day. Here are some more general answers.
Le temps est misérable.
It's miserable weather.
Il fait très beau.
It's good weather.
Le temps est mauvais.
It's bad weather.
Le temps est magnifique.
It's beautiful weather.
Le temps est terrible.
It's terrible weather.
If you are planning to travel to North of France, Switzerland or Austria during the winter time, you’ll need to know the next two sentences. You might need to use them.
Il neige.
It's snowing
C'est glacé.
It's icy cold
Here are some more words that describe certain weather conditions…
L'arc en ciel
The rainbow
La pluie
The rain
La grêle
The hail
Le tonnerre
The thunder
L'orage
The thunderstorm
L'éclair
The lightning
Le tremblement de terre
The earthquake
La tempête
The storm
L'ouragan
The hurricane
La température
The temperature
Le brouillard or la brume
The fog
L'inondation
The flood
La glace
The ice
La neige
The snow
Le flocon de neige
The snowflake
Le nuage
The cloud
Talking about the weather is an essential skill when traveling around France, other essential topics to know are talking about sports in French or music in French, both big parts of French culture! Try these French lessons today!
À bientôt!
Marie-Claire Rivière and the Rocket French Team
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