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Weather with 'c'è' and 'tira': sun, fog, wind and clouds

You may already know that Italian uses fare for hot and cold: fa caldo, fa freddo. For a lot of other weather, though, Italian doesn't use a verb or an adjective. It says that something is there: c'è il sole (there is the sun), c'è nebbia (there is fog), c'è un temporale (there is a storm). Wind gets its own special verb: tira vento, literally the wind pulls.

English speakers tend to reach for an adjective, as in it's sunny, it's foggy or it's windy, and then try to build an Italian sentence from it with è. The result often sounds odd or plain wrong. It helps to think in nouns instead: which weather thing is out there today?

Word list
ventomA1 wind tira vento / c'è vento = it's windy ghiacciomA2 ice c'è ghiaccio (sulle strade) = it's icy (on the roads) nebbiafA2 fog c'è (la) nebbia = it's foggy nuvolafA2 cloud ci sono nuvole = it's cloudy (plural) solemA2 sunshine c'è il sole = it's sunny (always with il) tempestafA2 storm c'è una tempesta = there's a storm (with una, like un temporale) temporalemA2 storm c'è un temporale = there's a storm brezzafB1 breeze c'è / tira una brezza = there's a breeze nubefB1 cloud ci sono nubi = it's cloudy (formal, forecasts; everyday: nuvole) brinafB2 frost c'è la brina = there's frost (on the grass, the car) smogmB2 smog c'è (lo) smog = it's smoggy
How it works

The basic pattern is c'è + a weather noun, or ci sono + a plural noun. You change the tense of esserci as usual: c'era (there was), ci sarà (there will be), c'è stato (there has been).

  • English: it's sunny → Italian: c'è il sole
  • English: it's foggy → Italian: c'è nebbia or c'è la nebbia
  • English: it's windy → Italian: tira vento or c'è vento
  • English: it's cloudy → Italian: ci sono nuvole

A handy rule of thumb: if English uses an adjective ending in -y, Italian usually uses the matching noun with c'è.

Oggi c'è il sole ma tira vento.
(Today it's sunny but windy.)
Domani ci sarà il sole tutto il giorno.
(Tomorrow it will be sunny all day.)
The words

sole almost always takes the definite article: c'è il sole. You never say c'è sole for it's sunny.

Andiamo al parco, c'è il sole!
(Let's go to the park, it's sunny!)

nebbia works with or without the article. C'è nebbia and c'è la nebbia are both common. With words like troppa or molta, you drop the article.

C'è troppa nebbia per guidare.
(It's too foggy to drive.)
Stamattina c'era la nebbia in città.
(This morning it was foggy in town.)

vento is the special case. The most typical phrase is tira vento, usually without an article. C'è vento is also fine. Add an adjective and you need un: tira un vento forte.

Chiudi la finestra, tira vento.
(Close the window, it's windy.)
Sulla spiaggia tirava un vento fortissimo.
(There was a really strong wind on the beach.)

brezza works like vento, but it is gentler. It normally comes with una and often with an adjective. Both c'è and tira are possible.

La sera c'è una brezza molto piacevole.
(In the evening there's a very pleasant breeze.)

temporale is a single event, so it takes un: c'è un temporale. You will also hear c'è il temporale when everyone knows which storm you mean.

Non uscire adesso, c'è un temporale.
(Don't go out now, there's a storm.)
Watch out

nuvola is countable, so it goes in the plural with ci sono: ci sono nuvole or ci sono delle nuvole. Avoid c'è nuvola. C'è una nuvola means there is exactly one cloud, which you would only say about a single cloud in the sky.

Oggi ci sono molte nuvole, forse piove.
(It's very cloudy today, maybe it'll rain.)

For clouds, Italian also has an adjective: è nuvoloso (it's cloudy). In the same way, è una giornata di sole means it's a sunny day, and è ventoso is possible for a windy place. The c'è forms are still the most natural choice in everyday conversation.

The typical mistake is to translate the English adjective directly, for example è sole or è nebbia. These don't work. And keep fare for temperature: fa freddo, but c'è il sole.

Fa freddo, ma almeno non c'è vento.
(It's cold, but at least it isn't windy.)
Summary

For weather that you can point to, Italian names the thing and says it is there. Use c'è il sole, c'è nebbia and c'è un temporale, use ci sono nuvole in the plural, and use tira vento for wind. Watch the articles: always il with sole, un with temporale, and none with plain vento. Save fare for hot and cold.