By meredithkreisa Last updated: April 30, 2023

Talk About the Weather in Russian With 60+ Important Words and Phrases

As a Russian student, learning weather words is essential to a well-rounded vocabulary.

As a beginner, you might even already know a few basic Russian words that are related to the weather.

As a more advanced student, knowing weather-related words is valuable for much more than just small talk.

It can help you plan your day, figure out your outfit, stay safe and more.

Below, you’ll learn words and phrases to talk about the weather, get example sentences, idioms and resource suggestions to continue practicing!

How To Talk About Weather in Russian
Example Sentences with Russian Weather Words
Russian Idioms and Expressions About the Weather
How To Practice Russian Weather Words

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How To Talk About Weather in Russian

Common Weather-related Phrases in Russian

Как погода? — How’s the weather?
Какая сегодня погода? — What’s the weather like today?
Какой на завтра прогноз погоды? — What’s the forecast for tomorrow?
Идёт… — It’s… (Literally: “goes” or “is going,” used for rain or snow)
Будет… — It’s going to be…
На улице… — Outside it’s… (Literally: “on the street”)

Russian Words for Describing the Temperature

While in English you generally describe the weather by using supporting words like “it’s,” in Russian, you can simply say most words related to temperature and air quality on their own.

Note that the words below are in adverbial form, not adjectival form—adjectives cannot be used standalone.

However, if you do use them as an adjective to describe a noun, you’ll need to make sure they match the gender of that noun.

Жарко — Hot
Тепло — Warm
Хорошо — Good, as in nice or pleasant
Холодно — Cold
Сухо — Dry
Влажно — Humid
Душно — Stuffy
Свежо — Fresh/crisp
Зябко — Chilly
Морозно — Frosty
Прохладно — Cool

Russian Words for the Current Weather

Ясно — Clear
Солнечно — Sunny
Солнце — Sun
Пасмурно — Overcast
Oблачно — Cloudy
Облако — Cloud
Ветрено — Windy
Ветер — Wind
Туманно — Foggy
Туман — Fog
Дождливо — Rainy
Дождь — Rain
Гром — Thunder
Град — Hail
Мороз — Frost
Снежно — Snowy
Снег — Snow

Russian Words for Weather Events

Гроза — Thunderstorm
Метель — Blizzard
Ураган — Hurricane
Торнадо — Tornado
Засуха — Drought
Наводнение — Flood
Тайфун — Typhoon
Цунами — Tsunami

Example Sentences with Russian Weather Words

Слишком жарко, чтобы выходить на улицу — It’s too hot to go outside
Сухо как в пустыне — It’s so dry like a desert
Влажно как в бане — It’s humid like in a bathhouse
Здесь слишком душно. Надо открыть окно — It’s too stuffy in here. We have to open the window
Зябко! Давай вернёмся внутрь — It’s chilly! Let’s go back inside
Вечером стало прохладно — It became cool in the evening
Ясный день идеально подходит для прогулки — A clear day is perfect for a walk
Зима закончилась, и наконец-то солнечно! — Winter is over, and it’s finally sunny!
Когда сегодня выйдет солнце? — When will the sun come out today?
Я люблю спать в пасмурные дни — I like to sleep on cloudy days
Так туманно, что я едва вижу свою руку — It’s so foggy, I can hardly see my own hand
Вы слышали гром? — Did you hear thunder?
Город сегодня снежный — The city is snowy today
Если продолжится дождь, будет наводнение — If it keeps raining, there will be a flood

Russian Idioms and Expressions About the Weather

There are many expressions that Russians have about the weather. Not surprisingly, many of them are about the cold! Here are just a few.

Как снег на голову — Means “suddenly” (but literally means “like snow on the head”). It usually refers to a surprise that is not welcome and is used informally
Жар костей не ломит — Heat doesn’t break bones
Льёт как из ведра — It’s raining cats and dogs (literally, “it’s pouring like out of a bucket”)
Зуб на зуб не попадает — Teeth chattering (literally, tooth is not landing on tooth)

Так холодно, что зуб на зуб не попадает. (It’s so cold that my teeth are chattering.)

Ветер в голове — Absentminded, frivolous (Literally: Wind in the head).

Oн никогда не станет серьезно относиться к работе. У него ветер в голове. (He’ll never get serious about working. He has wind in the head.)

Ждать у моря погоды — To passively wait for a situation to improve (Literally: To wait for the weather by the sea).

Этого никогда не произойдет. Она ждет у моря погоды. (It’s never going to happen. She’s waiting for the weather by the sea.)

How To Practice Russian Weather Words

Read Russian weather forecasts: Even if you don’t have plans to visit Russia anytime soon, reading Russian weather forecasts can help reinforce your weather vocabulary. Gismeteo has plenty of news, including weather forecasts and information on wind, temperature, precipitation and more. More advanced students can also read long-form articles about the weather through Российская Газета (Russian Newspaper).
Learn through authentic content: You could also use a language learning program such as FluentU. It uses authentic Russian content such as commercials, music videos and more to help you learn the language as it’s used by native speakers. Plus, there are features such as interactive subtitles, flashcards decks and personalized quizzes. Studying on the go is also possible with the FluentU iOS and Android apps.
Download Russian weather apps: The Weather for Russia app, available for iOS and Android, makes it easy to check. You’ll also get the added benefit of reinforcing some of the most common weather-related words. If you’re in the US, the app will probably be in English when you first download it, but just go into settings to change the language to Russian.

With these Russian weather words and phrases, you’ll be ready to talk about whatever Mother Nature throws your way—or at least know how to break that conservation standstill!