How.../What...

Hi, what's the difference between “What is the weather like?” and “How is the weather?” Is it possible to use both questions? I prefer the first one but…?

It may depend on the context – specifically whether you're asking someone who is in a different location about the weather where they are.

• A What's the weather like in Štrbské Pleso? [English capitalisation] How's the weather in Štrbské Pleso? How's the weather like in Štrbské Pleso? (Jaké tam máte počasí?)
• B [who's in Štrbské Pleso]: It's great, we've got sunshine and great visibility!

• A What's the weather like in the Sahara Desert? (Jaké tam bývá počasí?) How's the weather in the Sahara Desert?
• B (who's not in the Sahara) I don't know, I've never been there, but they say it's hot, dry and sunny.

If B is not actually physically present in the Sahara, it's unlikely that A will ask “how's the weather?”

In other contexts (where the physical location isn't important), there's no difference:

• What's the food like at that new restaurant? How's the food at that new restaurant? (Jak tam vaří?) [How's the food like at …]
• What's the music like at that new club? How's the music at that new club? (Jakou hudbu tam hrají?) [How's the music like at that new club?]
• What's the beer like at that pub? How's the beer at that pub? [How's the beer like …]
• What are the prices like at that supermarket? How are the prices at that supermarket? [How are the prices like …]
• How's his singing? What's his singing like? (Jak zpívá, jak umí zpívat?) [How's his singing like?]
• How's their Czech? What's their Czech like? (Jak um(ěj)í česky?) [How's their Czech like?]
• How's your burger? What's your burger like? (Jak chutná?) [How's your burger like?]

Ale pozor:

• A What's his girlfriend like? B Oh, she's got a great personality! (Jaká je?)
• A How's his girlfriend? B She had a bad dose of flu last week but she's getting over it now. (Jak jí je, jak je na tom zdravotně?)

Thanks