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Tenemos un retraso por el clima.

Tenemos un retraso por el clima.
We have a delay because of the weather.
From Lesson 93:Causes, duration, and transit (por)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Tenemos un retraso por el clima.

Why do we use por here instead of para?
In this sentence, por shows the cause or reason for something (because of / due to). Since the weather is the reason for the delay, we use por. You would use para if you were talking about a goal or a destination.
I thought por meant 'through' or 'for'. Can it translate to 'because of'?
Yes! While por often describes movement through a place or the duration of time, it is also the standard preposition for 'because of' when explaining why something happened.
Wait, shouldn't words ending in '-a' be feminine? Why is it el clima?
Most words ending in '-a' are feminine, but there are exceptions. Many Spanish words ending in '-ma' are actually masculine. This is why we say el clima (the weather), el problema (the problem), and el idioma (the language).
Could I say 'Tenemos un retraso porque el clima'?
No, because porque means 'because' and must be followed by a full phrase with a verb (like porque el clima es malo - because the weather is bad). Since el clima is just a noun, you must use por, which translates to 'because of'.

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