Writing About the Weather

 

Blizzard Conditions

Today, weather is on my mind. The wind warnings we had yesterday have now turned into blizzard warnings. In central Kansas, we are to have only a skiff of snow but still dealing with winds that are howling. East and north of us there will be small to moderate amounts of snow, 1-4 inches, but the winds will create blizzard conditions with hazardous driving all day.

When we write, weather can add a lot to a story and offer the writer choices in using description. What a shame to say 'There was a storm outside.' and then move on. The word 'storm' tells us it's not a sunny, balmy day. But there is so much more a writer can do in setting a scene. Even if the character is snug inside, you can write about what they see from a window or how the window panes were rattling. 

There have been stories or books written that actually use the weather as a character. Why? Because the weather, whatever it was, played a significant part in the story. In such a case, you'll read so much about the storm, whether snow or rain, you may feel like you're there.

Poetry lends itself well to describing the weather, both good and bad. Wonderful adjectives, similes, and metaphors abound in poems about the weather.

Here's a list of the kinds of weather you can use in your writing:

• Snowstorm
• Blizzard
• Cyclone
• Tornado
• Monsoon
• Dust Storm
• Hurricane
• Rain
• Sleet
• Ice
• Wind
• Hail
• Sunshine
• Cloudy
• Cold
• Heat

For an exercise, make a list of adjectives for each of the kinds of weather in the list above. Then write a paragraph describing one or more kinds of weather using strong adjectives. 

When you're writing a story or a personal essay where the weather is involved in some manner, make the reader see and feel that storm or brilliant sunshine or hail. Don't tell me there is a storm outside. Help me to see the trees bending close to the ground, traffic lights waving in wind, and the tattoo of heavy rain on the windows. Writing about the weather is a glorious opportunity. Make the most of it.