Use Weather in Your Writing

 

Here in north central Kansas, we have a winter weather warning. A snow storm is smashing its way across the plains and farther. The snow is to begin late this afternoon or evening, continue overnight and into late morning tomorrow. Amount? How about a prediction of 3-8 inches? That is the prediction offered by our local radio station. There is a lot of difference between those two numbers. We can manage three inches, but eight will bring things to a standstill with lots of closings. We've had very few snowstorms this winter, and what we did get have been very small amounts. 

Today's photo is a happy reminder that spring is just around the corner. Well, almost. Thoughts of spring often help us through the cold, sometimes dreary, occasionally snowy winter. With spring, we'll have a few thunderstorms or soft rain that brings us green grass and the earliest flowers of the year.

Weather can play a factor in our writing. A story about a storm at sea can almost count the storm as another character. Think about the stories you've read that deal with blizzrds, tornados, hurricanes, torrential downpours and flooding. Weather offers a writer a lot to work with. 

When writing about weather, we can have a lot of fun using very descriptive words. Instead of saying 'It was windy' we could write 'The wind roared.' Why write 'It snowed a lot.' when you could write 'The snow fell softly all night and left fluffy piles on the deck and lawn furniture, 

For an exercise today, choose one or more from the list below and write a descriptive paragraph.

A. a hurricane on an island

B. a tornado in Oklahoma

C. a summer thunderstorm

D. a blizzard in the Rocky Mountains

E. a dust storm in western Kansas

F. a clear, sunny summer day

G. a river flooding the surrounding area

H. a day with high winds

I. sleet

J. a hailstorm

Or pick any other weather-related topic. 

For a second exercise, select one from the list above and write a paragraph that involves a person, or people, experiencing that kind of weather. 

Adding weather to your stories and poems can bring life to your writing. 

I'll finish today with a haiku that won first place in a contest. The sound of thunder as I woke up one spring morning prompted me to write it in my head, then put it in print as soon as I got up. 

rolling thunder hums

within dark, ominous clouds

melody of spring

(c)