creative writing description of the rain

Writing Nestling

How To Describe Rain In Writing (10 Important Steps)

Describing rain in writing is akin to capturing the essence of a timeless and ever-evocative phenomenon that has fascinated poets, novelists, and storytellers for centuries.

Rain, in its many forms and moods, can be a powerful narrative device, setting the stage, conveying emotions, and mirroring the complexities of human experience.

In this guide, we will explore the art of painting rain with words, delving into the sensory language that allows writers to immerse readers in the beauty and drama of a rain-soaked scene.

From sight and sound to touch, smell, and taste, we will dissect the many dimensions of rain’s sensory language and its capacity to create mood, atmosphere, and profound emotional resonance.

Whether you’re a seasoned writer or just beginning your literary journey, this exploration of how to describe rain in writing will equip you with the tools to harness the poetic potential of this natural phenomenon and infuse your stories with its captivating magic.

Table of Contents

How To Describe Rain In Writing

Describing rain in writing involves using vivid and evocative language to paint a picture in the reader’s mind. Here’s a step-by-step process to help you do just that:

Setting the Scene

Start by setting the scene and creating the right atmosphere. Describe the location and time of day. Is it a city street, a quiet forest, or a coastal town? Is it daytime or night? This contextual information helps the reader envision the rain more effectively.

Select the Right Words

Use descriptive adjectives, adverbs, and verbs to convey the characteristics of the rain. Choose words that evoke the senses. For instance, you can use words like “gentle,” “drizzling,” “torrential,” “pattering,” “incessant,” or “misty” to describe the rain.

Sensory Imagery

Engage the reader’s senses. Describe how the rain feels, sounds, smells, and looks. Does it feel cool and refreshing on the skin, or is it a chilling, biting rain? Does it create puddles and ripples? Can you hear it tapping on windows or the leaves of trees? What is the scent in the air during and after the rain?

Metaphors and Similes

Metaphors and similes can be powerful tools. Compare the rain to something else to create a more vivid image. For example, “The rain fell like a whisper from the heavens” or “The drops were as tiny as pearls.”

Emotions and Mood

Consider the emotional impact of the rain on the characters or the setting. Rain can evoke feelings of nostalgia, melancholy, or even joy. Describe how the characters react to the rain, which can help set the mood.

Focus on Details

Pay attention to the small details that make the scene come alive. Describe the way the raindrops bead on a window, how it slicks the streets, or how it makes the world glisten.

Show, Don’t Tell

Instead of telling the reader that it’s raining, show the effects of the rain. Let the reader infer the weather from the descriptions you provide.

Use Personification

Consider giving human attributes to the rain. This can add depth to your description. For example, “The rain wept from the sky,” or “The rain danced on the rooftop.”

Structure and Flow

Arrange your descriptions in a way that mimics the rhythm of the rain. You might start with a light drizzle and gradually build up to a heavy downpour, creating a sense of anticipation and climax.

Edit and Revise

After you’ve written your rain description, edit and revise to eliminate unnecessary words and ensure that your description flows smoothly.

Remember that the effectiveness of your rain description will also depend on the overall context of your writing , the characters involved, and the emotions you want to convey. By following these steps, you can create a captivating and immersive rain scene in your writing .

Understanding Rain

Rain, that ethereal veil woven from the heavens, defies our attempts to confine its essence within mere droplets. It is nature’s symphony, a celestial dance between Earth and sky, an invitation to reflect on the interconnectedness of all things.

The gentle kiss of a drizzle awakens memories of childhood laughter, while a torrential downpour offers a cleansing catharsis.

With every drop, it whispers tales of renewal and growth, a reminder that even the darkest storms yield to the brilliance of a new day.

To understand rain is to embrace the poetry of existence, where the tears of the sky become the tears of our own souls, falling, glistening, and ultimately nourishing the gardens of our hearts.

The emotional impact of rain

The emotional impact of rain is a symphony of feelings that flows within us as seamlessly as the raindrops descend from the sky.

Rain can evoke a profound sense of nostalgia, taking us back to cherished memories of dancing in puddles or seeking refuge from life’s storms.

It carries an inexplicable comfort in its steady pattering, offering solace to those in search of introspection. Yet, rain can also mirror our deepest sorrows, its tears mingling with our own.

It has a unique power to amplify our moods, whether it’s the serenity that follows a gentle shower or the restlessness that accompanies a thunderstorm.

In the realm of storytelling, rain is a powerful emotional conduit, capable of reflecting characters’ inner turmoil, sadness, or moments of profound revelation. Rain, in its ability to mirror and magnify our emotions, remains a symbol of the ever-changing human experience.

Why rain is a popular element in literature

Rain has emerged as a perennially popular element in literature, owing to its multifaceted symbolic significance and its capacity to elicit a rich tapestry of emotions. Its duality as both a life-giving force and a harbinger of melancholy makes it a versatile tool for authors.

Rain can symbolize renewal and cleansing, as seen in its ability to rejuvenate parched landscapes, while also conveying a sense of melancholy, reflecting the intricacies of human experiences.

It often serves as a narrative device, heightening tension, foreshadowing events, or mirroring characters’ internal turmoil.

From Shakespeare’s stormy tempests to the poignant rain-soaked scenes of modern literature, the rain transcends the physical world to become a vivid metaphorical language that resonates with readers on profound emotional and thematic levels.

Its role in literature is a testament to its timeless ability to captivate, challenge, and move both writers and readers.

Sensory Language

Sensory language is the poet’s palette, the novelist’s symphony, and the artist’s brush, allowing us to paint the world with words, evoke the symphony of senses, and ignite the imagination with a single sentence.

It transcends mere words, transforming writing into an immersive sensory experience. It’s the sultry scent of a tropical rainforest, the exhilarating taste of an adventure, the velvet touch of a lover’s hand, the symphony of colors in a bustling marketplace, and the resonating echoes of a forgotten memory.

Sensory language is a key that unlocks the door to vivid storytelling, where readers don’t just read the words; they taste, touch, hear, smell, and see the narrative come alive, engaging in a dance of imagination that leaves an indelible imprint on their souls.

It’s the secret elixir that makes literature not just something to read, but something to feel and savor.

Using sight to describe rain

Using sight to describe rain is an art of painting with words, capturing the visual poetry of nature’s tears falling from the sky.

Each raindrop, like a liquid jewel, glistens as it descends, creating a shimmering curtain that blurs the boundaries between heaven and earth.

The world transforms as rain showers down, whether it’s a soft drizzle that veils the landscape in delicate mist or a fierce downpour that blurs the horizon.

The sight of rain paints emotions on the canvas of our perception, from the gray melancholy of a stormy day to the joyful, bright hues of a rainbow arching over the horizon after a cleansing shower.

It’s a visual language that writers use to evoke moods, create atmosphere, and transport readers into the heart of a story’s sensory landscape, where every raindrop is a brushstroke in the masterpiece of storytelling.

Using sound to describe rain

Using sound to describe rain is like composing a symphony of nature’s rhythms. Raindrops are nature’s percussion instruments, playing a melodic and sometimes chaotic tune as they pitter-patter on various surfaces.

The soothing sound of a light drizzle creates a delicate lullaby, while a thunderous downpour is a crescendo of raw power, a thunderous applause from the heavens.

Rain’s symphony is not just the sound of droplets on rooftops and leaves; it’s the collective voice of a million tiny performers, resonating with the heartbeat of the earth.

The rustle of rain in a forest, the rhythmic tapping on a windowpane, or the playful splashes on puddles all speak of the rain’s emotional range, from peaceful serenity to turbulent intensity.

Writers use this auditory experience to immerse readers in the very heart of a scene, where the sound of rain becomes a character in its own right, narrating a story of nature’s grand drama.

Using touch to describe rain

Using touch to describe rain is to convey the sensation of nature’s caress or onslaught on the skin. Raindrops, like tender kisses from the heavens, can bring a refreshing coolness to a sweltering day, or they can prick your skin with a chill, making you shiver.

The texture of rain varies, from the gentle touch of mist in a drizzle to the sharp, stinging embrace of a heavy shower. Writers often describe rain as a tactile experience, whether it’s the way it makes your clothes cling, the feel of droplets on your face, or the softness of moist earth underfoot.

The sensation of rain is intimate and sensory, and it can evoke a spectrum of emotions, from comfort and rejuvenation to discomfort and vulnerability.

It’s this tactile connection that allows readers to not just see or hear the rain but to feel it, making it a powerful tool for authors to deepen the immersion of their audience in the story’s world.

Using smell to describe rain

Using smell to describe rain is to unlock the earth’s hidden perfumes, released with the first kiss of moisture after a dry spell.

The scent of rain is one of nature’s most enchanting aromas, a blend of petrichor, the earthy fragrance of soil awakening, and ozone, the electrifying aroma of the atmosphere refreshed.

This symphony of scents brings with it the promise of renewal, a reminder that life continues to thrive even in the midst of a storm. The smell of rain is evocative, transporting us to memories of childhood, when the world seemed pure and full of wonder after a shower.

For writers, it’s a sensory bridge that connects readers to the primal essence of the earth, awakening nostalgia, rejuvenation, and a sense of connection to the natural world.

It’s the scent of life itself, carried on the breeze, and it allows storytelling to transcend the visual and auditory realms into the olfactory, adding a layer of depth and richness to the narrative.

Metaphors and Symbols

Metaphors and symbols are the inkwells of imagination, the keys to unlocking hidden worlds within the written word.

They are the alchemical language of storytelling, where a rose becomes not just a flower but a symbol of love, and the ticking of a clock transforms into the heartbeat of suspense.

Metaphors paint vivid pictures in the mind, revealing hidden truths through comparison, while symbols carry the weight of ages, encapsulating entire ideologies in a single image.

They are the threads that weave the tapestry of literature, enriching narratives with layers of meaning and offering readers a kaleidoscope of interpretations.

In the hands of a skilled wordsmith, metaphors and symbols are the compass and the stars, guiding readers through uncharted territory and inviting them to embark on journeys where words are not just tools but magical gateways to understanding the profound mysteries of human experience.

Rain as a symbol

Rain, in the realm of literature and symbolism, is a versatile and evocative motif that carries a multitude of interpretations.

It often embodies the notion of renewal and rebirth, as it nourishes the earth and washes away the old, much like a cleansing baptism. Rain can symbolize growth and transformation, casting a hopeful light on new beginnings.

At the same time, it’s a symbol of melancholy, encapsulating the tears of sorrow, isolation, or the weight of unfulfilled desires.

In various narratives, rain can also serve as a metaphor for life’s unpredictability and the uncontrollable forces that shape our existence.

Whether it’s depicted as a harbinger of change or a reflection of human emotions, rain remains a powerful literary symbol that beautifully mirrors the complexity of the human condition, allowing readers to explore themes of life, death, and everything in between.

Rain’s role in character development

Rain, as a literary device, often plays a pivotal role in character development. It’s like a mirror reflecting the inner world of characters.

A protagonist caught in a sudden downpour may experience vulnerability and reveal a softer side, shedding their inhibitions or bravado.

For others, a storm can symbolize emotional turmoil, acting as a catalyst for self-discovery and growth. The way a character reacts to rain, whether seeking shelter, dancing in it, or cursing it, can reveal their temperament, desires, and fears.

Rain can also be a metaphorical cleansing, allowing characters to shed their past or old beliefs, paving the way for personal transformation.

In the hands of skilled writers, rain becomes a subtle but powerful tool to deepen character arcs, illuminating the multidimensional aspects of their personalities and serving as a conduit for empathy and connection with readers.

Setting the scene in a narrative is akin to the opening notes of a grand symphony, where every detail, every brushstroke, and every whispered word has the power to transport readers into the heart of a story’s universe.

It’s the alchemy of words and imagination, where the setting becomes more than mere backdrop; it becomes a living, breathing entity that influences characters, events, and emotions.

A vividly painted setting is not just a place; it’s a mood, an atmosphere, a character in its own right, with the power to set the stage for love, tragedy, adventure, or mystery.

It’s a doorway into worlds both real and fantastical, an invitation for readers to step into the shoes of the characters and feel the pulse of the story’s heart .

In the hands of a skilled storyteller, setting is the portal to the extraordinary, the touchstone of emotion, and the architect of immersion, where every word weaves a tapestry of sights, sounds, and sensations that lingers in the reader’s soul long after the final page is turned.

Emotions and Themes

Emotions and themes in literature are the twin constellations that guide readers through the vast universe of storytelling, offering a kaleidoscope of human experiences and profound insights.

Like a masterful piece of music, they orchestrate the symphony of words, each note resonating with joy, sorrow, love, or conflict.

They are the compass that navigates the complex terrain of narrative landscapes, shedding light on the profound questions that define our existence.

Emotions are the heartbeat of characters, the catalysts for empathy, and the glue that binds readers to the story’s soul. Themes, on the other hand, are the hidden gems, the golden threads that tie seemingly unrelated events into a rich tapestry of meaning.

They are the questions that stir the deepest contemplations, be it about love, morality, fate, or the very essence of humanity.

Together, they transform literature into more than just ink on paper; they make it a mirror to our souls, inviting us to explore the boundless complexity of the human condition and reminding us that, within the pages of a book, we may find the reflection of our own journeys.

Conveying emotions through rain

Conveying emotions through rain is like tapping into the heart of nature’s own poetry. Rain has an extraordinary ability to mirror and amplify the feelings of characters and the overarching mood of a story.

A gentle drizzle can evoke a sense of calm, serenity, and even romance, as it envelopes characters in a soft, comforting embrace. In contrast, a torrential downpour might signify chaos, turmoil, or despair, with its relentless onslaught reflecting the characters’ inner struggles.

Writers use rain to create emotional depth, where the weather becomes a silent yet powerful protagonist that shapes the narrative’s emotional landscape.

Rain, in its myriad forms and intensities, becomes a conduit for the raw, unspoken sentiments that swirl beneath the surface, inviting readers to connect with characters on a visceral level, as they too become drenched in the emotional downpour of the story.

Exploring common themes associated with rain

Exploring common themes associated with rain is like delving into a treasure trove of symbolism and emotion. Rain’s presence in literature often mirrors a spectrum of timeless themes.

Love and romance often find their muse in rain-soaked moments, where passionate encounters occur under the soft drizzle or in the midst of a tempestuous downpour. Rain also serves as a symbol of melancholy, capturing feelings of loss, loneliness, or unfulfilled desires.

Beyond that, it represents the idea of renewal and rebirth, akin to nature’s cleansing, washing away the old to make way for the new.

Rain can even foreshadow change, be it positive or negative, in a character’s journey. These common themes associated with rain create a rich tapestry of meaning in literature, allowing readers to connect with the human experience on a profound, emotional level, while offering writers a canvas on which to paint the essence of life’s complexities and subtleties.

Literary Techniques

Literary techniques are the kaleidoscope through which words become art, and storytelling transforms into an enchanting dance of language.

They are the secret pathways that lead readers into the hidden chambers of a writer’s imagination, offering experiences that transcend mere prose.

Metaphors and similes become the brushstrokes that paint vivid pictures, while personification breathes life into inanimate objects, making them whisper secrets in the reader’s ear.

Symbolism, like a secret code, adds layers of meaning that ripple beneath the surface, inviting readers to decode its mysteries. Foreshadowing, that subtle whisper of destiny, guides the narrative, and irony adds a tantalizing twist to the tale.

With these literary tools, writers become magicians, conjuring universes, emotions, and characters that live, breathe, and linger in the reader’s mind long after the final page is turned.

Literary techniques are the key to the door that opens into the enchanting realm of storytelling, where words are not just ink on paper but enchantments that weave a spell over the soul.

Personification of rain

Personification of rain is like granting nature its own voice and personality, turning a meteorological phenomenon into a living character in a story.

Rain, when personified, can take on qualities, desires, and emotions, transforming it into a mystical entity with intentions and whims of its own.

It becomes a silent yet powerful participant in the narrative, capable of comforting, cleansing, or causing chaos. Personified rain can express empathy for the characters, becoming a compassionate friend in their moments of solitude or a relentless adversary during their trials.

By imbuing rain with human-like attributes, writers bridge the gap between the natural world and the human experience, creating a deeper connection with the reader as they explore the complexities of this weather-wielding character.

Rain’s role in creating atmosphere and mood

Rain’s role in creating atmosphere and mood is nothing short of transformative. Whether it’s a gentle drizzle whispering in the hush of dawn or a tempestuous downpour raging against the world, rain is a maestro of ambiance.

It can cast a serene, melancholic, or foreboding aura over a scene, setting the emotional tone with a few drops or a deluge.

The sound of raindrops can serve as a lullaby, soothing the soul, or a cacophony, intensifying suspense. The glistening streets after a shower can evoke serenity, while the gray clouds of an impending storm can shroud a narrative in tension.

Rain’s ability to mirror and amplify emotions, to dance between the mundane and the extraordinary, makes it an invaluable tool for writers in shaping the mood of their stories, turning the weather itself into a silent, atmospheric character.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about How To Describe Rain In Writing

What’s the importance of effectively describing rain in writing.

Describing rain in writing is crucial for setting the mood, creating vivid imagery, and immersing readers in the story’s atmosphere. It can convey emotions, add depth to your narrative, and make your writing more engaging.

How can I make my rain description stand out from others?

To make your rain description unique, focus on sensory details, metaphors, and personification. Add elements that are specific to your story’s setting or characters to make the scene more memorable.

Can you provide some examples of metaphors for describing rain?

Certainly. You can describe rain as “teardrops from the sky,” “a silver curtain,” “a melody of droplets,” or “nature’s soothing lullaby.” Metaphors can evoke powerful images in the reader’s mind.

What are some words to avoid when describing rain?

It’s best to avoid clichés and overused words like “wet,” “dripping,” and “pouring.” Instead, opt for more creative and evocative terms that capture the rain’s unique qualities.

How can I evoke the sound of rain in my writing?

To evoke the sound of rain, use onomatopoeic words like “pattering,” “drumming,” “tapping,” or “whispering.” You can also describe how the rain sounds on different surfaces, such as leaves, roofs, or windows.

Are there any tips for describing the emotional impact of rain on characters?

To describe the emotional impact of rain, show how your characters react. Do they find solace in the rain, or does it bring them sorrow? Use their actions, thoughts, and dialogue to convey their emotions.

Should I use first-person or third-person perspective to describe rain effectively?

The choice of perspective depends on your writing style and the narrative voice. Both first-person and third-person perspectives can be effective. Consider which perspective best suits your story and characters .

How can I create a unique rain description for a specific genre, like fantasy or mystery?

Tailor your rain description to fit the genre. For a fantasy setting, you might incorporate magical elements, while a mystery could use rain to build suspense or reveal hidden clues. Let the genre guide your description.

Is it better to start or end a scene with a rain description?

There’s no strict rule, but you can experiment with both. Starting with a rain description can set the mood, while ending with it can leave a lasting impression. The choice depends on your narrative structure.

How can I avoid over-describing rain and bogging down my narrative?

Keep your descriptions concise and relevant to the story’s context. Focus on key moments and use rain descriptions strategically to enhance the narrative without overwhelming it. Less can often be more.

Remember, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to describing rain in writing . Your approach should align with your story’s unique needs and your personal style as a writer.

In conclusion, the art of describing rain in writing is a window to the world of emotions, atmospheres, and sensory experiences that transcend mere words.

Rain, as both a natural phenomenon and a powerful literary device, has the capacity to enrich narratives, deepen characters, and connect with readers on profound levels.

As we’ve journeyed through this exploration of sensory language, metaphors, symbolism, and the intricate ways rain impacts storytelling, we’ve seen how the mere mention of rain can evoke a symphony of emotions, from joy to sorrow, and how it can add layers of meaning to the narrative.

Rain is more than just precipitation; it’s a vehicle for storytelling, a mirror reflecting our human condition.

By mastering the techniques of describing rain, writers can harness the evocative power of this natural element to create immersive, memorable, and emotionally resonant stories that leave an indelible mark on their readers’ hearts.

So, let the rain be your muse, and let your words dance with its beauty and complexity, inviting your readers to experience the magic of rain through your stories.

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How to describe rain: Descriptive words and adjectives for different types

There are many different types of rain, so it makes sense that we would have a lot of vocabulary to describe rain.

Here we’ll look at some wonderful descriptive words for rain, from adjectives to verbs to idioms. Get inspired to describe rain according to how it looks, sounds and smells, or just express in basic terms what the weather is like today.

Words to describe rain

You may wish to describe rain in a very practical way. For example, if you are going outside in this weather, you need to know whether to take an umbrella, or perhaps consider catching a bus instead of walking.

See also: Whether vs if

However, there are other situations when you may need a more poetic way to describe rain, focusing not just on how much of it there is, but how it looks, smells or sounds.

So, we’re going to begin with some common idioms and phrases to describe rain in everyday conversation. Then, we will cover some more descriptive words for rain, for those who wish to explore other aspects of it.

How to describe rain falling

The following descriptive words for rain are grouped according to the type of rain that they describe, from light to heavy.

Describing light rain

Drizzle is a steady but very light rain, almost mist-like. ‘Drizzle’ can be a noun or a verb, and you may use ‘drizzly’ as an adjective for rain like this.

When it is spitting, the rain is falling quite slowly and gently. Often it starts spitting and then turns into heavier rain.

A shower is a quick burst of fairly light rain. You might have heard of April showers, which are characteristic of spring weather. We have more idioms about spring here.

Describing heavy rain

Pouring (down).

You can say ‘it’s pouring’ or ‘it’s pouring down’ when the rain is steady and heavy. This description of rain is used in the nursery rhyme, It’s Raining, It’s Pouring .

Also featuring the word ‘pour’, a downpour is a short but sudden burst of heavy rain.

Bucketing down / raining buckets

‘Bucketing down’ and ‘raining buckets’ both describe heavy and persistent rain.

Tipping (it) down

This is a primarily British expression for heavy rain.

Chucking it down

Here’s another phrase to describe heavy rain, again usually heard in the UK.

Pissing (it) down

Why do the British have so many ways to talk about bad weather?! This one is rude slang, so be careful how you use it. You should be certain that the person you are speaking to is comfortable with this kind of language. ‘Pissing’ is an informal word for urinating.

Raining cats and dogs

This one is a fun idiom to describe rain ! Whoever thought to imagine cats and dogs falling from the sky? Anyway, it’s just another way to describe rain falling heavily.

A deluge of rain is a large amount that falls suddenly, possibly causing flooding.

Torrential rain is very heavy and lasts for a long time. This is the type of rain you may experience in countries with a monsoon season.

Driving rain is accompanied by strong wind that blows it into the sides of buildings (or straight in your face, if you’re caught out in it).

You could describe rain as ‘incessant’ if it has been going on for a long time and feels like it will never end.

Pelting rain seems to have particularly large raindrops that fall very hard.

If you do get caught in heavy rain you might end up ‘soaked through’ or ‘dripping wet’; these both mean that you and your clothes are very wet!

Example sentences to describe different types of rain

Let’s look at how some of these words can be used in sentences:

• I don’t think I need an umbrella; it’s only spitting .
• It’s drizzling at the moment but I wouldn’t be surprised if it starts chucking it down soon.
• Unfortunately for Liz, it poured down all day on her wedding day.
• It’s been bucketing down all afternoon but I hope it stops before the party.
• Look at those clouds! Let’s get inside before it starts tipping down .
• You’d better take your umbrella; it’s raining cats and dogs outside.
• Let’s go home, it looks like it’s going to piss it down soon.
• The village was hit by a deluge . Fortunately, there was no serious damage to any property.
• I have had enough of this incessant rain!
• We’ve had light showers all morning but it looks like the afternoon will be brighter.
• Sorry I’m late; I got caught in a downpour and had to wait until it had passed.
• You can expect torrential rain if you visit during November.

Words to describe how rain sounds

If you’re indoors, the first sign of rain may be the sound it makes. Here are some words that describe rain according to the sound it makes:

• Pitter-patter

“She woke to the pitter-patter of rain falling outside.” “The rain was almost too gentle for me to hear.”

Moderate/heavy rain

• Splattering

“I could hear the pounding rain approaching before I could see it.” “They lay listening to the rain drumming on their roof.”

What’s the word for the smell of rain?

Petrichor is the technical word for the smell of rain hitting dry ground. Many people consider this their favorite smell, but may not realize that there is a word for it!

Other words you could use to describe the smell of rain include:

Describing rainy weather

Finally, here are some words to describe the weather in general when it is rainy:

Many of the terms we have to describe rain are negative, as it’s usually an inconvenience for us. However, let’s not forget that rain is necessary for life to survive and for crops and plants to grow, so we shouldn’t always complain about it.

If you’re looking for more ways to describe different kinds of weather, some weather idioms could come in handy.

Have you heard any different ways to describe rain? If so, please leave a comment to share them.

wonderful information it really helped me with my writing.

Really, thank you so much for your information

Loved the terms and explanation…it’s very helpful.

yes, its nice information.. Good Job… keep it up….thanks

On the first day of my tent camping vacation, we encountered ” blinding rain ” just as we reached the Black Hills. Literally, could not see 3 feet ahead of us!!! (On the interstate! OMG#/=@$×!!! Thought we would die)

Oh dear, what a disaster!

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The Best Rain in Literature

Straight and silvery, big as buckshot, a thin knife of cool.

This morning, it is raining, and I am drinking tea. Whenever these two elements coincide, I always think of a poem I discovered and fell in love with as an irreverent literary teen: “It is raining. / I guess I’ll make / Some tea.” Yes, it’s a haiku, and sure, it’s by Gary Snyder, but what do you want from me, I was thirteen years old and still amazed at what counted as poetry. I inscribed this poem on my bedspread in fabric paint. I cannot pour tea in the rain without it bouncing through my head. I make this confession only to say that there is rain of all kinds in literature, and considering that it is April (month of showers) and it is a strange April because so many of us are spending it inside (which makes the rain much more appealing and romantic), I thought I would highlight some of my favorites. Maybe a phrase from the below will stick with you and torment you for years, who knows? One can only hope.

From Iris Murdoch’s The Sea, The Sea :

The rain came down, straight and silvery, like a punishment of steel rods. It clattered onto the house and onto the rocks and pitted the sea. The thunder made some sounds like grand pianos falling downstairs, then settled to a softer continuous rumble, which was almost drowned by the sound of the rain. The flashes of lightning joined into long illuminations which made the grass a lurid green, the rocks a blazing ochre yellow, as yellow as Gilbert’s car.

From Clarie-Louise Bennet’s Pond :

Incredible, really. Or so it seemed to me as I went by and heard the thing play out. Further along there were those very small raindrops, droplets I suppose, which attach themselves with resolute but nonetheless ebullient regularity among the fronds of a beautiful type of delicate crass, appearing, for all the world, like a squandered chandelier dashing headlong down the hillside.

From Halldór Laxness’s  Independent People :

Shortly afterwards it started raining, very innocently at first, but the sky was packed tight with cloud and gradually the drops grew bigger and heavier, until it was autumn’s dismal rain that was falling—rain that seemed to fill the entire world with its leaden beat, rain suggestive in its dreariness of everlasting waterfalls between the planets, rain that thatched the heavens with drabness and brooded oppressively over the whole countryside, like a disease, strong in the power of its flat, unvarying monotony, its smothering heaviness, its cold, unrelenting cruelty. Smoothly, smoothly it fell, over the whole shire, over the fallen marsh grass, over the troubled lake, the iron-grey gravel flats, the sombre mountain above the croft, smudging out every prospect. And the heavy, hopeless, interminable beat wormed its way into every crevice in the house, lay like a pad of cotton wool over the ears, and embraced everything, both near and far, in its compass, like an unromantic story from life itself that has no rhythm and no crescendo, no climax, but which is nevertheless overwhelming in its scope, terrifying in its significance. And at the bottom of this unfathomed ocean of teeming rain sat the little house and its one neurotic woman.

From Haruki Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore :

In the afternoon dark clouds suddenly color the sky a mysterious shade and it starts raining hard, pounding the roof and windows of the cabin. I strip naked and run outside, washing my face with soap and scrubbing myself all over. It feels wonderful. In my joy I shut my eyes and shout out meaningless words as the large raindrops strike me on the cheeks, the eyelids, chest, side, penis, legs, and butt—the stinging pain like a religious initiation or something. Along with the pain there’s a feeling of closeness, like for once in my life the world’s treating me fairly. I feel elated, as if all of a sudden I’ve been set free. I face the sky, hands held wide apart, open my mouth wide, and gulp down the falling rain.

From William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying :

It begins to rain. The first harsh, sparse, swift drops rush through the leaves and across the ground in a long sigh, as though of relief from intolerable suspense. They are as big as buckshot, warm as though fired from a gun; they sweep across the lantern in a vicious hissing. Pa lifts his face, slack-mouthed, the wet black rim of snuff plastered close along the base of his gums; from behind his slack-faced astonishment he muses as though from beyond time, upon the ultimate outrage. Cash looks once at the sky, then at the lantern. The saw has not faltered, the running gleam of its pistoning edge unbroken. “Get something to cover the lantern,” he says.

From NoViolet Bulawayo’s  We Need New Names :

Then it starts raining, like maybe Godknows has made it rain by all his talking. It’s a light rain, the kind that just licks you. We sit in it and smell the delicious earth around us.

Me, I want my mother, Godknows says after a long while. His voice is choking in the rain and I look at his face and it’s wet and I don’t know which is the rain, which are the tears. I am thinking I want my mother too, we all want our mothers, even though when they are here we don’t really care about them. Then, after just a little while, even before we are proper wet, the rain stops and the sun comes out and pierces, like it wants to show the rain who is who. We sit there and get cooked in it.

From Virginia Woolf’s  The Years :

It was raining. A fine rain, a gentle shower, was peppering the pavements and making them greasy. Was it worth while opening an umbrella, was it necessary to hail a hansom, people coming out from the theatres asked themselves, looking up at the mild, milky sky in which the stars were blunted. Where it fell on earth, on fields and gardens, it drew up the smell of earth. Here a drop poised on a grass-blade; there filled the cup of a wild flower, till the breeze stirred and the rain was spilt. Was it worth while to shelter under the hawthorn, under the hedge, the sheep seemed to question; and the cows, already turned out in the grey fields, under the dim hedges, munched on, sleepily chewing with raindrops on their hides. Down on the roofs it fell–here in Westminster, there in the Ladbroke Grove; on the wide sea a million points pricked the blue monster like an innumerable shower bath. Over the vast domes, the soaring spires of slumbering University cities, over the leaded libraries, and the museums, now shrouded in brown holland, the gentle rain slid down, till, reaching the mouths of those fantastic laughers, the many-clawed gargoyles, it splayed out in a thousand odd indentations. A drunken man slipping in a narrow passage outside the public house, cursed it. Women in childbirth heard the doctor say to the midwife, “It’s raining.” And the walloping Oxford bells, turning over and over like slow porpoises in a sea of oil, contemplatively intoned their musical incantation. The fine rain, the gentle rain, poured equally over the mitred and the bareheaded with an impartiality which suggested that the god of rain, if there were a god, was thinking Let it not be restricted to the very wise, the very great, but let all breathing kind, the munchers and chewers, the ignorant, the unhappy, those who toil in the furnace making innumerable copies of the same pot, those who bore red hot minds through contorted letters, and also Mrs Jones in the alley, share my bounty.

From James Joyce’s  Dubliners :

It was a dark rainy evening and there was no sound in the house. Through one of the broken panes I heard the rain impinge upon the earth, the fine incessant needles of water playing in the sodden beds.

From Willie Perdomo’s “ We Used to Call it Puerto Rico Rain “:

The rain had just finished saying,  This block is mine .

The kind of rain where you could sleep through two

breakthroughs, and still have enough left to belly-sing

the ambrosial hour.

Blood pellets in the dusk & dashes of hail were perfect for

finding new stashes; that is to say, visitations were never

From Lauren Groff’s “ The Midnight Zone “:

The rain increased until it was deafening and still my sweaty children slept. I thought of the waves of sleep rushing through their brains, washing out the tiny unimportant flotsam of today so that tomorrow’s heavier truths could wash in. There was a nice solidity to the rain’s pounding on the roof, as if the noise were a barrier that nothing could enter, a stay against the looming night.

I tried to bring back the poems of my youth, and could not remember more than a few floating lines, which I put together into a strange, sad poem, Blake and Dickinson and Frost and Milton and Sexton, a tag-sale poem in clammy meter that nonetheless came alive and held my hand for a little while.

Then the rain diminished until all that was left were scattered clicks from the drops falling from the pines

From Charles Dickens’ Bleak House :

The weather had been all the week extremely sultry, but the storm broke so suddenly—upon us, at least, in that sheltered spot—that before we reached the outskirts of the wood the thunder and lightning were frequent and the rain came plunging through the leaves as if every drop were a great leaden bead. As it was not a time for standing among trees, we ran out of the wood, and up and down the moss-grown steps which crossed the plantation-fence like two broad-staved ladders placed back to back, and made for a keeper’s lodge which was close at hand. We had often noticed the dark beauty of this lodge standing in a deep twilight of trees, and how the ivy clustered over it, and how there was a steep hollow near, where we had once seen the keeper’s dog dive down into the fern as if it were water.

The lodge was so dark within, now the sky was overcast, that we only clearly saw the man who came to the door when we took shelter there and put two chairs for Ada and me. The lattice-windows were all thrown open, and we sat just within the doorway watching the storm. It was grand to see how the wind awoke, and bent the trees, and drove the rain before it like a cloud of smoke; and to hear the solemn thunder and to see the lightning; and while thinking with awe of the tremendous powers by which our little lives are encompassed, to consider how beneficent they are and how upon the smallest flower and leaf there was already a freshness poured from all this seeming rage which seemed to make creation new again.

From Elizabeth Hardwick’s  Sleepless Nights :

Sometimes the rain was beautiful. The lavender and silver streaks, gleaming in the mud, seek to be honored, to receive some word of gratitude. The kindness of damp afternoons, the solace of opening the door and finding everyone there.

What next? Where to? Even in the midst of it all, in the devoted warmth, the well-disposed threat of familiarity, the cemetery waits to be desecrated.

From Toni Morrison’s  Song of Solomon :

She was thoroughly soaked before she realized it was raining and then only because one of the shopping bags split. When she looked down, her Evan-Picone white-with-a-band-of-color skirt was lying in a neat half fold on the shoulder of the road, and she was far far from home. She put down both bags, picked the skirt up and brushed away the crumbs of gravel that stuck to it. Quickly she refolded it, but when she tried to tuck it back into the shopping bag, the bag collapsed altogether. Rain soaked her hair and poured down her neck as she stooped to repair the damage. She pulled out the box of Con Brios, a smaller package of Van Raalte gloves, and another containing her fawn-trimmed-in-sea-foam shortie nightgown. These she stuffed into the other bag. Retracing hers steps, she found herself unable to carry the heavier bag in one hand, so she hoisted it up to her stomach and hugged it with both arms. She had gone hardly ten yards when the bottom fell out of it. Hagar tripped on Jungle Red (Sculptura) and Youth Blend, and to her great dismay, saw her box of Sunny Glow toppling into a puddle. She collected Jungle Red and Youth Blend safely, but Sunny Glow, which had tipped completely over and lost its protective disk, exploded in light peach puffs under the weight of the raindrops. Hagar scraped up as much of it as she could and pressed the wilted cellophane disk back into the box.

Jack Gilbert’s “Rain”:

Suddenly this defeat. This rain. The blues gone gray And the browns gone gray And yellow A terrible amber. In the cold streets Your warm body. In whatever room Your warm body. Among all the people Your absence The people who are always Not you.

I have been easy with trees Too long. Too familiar with mountains. Joy has been a habit. Now Suddenly This rain.

From Kevin Barry’s “ Fjord of Killary “:

So I bought an old hotel on the fjord of Killary. It was set hard by the harbor wall, with Mweelrea Mountain across the water, and disgracefully gray skies above. It rained two hundred and eighty-seven days of the year, and the locals were given to magnificent mood swings. On the night in question, the rain was particularly violent—it came down like handfuls of nails flung hard and fast by a seriously riled sky god. I was at this point eight months in the place and about convinced that it would be the death of me.

“It’s end-of-the-fucking-world stuff out there,” I said.

From J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye :

Boy, it began to rain like a bastard. In buckets, I swear to God. All the parents and mothers and everybody went over and stood right under the roof of the carrousel, so they wouldn’t get soaked to the skin or anything, but I stuck around on the bench for quite a while. I got pretty soaking wet, especially my neck and my pants. My hunting hat really gave me quite a lot of protection, in a way; but I got soaked anyway. I didn’t care, though. I felt so damn happy all of a sudden, the way old Phoebe kept going around and around. I was damn near bawling, I felt so damn happy, if you want to know the truth. I don’t know why. It was just that she looked so damn nice, the way she kept going around and around, in her blue coat and all. God, I wish you could’ve been there.

From Jesmyn Ward’s  Sing, Unburied, Sing :

“A dollar thirty,” she says, and I have to lean toward her to hear because thunder booms, a great clacking split, and the sky dumps water on the tin roof of the building: a tumble of sound. I can’t see down her shirt but it’s what I think about when I’m standing out in the rain, the back of my shirt pulled over my head like it could protect me, but all of me wet, gas fumes thick with the smell of wet earth, rain running down to blind my eyes, to stream from my nose. It all makes me feel like I can’t breathe. I remember just in time and tilt my head back, hold my breath, and let rain trickle down my throat. A thin knife of cool when I swallow. Once. Twice. Three times because the pump is so slow. The rain presses my eyes closed, kneads them. I think I hear a whisper of something, a whoosh of a word, but then it’s gone and the nozzle goes slack. The care is close and warm, and Kayla is snoring.

From William Shakespeare’s King Lear :

Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage, blow! You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout Till you have drenched our steeples, drowned the cocks! You sulfurous and thought-executing fires, 5Vaunt-couriers of oak-cleaving thunderbolts, Singe my white head! And thou, all-shaking thunder, Smite flat the thick rotundity o’ th’ world, Crack nature’s molds, all germens spill at once That make ingrateful man!

From Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd :

The air changed its temperature and stirred itself more vigorously. Cool breezes coursed in transparent eddies round Oak’s face. The wind shifted yet a point or two and blew stronger. In ten minutes every wind of heaven seemed to be roaming at large. Some of the thatching on the wheat-stacks was now whirled fantastically aloft, and had to be replaced and weighted with some rails that lay near at hand. This done, Oak slaved away again at the barley. A huge drop of rain smote his face, the wind snarled round every corner, the trees rocked to the bases of their trunks, and the twigs clashed in strife. Driving in spars at any point and on any system, inch by inch he covered more and more safely from ruin this distracting impersonation of seven hundred pounds. The rain came on in earnest, and Oak soon felt the water to be tracking cold and clammy routes down his back. Ultimately he was reduced well-nigh to a homogeneous sop, and the dyes of his clothes trickled down and stood in a pool at the foot of the ladder. The rain stretched obliquely through the dull atmosphere in liquid spines, unbroken in continuity between their beginnings in the clouds and their points in him.

Kay Ryan’s “Expectations”:

We expect rain to animate this creek: these rocks to harbor gurgles, these pebbles to creep downstream a little, those leaves to circle in the eddy, the stains and gloss of wet. The bed is ready but no rain yet.

From Colson Whitehead’s  The Colossus of New York :

Out on the street they hardly notice the clouds before it starts raining. The rain comes down in sheets. Drenched all at once, not drop by drop. The first drop is the pistol at the start of the race and at that crack people move for shelter, any ragtag thing, they huddle under ripped awnings, the doorway of the diner, suddenly an appetite for coffee. Pressed up against buildings as if on the lam. Little sprints and dashes between horizontal cover. Dry here. Surely it will stop soon, they think. They can wait it out. It cannot last forever.

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160+ Ways to Describe Weather

I keep a collection of descriptions that have pulled me into the books I read. I’m fascinated how authors can–in just a few words–put me in the middle of their story and make me want to stay there. This one’s 160+   Ways to Describe Weather.

A note: These are for inspiration only . They can’t be copied because they’ve been pulled directly from an author’s copyrighted manuscript (intellectual property is immediately copyrighted when published).

• Evening shadows deepened into blue and purple.
• The shadows retreated.
• Sun was sinking toward the horizon, the pitiless white ball now an angry orange.
• Fading afternoon in early June
• Evening sky had turned to molten brass.
• Sun still cast a faint yellow light through Slowly gathering evening.
• Daylight had begun to drain away.
• one-quarter of a moonlit night
• silver-white moon hung
• A half-moon rests in the fronds over our heads.
• watching the horizon drain of color
• The shadows slipped up the rocks as though the world were drowning in darkness.
• deepening shadows made it a city of ghosts
• barely visible in the fading light
• the high heavens
• Darkness settled around him.
• The shadows slipped up the rocks.
• Evening was crisp already, the last of sunset just a fading pale stripe in the western sky.
• darkening river
• the moon golden at dawn, turn purple just before sunset in the rainy season, sometimes has white and black stripes created by volcanic ash, calm and clear sometimes attended by only a single cloud
• humpback shapes of conical hills
• The last rays of sun skimmed the surface.
• late afternoon sun
• velvety darkness
• night shattered like a mirror
• the Southern Cross lying on its side, the green meadow bathed in the humid light of the sinking sun
• The corners have just about disappeared into the shadows.
• black branches that traced the blue-black heavens overhead
• far away down the night sky
• full moon a pale blue-white disk
• night sky dull black
• Stars were remote pinpricks.
• a half-moon rests in the fronds over our heads
• inky blackness
• Thick clouds blotted out the stars.
• A thin layer of clouds masked the full moon, filling the room with blue light.
• Sun cast a luminescent glow.
• The day was out of sync with his mood.
• beautiful, 82 degrees, mild breeze, cloudless sunshine, a day for looking at a ball game
• The air was cool but the sun was out.
• The wind blew itself out overnight.
• a web of clouds, back-lit by the failing sun, mist billowed through the trees and over the fields and hung low in the air, masking the camp in a ghostly gray
• towering thunder clouds
• Clouds threatening, but no rain predicted the 45-mile per hour gusts of drizzly wind.
• brown cloud that passes for air
• a wedge of sunlight bursting past the narrow window
• The wind was icy and withering.
• Heads bowed against the gusting wind.
• Grit grated in his teeth. Dust was everywhere, blowing on the wind, leaving its scent in his nostrils.
• as dust motes drifted
• thirty miles over the horizon
• razor edge of the horizon
• cinder dust and gloom
• The haze floated over the crowd like smoke from a doused fire.
• Sun hanging in a pink haze of clouds and smog.
• Fog yellowed by agricultural burning.
• Fog began to billow across the road in a great grey mass like the effluent of a thousand smokestacks. The building was only a shadowy form, almost entirely lost to view.
• Headlamps of cars did little to pierce the gloom.
• The mist floated like smoke out of the cypress in the swamp.
• dark clouds drifting over the hills
• night was pitch
• slice of sky
• thick clouds blotted out the stars
• a thin layer of clouds masked the full moon, filling the room with blue light
• cool restful shady world with light filtering lazily through the treetops that meet high overhead and shut out the direct sunlight
• saw the anvil of cloud coming in. “A thunderstorm.”
• Cumulus clouds falling down to the…
• A light breeze whispered through the trees.
• cloud shadows
• first cumulus clouds darkening into thunderheads
• hold humidity like a sponge holds water
• thick heat of the growing morning
• fierce humidity
• windless heat
• It was surprisingly hot. He could feel the sweat roll down his sides and the dampness of the box up against his chest.
• Even with the breeze, the air remained thick and hot, and it stills tank of petroleum.
• sky as gray-white and sunless
• against the fading layers of orange, yellow
• shoulders hunched against the early morning damp and cool
• fused warm light of dawn now creeping down the summit
• bathed in sunlight
• gold shadow not three inches from his leg
• his breath steaming in the air
• Snow pelted his face and he pulled up the collar of his overcoat to further shield him from the bitter weather.
• rubbed his arms
• A harsh winter wind blew out of a midnight sky. It roared out of the frigid north and thrashed the brooking forest. The force of it bent trees, whipping their bare branches like angry lashes. Shrieking across the river.
• Cold was like that, seeping through her seven layers of clothing, attacking seams and zipper tracks and spots of thin insulation. The exposed skin on her face felt as if it had been touched with lit cigarettes.
• frigid Friday morning
• swirling snow
• winter’s naked branches created a black tracework
• The sun was climbing out of the deep well of winter, but it was still brutally cold.
• winter colors daubed the land in colors of brown and gray
• sunny, crisp and cool
• The crisp air and clear sky energized his thoughts.

Rainy weather

• grey wet morning
• rain-swept and unpleasantly chilly
• A flurry of rain stung my face.
• Cold rain was beating down on my windshield.
• The sky was leaden.
• Downpour started in the early evening and continued on through the night, a heavy pelting of water that thundered against rooftops and drowned out the sound of all else. By morning, city streets were shallow rivers rushing toward the ocean.
• Rain ran down the window, the streets gleamed.
• damp paving stones
• By the time it reaches the ground, it has spent its energy.
• windshield wipers barely keeping up with the cold, hard rain
• The rain came steady and cold against the windshield and rattled on the roof of the car.
• turned her head away and looked out my window, where it had gotten dark and shiny with the lights glistening off the rain.
• The maple trees were black and slick in the rain, their bare branches shiny. The flower bed was a soggy matting of dead stems.
• The sky was low and gray.
• Air was swollen.
• the rain was steady and warm and vertical
• drizzly rain
• The sleety rain drizzled down, not very hard and not very fast, but steady.
• Rain came down so hard it almost hurt, stinging the skin and blowing into the eyes and nose and mouth, but in the forest its fall is broken by the trees.
• saw a distant flash of lightning, counted the seconds, and then said, “six miles, more or less.”

People in hot weather:

• Heat wave hit, temperatures went soaring.
• The heat hit them like a hand in the face.
• strode into the dusk, into the stifling heat
• The heat smacked the grin off his face.
• Burst back into the blistering hot sun. Sweat immediately beaded across her brow. She could feel her T-shirt glue itself stickily to her skin.
• I could feel the sweat form along my backbone and trickle down.
• She slogged forward, feeling blotches of dark gray sweat bloom across the front of her T-shirt, while more trailed down the small of her back.
• slogging across pavement as hot as ash in August.
• white dress shirt, sharply pressed this morning, was now plastered against his chest
• already short of breath, his lungs laboring as they headed down the path
• still wrung out from working in the heat
• Take your shirt off. Pop your underwear in the freezer. Dump a tray of ice cubes on your bed. Throw back some chilled vodka shots before you go to sleep.
• The semi-drought slowly draining the life out of the grass and trees.
• Only 7 in the morning, and already stocky hot. *** had a sheen across his forehead.
• Sweat tricked from his forehead which he wiped with the back of his knotted, callused hand.
• hundred degree heat, burning sun and parching salt
• ninety-five outside, probably a hundred in the car. Not great weather for polyester suits
• a fresh drop of sweat teared up on her brow and made a slow, wet path down the plane of her cheek
• walking through a hair dryer
• The heat slammed her like a blow.
• *** cranked the air-conditioning. She stripped off her sweat-soaked clothes, climbed into the shower and scrubbed.
• answered the phone while used the other hand to wipe the sweat from the back of her neck. God this heat was unbearable. The humidity level had picked up on Sunday and hadn’t done a thing to improve since.
• *** thin green sundress was already plastered to her body while she could feel fresh dewdrops of moisture trickle stickily down between her breast.
• Cradled the phone closer to her damp ear
• Her face shiny with sweat.
• Summer sun remained a brilliant, blinding white. No shade existed for miles and the heat rising up from the baked earth was brutal.
• The summer heat came off the tarmac in waves.

Hot Weather

• While the mercury climbed to a hundred degrees. Efforts started strong, then petered out. People got hot, got tired, got busy with other things—inside things.
• Seemed to be bracing himself for leaving the cool comfort of air-conditioning behind and bursting once more into the heat
• The heat settled in on them, rolling in like a heavy blanket and pressing them deep into their chairs while their clothing glued to their skin.
• Even my teeth are sweating
• The sun beat down relentlessly; even with the AC cranked up, she could feel the heat.
• She could already feel sweat trickle down her back.
• The sun burned white-hot overhead.
• glass exploding from the heat of the sun
• vanish in the dry season’s brown leaves

Click for the complete list of 69 writer’s themed descriptions .

Copyright ©2022 worddreams.wordpress.com – All rights reserved.

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Jacqui Murray  is the author of the popular  Man vs. Nature  saga, the  Rowe-Delamagente thrillers , and the acclaimed  Building a Midshipman , the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy .  She is also the author/editor of over a hundred books on integrating tech into education, adjunct professor of technology in education, blog webmaster, an  Amazon Vine Voice , and a freelance journalist on tech ed topics. Look for her next prehistoric fiction,  Savage Land Winter 2024

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122 thoughts on “ 160+ Ways to Describe Weather ”

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Weaving words so perfectly – Thanks for sharing. And overnight, a transformation. Summer at last.,, .

Like Liked by 1 person

These really inspire me. I often read through my collections when I’m stuck.

helped my writing

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Reblogged this on Coffee82 and commented: Awesome.

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Nice collection! A lot of poetic and inventive phrasing there.

✨🙏🕉🌱🌿🌳🌻💚🕊☯🐉✨

Weather is so many different things to different people. Not surprising I found 160 descriptions of it.

Ha! yes – that got me thinking about the old “Number of words for snow” question, and I found this . As a Scot myself though I have to say I am very, very skeptical of the final claim in that article!

I’ve heard of that, too. Luckily, my folks don’t have that problem but it is truly an issue if you’re writing about present-day groups in snowy lands.

Appreciate your list of ways to describe the weather. Timeless too. Here I am 2 years since your post and inspired by your creativity. Take care, Steve

It is timeless, isn’t it! When I put this list together, it helped me to better appreciate weather.

Impressive list. (Mine, now!) I’m compiling one for similes. Raymond Chandler makes me smile with his off the wall analogies. I recently added a Writing Terms Checklist on my free checklists page. It was too long for a post. Thanks for all you do!

I like checklists. I’ll check yours out!

Hi Jacqui, Thanks for reading my modest post. What an accomplished woman you are! What would we do without words, eh! Cheers. Joy x

Thanks, Joy. I enjoyed your thoughts. It’s amazing what inspired such accomplished writers as the Brontes.

Excellent list, Jacqui. I even get lots of ideas for titles, something I’m always struggling with entering competitions.

I grab these from books I read. You can probably tell I favor thrillers, action. I like ‘weather’ and ‘setting’ to be a character as much as the others.

That’s an amazing compilation. Thanks for sharing!!

Thanks! These sorts of lists inspire me.

An awesome post, Jacqui. Thank you. Weather intrigues. It is joy-filled and sometimes furious. God is bowling upstairs during a thunderstorm. Be well and enjoy the week. ox

Thanks–weather is fascinating. I like when I can feel it through an author’s words.

Indeed and thank you, Jacqui. Word play is an enjoyable activity. We have about seven months of winter, two days of spring and then summer at our end of the pond in Upstate New York. I love my four seasons. Be well.

7 months of winter. I didn’t know NY was that cold! Good to know so I never move there!

Jacqui, I laughed at your comment. We live near Lake Ontario and Oneida Lake and get frequent lake effect snow storms in winter. When I first moved to this area, I learned about lake effect snowstorms. We have excellent snow removal though so come on over sometime. Colorful in Autumn too.

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These are great, Jacqui! And yes, inspirational. It’s good to see how other authors describe things; it gives ideas on alternates.

It is. There are some very clever minds out there.

What an epic list 😀 Reminds me of a ‘music’ video we were recommended to watch for university called ’50 words for snow.’ It’s fun to think of different ways to describe things!

That must be put out by Eskimos. They know more about snow than anyone I’ve seen.

That’s a long list, Jacqui. So many ways to tell the day. Thanks for sharing this!

It’s one of my longest! Who knew?

That’s a lot of ideas for talking about the weather 🙂

Dinner party chat.

Quite eloquent 🙂

These lists are so inspirational! Thank you for posting this.

It is pretty interesting to view weather through so many literary eyes, innit?

Yes, indeed. I learn so much. 🙂

great list Jacqui. i use the weather regularly in my stories to create a specific mood. thanks for the info.

A bit of unexpected inspiration. Who knew weather was so interesting?

exactly, Jacqui. i also post weather images regularly on instagram. especially the colours of sunrises and sunsets in clouds during different seasons and different weather conditions.

Interesting post, Jacqui. Thanks.

I highlight memorable phrases in the Kindle books I read. Although I no longer transcribe them into a file on my computer (too time-consuming), the mere act of highlighting imprints the phrases in my mind. If an author particularly impresses me, I can scroll through the highlights and reread the highlights for inspiration.

That’s how I do it, too. I like it so well, I’ve migrated from being a print book reader to a Kindle reader.

It’s nice to see the wide variety of language. Not that it is needy. I can describe the weather currently in my area in one word — sucky! 😀

Ah South Korea. It rained most of the time on my one visit there. And no one but me seemed to care!

We’re having a monsoon right now. Don’t remember having a good one of these for a while.

I remember my son telling me July was the typhoon season, which is why we visited in May. Stay safe!

Nothing that crazy. We had a tropical depression pass through, but that’s it. It’s just wet.

I love the idea of keeping a notebook with descriptions that catch your attention. I’m going to start doing this.

Mine is so long,d I added a table of contents with links to the sections! I’m a bit nuts about it.

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I love the way you compile and share these lists with us, Jacqui. They are amazing and so helpful. Can I confess something? I share some of them with my creative writing students, and then give them prompts where they have to include 3 or more things from your lists. Will be interesting to see how I do that with weather. 🙂

This one got a little long. Who knew there were so many clever ways to describe weather?

I am flattered you share them! I would say weather could surprise them.

This one IS long – but weather gives us a lot to talk about and a lot to experience. I love the list. I will say, the prompt my students seem to love the best is. (are you sitting down?) “It was a dark and stormy night…” 🙂

Reblogged this on Marina Costa and commented: Interesting and useful to know.

Thanks for sharing, Marina!

The English should love this…

I would say India not so much. Do you-all get anything other than hot and humid or too-darn-windy?

What a helpful post, Jacqui! It reminds me of how we can put effort into our descriptions.

BTW, you won a book on my blog. Please confirm there.

Ooh, sorry I missed that. I just went over and replied and then emailed my info to you. How exciting!

Reblogged this on quirkywritingcorner and commented: I love her lists of descriptions. I hope you find them as helpful as I do.

Thanks for sharing this! It puts to bed any thought that weather is boring, doesn’t it?

That’s quite a collection, Jacqui. Isn’t it amazing that each of us can conjure something unique?

It is! Next time you don’t know what to say to someone, you can eruditely talk about the weather!

That’s so funny. Weather ‘small’ talk. Who would’ve thought. 😂

Great post. That’s a wonderful collection

Thank you so much, Luisa. It’s hard to make weather interesting but some very clever authors have done just that.

Jacqui, I love this post. The more I have been reading, the more I recognize how important it is for authors to paint a picture in your mind. To be able to put you right in the middle of the books setting. Sometimes when my mind has trailed off the story, it is descriptions like these that put my mind right back in.

That’s true, innit. A little inspiration to start your day.

I love your descriptions of weather and the times of day. Such descriptions can help add a sense of time in a story (just as the phases of the moon or the stars can create time (crescent moon in evening is aa new waxing moon, crescent moon in morning before sunrise is a waxing moon just before the “dark of the moon” which are the three days the moon is in the shadow of the earth. As for stars: Orion in winter, Scorpus in summer, etc). The dog star in Canis Major, Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, rising in late summer (as it rises just before daylight) is linked to “dog days” of summer…

I also like the old graveside prayer that describes the end of life: “until the shadows lengthen and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, then in thy mercy grant us a safe lodging and a holy rest and peace at last.”

What a wonderful poem. I’ve copied it. It captures so much of the fear and hope.

Thanks for these awesome examples, Jacqui! Saving and sharing…

It’s always fun to talk about the weather, innit?

New Jersey weather: moist ‘n’ icky.

Good description, especially the ‘icky’.

I calls ‘em like I sees ‘em.

Oh my, Jacqui. I love your lists and that’s a good long one. Great thought starters. Thanks for sharing your collection!

Since we-all know we must cover weather, I thought these were clever asnd interesting ways to do that!

Ha ha ha. I love weather. 😀

Right now there is only one way to describe the weather here in my city: hot

Here, too, though I have an excellent fan in my home office.

Some great phrases here, Jacqui. I am reading The Long Walk by Bachman/King at the moment and that has some very descriptive phrases in it.

Oooh, I’ll have to look at him. I love nature writers.

It’s not a nature book, it is a dark psychological horror.

Woah! OK, that’s different!

Darn! All the things I was about to write! 😀

Hehee. These are beyond most of what I write but I’ve seen what you turn out. Excellent.

Wonderful post!

Thanks, Ed. Food for thought…

A lot, just wonderful and so helpful.

My goodness …. can I just say ‘HOT’ … luckily today it’s cooler with a sea breeze … I need to read them all – clever and thank you! Cheers Hilary

Hot works. Absolutely.

Hahaha can I just say HOT, or the weather outside is weather yeah?

What a wonderful list, Jacqui! These are descriptions that always make me pause and reread them to fully enjoy them. They do draw the reader deep the story. I enjoyed reading these, thanks:)

Thanks! They do that for me, too, and that’s why I couldn’t just read and move on. I had to note them!

Some of these are quite lovely. Thanks for sharing.

If you recognized them from your outdoors scenes, feel free to add a note!

I actually didn’t recognize any of them. 🤔

OMG, Jacqui. What an amazing list Thanks for sharing.

It’s really nice for those whose plots take place outdoors a lot!

BTW, finished your book. Couldn’t stop reading. Wonderful.

Thank you, Jacqui. You put a smile on my face:)

Wow, great post. Bookmarking.

Amazing how much there is to say about the weather, innit?

I love weather, the seasons, earth and sky. There were some lovely gems in this collection. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks, Mae. I didn’t used to think much about the weather until I had to write about it, and make it interesting! These really struck me.

A terrific resource Jacqui. Thank you.

Thanks so much, Brigid. I couldn’t believe how many weather descriptors I had!

Nice information thanks

Thanks! Everyone writes about weather, right?

Great list, Jacqui. Thanks so much for sharing.

Thanks, Jill. Who says weather isn’t interesting? Hmm??

I think I’d like to be a meteorologist in my next life. 🙂

Reblogged this on chrismakan .

Thanks for sharing!

Wow this is very educative

I love how some writers weave their words so perfectly.

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25 of the Best Words and Phrases to Describe Rain

By: Author Hiuyan Lam

Posted on Last updated: October 20, 2023

Categories Vocabulary Boosters

People share different relationships with rain; sometimes, it may be soothing, or it can ruin an entire event that you had planned. In any case, you’ll need words to describe rain to convey your emotions or simply to describe the state of the weather.

The words to describe rain that you use can vary depending on the type of rain, for example if it is light or heavy rain. You can use words to describe the sound of rain as well.

Here are 25 rain-related words that you can add to your vocabulary or your descriptions of rain:

5 words to describe rainy weather

  Rainy weather is either welcomed or unwelcomed, depending on the person.   Sometimes, it’s the perfect chance to snuggle up with a loved one and watch some movies; other times, it can ruin your plans and make you feel sad or depressed.   When you want to talk about the state of the weather, you can use any of these five words to describe rain:  

For sound of rain

  The sound of rain is comforting to some people, but whenever there is a storm or heavy rain, it can be quite terrifying for others (especially children).   Here are five words to describe rain and the sounds it makes on your roof or against the pavement:  

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5 words to describe heavy rain

  Heavy rains are the worst, without a doubt. They ruin plans, make people feel uneasy, and can even cause flooding or landslides!   These are five words to describe rain that is heavy and terrible:  

5 words to describe rain shower

  Rain showers aren’t the same as other types of rain. They occur in short bursts, and they can be very light or very heavy.   Here are five words to describe rain showers:  

5 words to describe drizzling rain

  Drizzling rain is super light, and sometimes, it takes a while for you to even notice that it’s happening. It’s the type of rain through which you can walk, getting soaked very slowly. It barely has a noticeable impact. It usually ends quickly, or it is followed by very heavy rainfall.  

25+ of the Best Words to Describe Your Mood Accurately

  Do you want the rain to stay? Or, do you want it to go away and come back another day? Now, you have the perfect words to describe rain to use to convey your feelings about the different types of rain that you can experience throughout the year.  

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Master List for Describing Weather

A lot of writers struggle with describing settings. I’ve written before about how to describe settings and why it matters , but a few people have told me they’d like me to do some of my master lists for writers to help them out!

I have a weird love for creating lists like this, so I’m happy to do it. “How to describe weather” seemed like a good place to start. This way, you won’t get stuck trying to figure out how to describe nice weather, or thinking up ways to describe rain. Hopefully, this will make your writing go faster.

I always include simple as well as more creative ways to describe or write about weather. Sometimes, the simple word is the one you want! I included dryness and humidity in a few of the categories because it felt weird for them to get their own.

As always, this is not a comprehensive list, and I might add to it. My list will probably make you think of other possibilities, too. Bookmark or pin it for future writing reference!

HOT WEATHER 

blazing sunshine

glaring sun

baking in the sun

sun-drenched

scorching heat

extravagant heat

relentless sun

like a suana

dense tropical heat

radiating heat

blistering heat

oppressive heat

insufferable heat

suffocating heat

heat pressing down

searing sun

shimmering heat

like an oven

like a furnace

WARM / PLEASANT WEATHER

(“Pleasant” is a matter of opinion, of course.)

a beautiful day

a clear day

a temperate day

a golden day

a glorious day

heavenly weather

bright and sunny

a gorgeous spring day

a dazzling summer day

a brilliant autumn day

a vivid blue sky

a cloudless sky

fluffy white clouds

gentle sunshine

lazy sunshine

kind sunshine

filtered sunlight

dappled sunlight

welcome warmth

one of those rare, perfect days

the kind of day that made people forget to worry

the kind of day that lifted people’s moods

COOL WEATHER

refreshing air

stimulating cool air

invigorating cool air

bracing cool air

a nip in the air

a brisk day

a chilly day

weak sunshine

GRAY / OVERCAST WEATHER

(Most people don’t like gray days, so most of these descriptions are negative. I love them, so I had to add a few positive descriptions.)

colorless sky

a soft gray sky

a dove-gray sky

a gray day made for books and tea

steel-gray sky

granite sky

cement-gray sky

threatening clouds

foreboding clouds

COLD WEATHER

glacial air

bitter cold

brutal cold

bone-chilling cold

penetrating cold

devastating cold

numbing cold

punishing cold

dangerous cold

unforgiving cold

too cold to talk

so cold it burned one’s lungs

so cold it took one’s breath away

like a blast from a hair dryer

a gust of wind

insistent winds

heavy winds

strong winds

cutting wind

whipping winds

biting wind

wintry squall

violent gale

howling wind

shifting winds

restless wind

fresh breeze

soft breeze

balmy breeze

perfumed breeze

slight breeze

hint of a breeze

stirring breeze

wind rustling through the trees

fine drizzle

gray drizzle

pebbles of falling rain

spitting rain

stinging rain

steady rain

rain falling in torrents

cascades of rain

rain beating down

shower of rain

sheets of rain

hard-driving rain

pelting rain

lashing rain

slashing rain

THUNDER AND LIGHTNING

rumbling in the distance

a roll of distant thunder

crash of thunder

crackle of thunder

crack of thunder

clap of thunder

bang of thunder

booming thunder

rattled with thunder

earth-shaking thunder

tempestuous

a furious storm

flash of lightning

streaks of lightning

SNOW AND ICE

flurries of snow

dancing flakes

snowflakes floating down

snowflakes wafting down

swirling snow

falling thick and fast

big flakes falling like petals

blinding snowstorm

raging blizzard

sparkling expanses

blankets of white

caked with snow

boulders of snow

branches coated in ice

glittering ice

crystallized by frost

silvered with frost

clouds of mist

swirling mist

billowing fog

cloaked in mist

cocooned in fog

shrouded in fog

enveloped by fog

smothered by fog

made mysterious by fog

the fog rolled in

the fog was burning off

the fog was lifting

the fog was clearing

the fog was dissipating

I have many lists like this in my book  Master Lists for Writers: Thesauruses, Plots, Character Traits, Names, and More . Check it out!

Do you describe weather conditions in your writing? Do you have a favorite example of a weather description? Let me know in the comments! Thanks for reading, and happy writing!

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21 thoughts on “ master list for describing weather ”.

In my current WIP, weather is a crucial element. Not only is the woman in the romance a professional photographer — of weather — but it is a weather phenomenon, namely a tornado, that brings them together. So the description of the sky and the weather is quite detailed in places (specially as the supercell storm roars down on them).

On another angle, the phrase “gloriously sunny” is one that despite having that horrible “ly” adverb (shudder) is so evocative of the type of weather and the POV character’s attitude (and possibly even the type of weather that has gone before), that it’s powerful. It says a huge amount with only two words.

Hi Chris! Oh, wow…that’s a lot more detailed than most of us ever get in writing about the weather. It sounds like a great premise!

I will need this list as I begin edits next month on my WIP. I currently live in Hawaii, but am writing a story at Christmas time in Vermont. 🙂 Thank you!

Aw, nice! That’s some very different weather from what you’re used to. 🙂

It really is! And traveling to the climate I need isn’t ideal right now. So, off to the freezer I go! 🙂

Wow! This is fantastic. Thanks. You ARE a master at this.

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This is comprehensive! It’s bookmarked for future use. Thanks!

Thanks, Steve, I’m glad you liked it!

Amazing list that goes beyond the words that I struggle with – especially describing the rain-painted setting of Snowdonia.

Love your lists. You don’t have one for beaches by any chance? Would this, including the weather be another book by any chance??

Hi, Nicole! It’s funny you should ask. 🙂 I am going to release a second, more expanded version of MASTER LISTS FOR WRITERS . It’s going to have several setting descriptions in there (including a whole list for beaches!), and the weather list will be in there, too! I’m hoping to get it done before November of this year, but we’ll see. Thanks for asking!

That’s awesome and look forward to it’s release.

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I am in Chinan. I happened to enter this web-link and want to learn more about writing, I wonder if there are any descriptive passages. I can only find some words and expressions…

That was really useful. Thank you!

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This list is fabulous. Thank you for sharing it. I will be consulting it when incorporating weather elements into writing my next picture book.

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Best Descriptive Writing Sites   Describing the beauty of nature

Archive for the ‘ best rain descriptions ’ tag, describing the rain   115 comments.

Describing the rain. I hope to give you all the information you need to write a descriptive scene using the rain.My new book ‘Writing with Stardust’, is now available on Amazon. It is the ultimate descriptive guide for students and teachers. Just click on any of the book images below.

The FULL post with 5 levels can be viewed in PDF by clicking here:

DESCRIBING THE RAIN

LEVEL 1 I looked out the window. The sky was tar-black and the large clouds were moving towards me. I heard a tapping on the window and then it became a pitter-patter. People ran for cover outside and umbrellas were opened as the clouds spat out their beads of water. Puddles began plinking as the rainfall became heavier. The roofs of the cars danced with spray and I could hear the murmuring of the rain through the window. It sounded like the buzzing of angry bees.

For a Level 2 assignment, more detail should be added. Imagine the effect of the rain on the trees and include more detail on the sky and clouds. At the end of the paragraph, try to write something about the sun coming out. This will vary your writing style.

LEVEL 2 I quickened my pace as the clouds began to gather in the sky. Up to now, the sky had been postcard-perfect, but it was changing. The beautiful cocktail-blue shade was beginning to darken into gravel-grey. Large pillows of cloud were forming, blotting out the old-gold colour of the sun. I got the first splatter of rain when I was halfway across the meadow. I took shelter under an old oak, hoping that I could see out the shower. Droplets of moisture began to drip from the leaves. They were sprinkling onto the grass like a gardener’s hose. Then the rainfall became more intense. A wall of rain moved over the oak and the drops were drumming against the canopy. So much rain was falling that the sound blurred into one long, whirring noise. It reminded me of the rotor blades on a helicopter. Eventually, the noise lessened and the drops faded into a musical chime. The sun came out again, casting slanted beams of light across the meadow. Steam rose slowly from the grass. It rose up eerily and drifted mist-like towards the molten-gold sun. The image was so vivid that it stayed with me all the way home.

Level 3 should conjure up a scene where the rain’s effect can be explored in more detail. The words should get more complex also. An idea might be to visualise a forest scene in autumn, for example. Transport yourself there and describe the colours, the sensations and the sounds of the rain.

LEVEL 3 It began as a whispering in the air. The day had been beautiful and the sky was like a dome of plasma-blue. The clouds had looked like airy anvils drifting under the gleaming disc of sun. We had put our tent up just before the Reaper’s moon of autumn appeared over the trees. The moon seemed to turn the leaves into a flaming patchwork of colours: scorching-yellows, lava-reds and burnished-browns. It added an alien glamour to a perfect scene. We heard a greedy thrush, snail a-tapping on rock; he finished his supper before fluttering into the owl-light of the forest. The mournful cry of a lonely fox echoed through the vault-still silence of the trees. A huffing wind rose up then, stirring the flaps of our tent. A tinkling sound came to our ears as the first pearls of rain dropped onto the leaves. The sound was like the glassy clinking of a champagne flute, lilting and clear. A sheet of rain passed over us and the sound intensified. The noise on the tent was like the phut-phut-phut that ripened nuts make when they hit the ground. It wasn’t the soft, sodden, swollen drops of spring we were hearing; it was like ball-bearings were hitting the canvas roof with force. We could also hear an occasional ker-plunking sound. It was caused by the rainwater gathered on the tent falling to the ground in a great swash of release. The thermometer plunged as we huddled together and shivered in the tent. For a brief moment, we thought that we might be doomed adventurers, destined to get swept away in a mighty flood. We needn’t have worried. The curtain of rain passed over by the time dawn arrived. An explosion of birdsong erupted from the dripping trees and it was if the rain had never been.

A Level 4 assignment might involve a degree of philosophy. You can discuss how the rain is both life giving and life threatening. The metaphors should be more creative and the turn of phrase made more enriching.

LEVEL 4 ‘The sun enables life. The rain grants it safe passage’. The winter sky is a widow’s sky, bedarkened and weeping. The clouds are churlish and kraken-cruel. They cough out great gouts of water and thunking balloons of sopping moisture. It teems down in a biblical deluge, flooding the rivers, drowning the fields and overflowing the dams. It is a Noah’s-Ark cataclysm of rain, an unending cataract of water sluicing from the sky. Trees are uprooted, cars go bobbing by and entire villages disappear under a frothy lather of suds. Cities are overwhelmed and electricity blackouts have people living in fear of the unknown. The rain is incessant. It snaps and crackles like bracken pods in a bush fire. The flood-gates in the sky have been opened and no-one is there to close them back up, it seems. Is this the scene from a sci-fi movie? Is it a terrifying vision of a future world? Indeed it is not. It is the new reality for people from Missouri to Manchester, from Mumbai to Melbourne. The rain is man’s new enemy, according to news reports. It is public enemy number one. It has betrayed man and is now the most destructive arrow in nature’s quiver. The rain has a bad ‘rep’ at the moment. Is this how it should be viewed? Maybe we are forgetting the gifts it bestows upon us. The spring sky is a fragile, pellucid-blue. The clouds are frail and angel-white. They are carried on a light, ruffling breeze. The soil of Mother Earth is titanium hard and in need of nourishment. A misty rain falls down. It is as frail as a Scottish smirr and its misty dew feels like warm butter melting on a face. As it falls, it unlocks the glassy fingers of winter’s frosty fist, one by one. Flowers slowly unfurl in the meadows and ripple like coral arms at low tide. The rivers exhale with a murmurous purr of satisfaction. The spring rains are here and they are as sinless and glistening as an angel’s tears. The summer sky is neon-blue and vibrant. The sun-crisped flowers of the meadow are wilting. They gape at the tufty clouds and beg for their parched petals to be given one more shot of insulin. The clouds oblige and rain descends in little gleam-drops of silver. If you were to stand in the meadow, the drops would feel as sparkly and effervescent as champagne bubbles hitting your skin. The sound of the rain is a harmonic thrumming, nature’s white noise. Silver trickles of water seep into the soil, renewing the life-roots of the plants beneath. A homely, baked-earth smell rises from the land as it is washed and cleansed by the dewy tears of summer rain. Petrichor, the smell of the first rains after a dry spell, rises like a miasma. It is a jasmine-and-gingerbread fragrance, warm and fresh, and it laves the land with sweetness. The farmer is happy. The rain has giveth what the sun would taketh away. The autumn sky is dark and vengeful. Steaming shrouds of cloud coil and writhe. Then an unearthly caterwauling sound fills the air. The wind whips up into frenzy. It is a shrieking, keening omen of the carnage to follow. The clouds race across the sky, thrumming with the charged energy they are desperate to release. It starts with big, sopping drops of moisture. They are wild and indiscriminate, plump missiles of mass destruction that splatter onto the soft soil. The topsoil turns into slushy goo, but it doesn’t matter. The harvest has been taken in and the farmer stokes the glowing coals with a poker and a sigh of contentment. The rain is sissing and hissing off the roof, teeming onto the spongy earth. The farmer thinks about how most gifts come with a cost. He shudders at the thought of another winter, but counts his blessings that the rain has once again ensured his livelihood. To him, the rain is the nectar of the gods and the serum of the sky. He is neither philosopher nor ancient mariner, neither writer nor jungle adventurer, yet he understands the importance of nature’s bounty. If beauty is God’s signature, then rain is his final flourish.

Level 5 is available to read on my new book called ‘Writing with Stardust’ which is on Amazon. It also gives the sounds of rain in more detail. Everything on my blog posts AND MUCH, MUCH MORE are included in this book. There are 20 chapters jam-packed with colours, sounds, scents, beautiful phrases and practical tips. It also comes with a fill-in-the-blanks workbook. Hopefully, this post will help those who need guidance on describing the rain. God bless and good luck with your writing!

For much more of the above, please check out my book Writing with Stardust  by clicking on the book images..

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Posted February 16, 2013 by liamo in Uncategorized

Tagged with adjectives for the rain , best rain descriptions , describing storms , describing the rain , the sound of rain , walking in the rain

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Describe The Weather In Writing With Better Vocabulary

When you describe the weather in writing, you set the scene for your story or a part of your story.

It’s an opportunity to show readers the setting rather than tell them about the weather using a couple of quick adjectives.

Using highly descriptive or figurative language and a variety of grammar structures helps you paint the picture vividly in a reader’s mind.

In almost every story, both fiction and nonfiction, there is usually at least one reference to the weather.

How to describe the weather in writing

We all know this famous opening line from Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s 1830 novel, Paul Clifford.

It was a dark and stormy night.

Many have criticized the phrase, and Writer’s Digest went as far as to call it the literary poster child for bad story starters.

The main issue is that it uses two very weak adjectives: dark and stormy. Neither of them is usefully descriptive.

The second problem with the phrase is that it starts with a grammatical expletive .

When writing about the weather, using it was,  or there was is a common writing fault. It’s because we so often refer to the weather as it.

But few people take into account what follows Bulwer-Lytton’s famous clause. It’s a pity because the complete sentence is a wonderful example of how to describe the weather in writing.

It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents—except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.

He uses descriptive noun phrases , strong verbs, and powerful adjectives.

The combination of these three elements paints a vivid picture for readers.

Choosing your vocabulary

You can find many lists of common and unusual words to describe the weather, so you have plenty of choices.

But you should avoid words that are too simplistic. It was hot, cold, windy, or rainy are all very weak expressions.

But if you describe the heat, the cold, the wind, or the rain with noun phrases, you can improve these easily.

The sun started baking early across the plains, delivering a scorching promise for the day ahead.

The cruel icy wind cut like a knife across her cheeks.

Rain, as always, arrived too little, too late to save the crops.

Words that are not widely understood are also worth avoiding. While it’s interesting to find new words, not all of them are useful.

A good example is petrichor. It is the smell or scent of rain arriving after a period of dry weather.

But it is difficult to use, and it might send readers hunting for a dictionary.

The petrichor gave a hint of hope to the farmers.

It would be better to use a descriptive phrase.

The sweet far off scent of rain on dying grass gave hope to the farmers.

Brontide is another, meaning the sound of distant thunder or rumblings of an earth tremor. Again, it’s a great word to know, but with very limited use in writing.

Try this simple formula

Anytime you need to write about the weather, keep this little trick in mind.

Start with a noun phrase, use a strong verb , then add a descriptive clause .

You also need to describe the noun and verb with adjectives and adverbs.

Here’s a quick example.

The heavy dark clouds rolled slowly and low across the parched pastures, but they were heartbreakers, as not a drop of rain fell before the cruel wind carried them away.

It’s an easy way to make sure you avoid the grammatical expletive and weak adjectives.

You can also experiment with similes or metaphors . For example, raining cats and dogs.

Use verbs that sound like the weather

Onomatopoeic verbs and words are perfect for describing the weather because they make a sound.

Here are a few examples to illustrate sound words.

The pitter-patter of raindrops.

Thunder rumbled overhead.

Light hail pinged on the window pane.

With each step, the fresh snow crunched underfoot.

A bolt of lightning cracked across the night sky.

A cold north wind hissed through the trees.

A sudden boom of thunder forewarned us of the approaching storm.

Verbs and words like these are extremely useful because they are action words and highly descriptive.

This article is not a lesson or lecture on how to describe the weather in writing.

It’s purely a reminder that you can always improve.

I have listed a few ideas above, but there are many more ways you can make the weather more interesting.

All it takes is to remember that the setting for a scene or a story needs careful thought and imagination.

But if there are two key takeaways from my article, they are these.

1. Avoid using the grammatical expletive when referencing the weather.

2. Use noun phrases and strong verbs.

If you do those two things, the rest of your weather scene setting will come very easily.

Related reading: Words To Avoid In Writing That Say Nothing

About The Author

Derek Haines

More articles.

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How To Use Strong Verbs To Add More Punch To Your Writing

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The writings of a West Country Dapwearer

• Creative Writing

What it feels like to me in the rain

The rain drops are not plump, there are just more of them. My mac is wet. My jeans are wet. My bag is wet. My hand that holds my bag is wet. There really is a lot of rain falling from the sky right now.

Sometimes when it rains, I want to strip naked and dance. Peel off my clothes, layer by layer, and just dance. I don’t know how the dance will go: I can’t visualise it. I know that it will be like no dance I have ever performed but when it happens it will be the right dance to dance.

I know that I will shout up at the clouds too. Incite them to do their worst. My nakedness does not care about how much rain falls upon it. My dance encourages it. The rain encourages it.

Other times, the rain makes me sad.

A nostalgic sadness emerges when I realise that I am a person with a past, a present and a future, and that I can never hope to embody the best bit of any of these states at the same time. It is this that makes me ache for it. I realise that I will never be this whole and it makes me sad.

Occasionally, rain makes me feel hopeful. It reminds me that there are beautiful things to see and feel as a human being. When the rain falls from the sky, it somehow passes through my clothes, my skin and connects with the water that makes up the most of me. Drops fall on ordinarily still and even stagnant pools, ripples expand within me and I feel an energy. Molecules shunt, and I know that I am alive.

This rain right now makes me feel nothing. It is rain and it is getting me wet. And I want to be away from it.

Like this, read about the freezing cold of Langmusi, China .

About the author

Tom spooner.

• Ones to Watch
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Search for creative inspiration

19,890 quotes, descriptions and writing prompts, 4,964 themes

a rainy day - quotes and descriptions to inspire creative writing

• Jigsaw Puzzle Piece
• quote of the day
• rain soaked ground

The rainy day soaks the paintings of my memory, softening sharp edges until knives and knaves become dust piles and jokers.

The rainy day comes with a confident wind, rousing the trees into a vortex of dance.

Upon this rainy day I am woven by these water threads into the ether that stretches from heavens to earth.

The rainy day comes with its heaven-given soundtrack, washing every hue into a strong and soulful vibrancy.

The rainy day comes as invitation to rest, to relax, to let the ever steady moment expand into dreamy poetic wonderings.

The rainy day offers the gift of meditation, for each tiny water-globe to touch the skin is a moment for the soul to command.

In each cloud-birthed water-globe is the chance of a rainbow's song.

Each raindrop is a kaleidoscope, if we could only see more closely. I wonder as I walk how it would be to stop time, to suspend this watery gift and peek through each one. Perhaps it would be fun to sit inside those raindrops and take that gravity propelled ride to the earth, as I imagine it I feel my inner self laughing - a little at the crazy daydream and a little at my own silliness. I see the rain beads upon the cars, upon each leaf and washing my outstretched fingers. Soon they will pull together, forming the puddles, opening up a whole new avenue of rain-related fun. Perhaps it isn't normal to love a rainy day so much, but who cares about normal anyway? I'm pretty sure "normal" is a made up thing.

It was still early when the clouds gave of their rain to the grass and trees, when the road became alive with more splashes than my eyes could appreciate. Yet together they brought such a soothing sound, a natural melody every bit as beautiful as a mother's soulful hum. I felt each splash that touched my skin, watched my cardigan become a deeper, more rocky hue. It was as if earlier the street had been a matt photograph, only to be washed as glossy as any magazine page.

With eyes at rest in the way of dreams, I hear the quenching rain. The percussion of the given water varies according to the surface it wets. There is the drums that are windows, the cymbals that are the concrete floor, and the soft, soft maracas that are the music of the grass. The triangles are the puddles, a high note to pick up the mood, to sing of the joy of the plants upon such a day.

Here comes the rain, little darlin,' desalinated by nature's own hand and given freely. Here comes the water we need for every part of life we cherish and hold sacred. For it is from the clouds as much as the sunshine that life comes forth, the cozy days of reflection to add to the dancing in warm rays. It deepens every hue, brings a boldness to scenes so familiar, a nuance that is so refreshing to the eye.

Have you heard the rain this morning? It’s crazy! Those drops are bigger than prairie hailstones and coming down just as hard. I’ll just turn the dishwasher off here so you can listen to it better. It’s almost as if the drops are striking your eardrums, right? I actually like it, I find it soothing. Anyhow, it’s just you, me and the dirty breakfast dishes. The kids are at school already, you should have seen them go all togged up in rain jackets and umbrellas. I was going to give them rides but the school is just so close and the traffic so bad in the mornings that it’s actually quicker to walk. I do hope their feet stayed dry, look at that water on the street. Come over to the window, you’ll see it way better. It’s a shallow river over the tarmac, we get that so much. Did I say it’s a temperate rainforest here? Oh, I did? Well, the kids do say I repeat myself a lot, maybe they’re right after all!

Found in Are you awake yet? - first draft , authored by Daisy .

My bicycle wheels turn over the wet track, my speed bringing the cold rain into my face harder than it would were I walking. My jacket gave up on keeping my body dry a while ago and now my trunk is as wet as my legs. On a rainy day like this there's just no point in heavy clothes, the only thing that'll keep me warm is my own movement, the pumping of my legs against the pedals. Head down, press on, thinking of the warmth at the other end. There's a part of me that's jealous of the car drivers, safe behind shatter-proof glass and painted steel. But then I recall my cyclist's mantra, "bikes burn fat and save money, cars burn money and save fat." After that I'm free to enjoy the rain, its part of life after all.

The rain has fallen steadily without let up since before I woke. Outside the summer flowers and leaves droop under the weight of the droplets. We've had so much heat lately that I'd almost forgotten this feeling, the cool freshness in the breeze. Come late autumn I won't be nearly be so impressed with the rain in whatever way it falls; it will be as ubiquitous as the lousy sit-coms and weight-loss advertisements. But for August it's such a novelty that I find myself sitting on the front porch, coffee in hand, watching the drips as they fall from beneath the guttering. Simply being outside without the need for sunglasses, taking in the softened hues with my naked eyes, and listening to the drumming is a treat. Something about this rain has me more relaxed than I've been in days and I'm in no hurry for the clouds to vanish, returning us to the dry heat that is so customary at this time of year.

Outside was an unexpected gift of rain. The wet season didn't generally start for another fortnight but the skies don't lie. It wasn't a mean rain either, the type that got everyone wet without filling the rain barrels. It was the type that got the streams running with pristine water from the mountains. Rose stood on the doorstep, her arms folded around herself in the best hug she could have without Joe being home. After such a dry summer it was all she could do to stop herself from dancing barefoot outside while the drops plastered her hair to her face.

The umbrella snapped closed, releasing a gravity defying plume of small droplets. Tara pulled down her hood and shook her hair to gain some life back into her flattened locks.

Mac stirs behind his closed eyelids, his mind ceasing dream-mode to bring him back to wakefulness. At first he's slightly confused; he hears the fan he's been cooling himself with this long dry summer, yet he knows he didn't turn it on before bed. A slow smile creeps over his face. He doesn't hear the drone of a fan he hears rain falling thickly outside, the beautiful sound passing right through his open window. He rolls to get up as his eyes open and takes himself to see the rainfall, already feeling the soothing coldness of the breeze. There is the scent of wetness, so ever-present in the autumn but so rare for late August. Today will be a day for long pants and an umbrella, a strong black coffee and fried plantain on toast with chilli sauce. A day for enjoying all the things that go with a change in season.

Between the hail and the rain I'm okay where I am. In this warm room, seeing the streaming sunlight that comes regardless of clouds; I'm content to watch the ever changing picture that is the world beyond mine. The newly washed roofs gleam as brightly as mirrors, the blossom tenacious on the branches that dance. It's a rainy day, one for the books, tea mugs and cozy socks.

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9 Writing Prompts about Rain

The rain was heavier now, drumming on the roof, as darkness crept across the room. The embers of the fire were a dull glow as the rain drops pelted against the glass of the window.

I bet I’m not the only one who enjoys a good rain storm… when I’m inside and dry that is.

It’s one of those innate reactions to a primal force perhaps, that we’ve been dealing with for as long as humans have existed.

So what better a force to inspire a creative story, or help us think about how a force of nature impacts us in a whole range of different ways.

I’ve written a collection of prompts all about the rain, to share with you today, and if you haven’t tried them already you should also check out our winter writing prompts too. Enjoy!

How to use these prompts:

Read through the list until one immediately triggers a thought or emotion in response – grab that one and run with it! Write as much as you can on the topic without stopping to correct punctuation or anything else!

Take a prompt at random, and write 300 words on it. Swap with a buddy who has written their own 300 words on a different prompt, and complete each others piece of writing with an additional 300 words. Something different to try.

Pick a random number – that’s your prompt from the list. Write a page on the topic.

You may well have other different ways of using the prompts to inspire discussion and/or writing – and that is ok!

9 Writing Prompts about Rain:

• Heavy rain is often said to help people sleep. Why do you think this is? Have you experienced this?
• If you didn’t have running water in your home, think about how you could collect rain water, and make sure it was safe to drink.
• Think back to a time when you were warm, cosy and dry while the rain poured down outside. Describe it in as much detail as you can.
• While often people like to complain about rainy weather, it can be extremely important to get regular rainfall. When do you think rain is most welcome?
• Imagine you’re an animal in a desert, and have been waiting many months for a single drop of rain. What is it like when you see dark clouds rolling in finally, and the rain starts pouring down?
• If you got lost in the forest while out hiking, how would you build a shelter to keep dry as the rain started?
• What is the best thing about rain, and why?
• Think of how your pets have reacted to rain, and write about it using as much detail as you can.
• Have you ever been swimming in the rain? Write about your experience, or what you imagine it would be like.

Looking for more free printables and prompts?

I’ve got some good news, and some even better news.

The good news is that we have literally thousands of writing prompts for you to use to inspire either your own writing, or that of your students.

The even better news is that we are constantly adding to our prompts, as well as our multitude of other free tools for teachers and printable resources.

Tell your friends about the site, it really helps us out 🙂

Thanks, Matt & Hayley

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WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®

Helping writers become bestselling authors

Setting Thesaurus: Jungle/Rainforest

January 10, 2009 by BECCA PUGLISI

Vines, ferns, lush foliage, tall trees (traveller’s fan, Heliconia, trumpet trees, cahoon), dense undergrowth, fronds, lagoons, cliffs, rocky outcropping, downed trees, canopy blocking the sun, mosses, creepers, water vines, brown dead fall, mud, lizards, snakes…

bird calls, wings fluttering, monkey hoots/shrieks, animal movements (growls, grunts, snorts, paws hitting the ground, slithering, hissing, animal cries), running water (rushing creaks, waterfalls, rivers, streams or rain clattering off the leaves), one’s own heavy…

stuffy & warm air, rotting vegetation, body odor, natural plant smells (sweet to attract insects/pollinators, bitter to ward them off), animal musk, flowers (few in the jungle–more in the rainforest)

Water, air thick on the tongue, edible leaves and root or fruits, prey caught and cooked over a fire (gamy, stringy, chewy, rubbery), stale breath, fresh rain

Slippery leaves, rough vines, crumbly wet ground underfoot in places, branches crackling, holding branches back, squeezing through a stand of bamboo & feeling the smooth wood against the chest and back, sweat running down the neck and face, slurping dew off a leaf…

Helpful hints:

–The words you choose can convey atmosphere and mood.

Example 1: Dusk stained the glistening foliage with shadow and murk. As nightfall descended, the sounds of the jungle began to ebb. Uncertainty hung in the warm, wet air as the creatures began to prepare for the long stretch of darkness. Soon new sounds emerged: footfalls and the rumbling growls of predators walking their hunting ground.

–Similes and metaphors create strong imagery when used sparingly.

Example 1: (Simile)  Vines slithered down the cliff face like snakes, seeking the pool of tepid water below.

Think beyond what a character sees, and provide a sensory feast for readers

Setting is much more than just a backdrop, which is why choosing the right one and describing it well is so important. To help with this, we have expanded and integrated this thesaurus into our online library at One Stop For Writers . Each entry has been enhanced to include possible sources of conflict , people commonly found in these locales , and setting-specific notes and tips , and the collection itself has been augmented to include a whopping 230 entries—all of which have been cross-referenced with our other thesauruses for easy searchability. So if you’re interested in seeing a free sample of this powerful Setting Thesaurus, head on over and register at One Stop.

On the other hand, if you prefer your references in book form, we’ve got you covered, too, because both books are now available for purchase in digital and print copies . In addition to the entries, each book contains instructional front matter to help you maximize your settings. With advice on topics like making your setting do double duty and using figurative language to bring them to life, these books offer ample information to help you maximize your settings and write them effectively.

Becca Puglisi is an international speaker, writing coach, and bestselling author of The Emotion Thesaurus and its sequels. Her books are available in five languages, are sourced by US universities, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, editors, and psychologists around the world. She is passionate about learning and sharing her knowledge with others through her Writers Helping Writers blog and via One Stop For Writers —a powerhouse online library created to help writers elevate their storytelling.

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Reader Interactions

April 13, 2021 at 6:01 pm

Amazing, really helped me, especially the hints! Thank you

January 12, 2009 at 1:26 pm

Love these posts.. 🙂

January 11, 2009 at 2:30 pm

Glad we can help. Lady G!

Thanks PJ. I posted it a bit later than usual–maybe that messed you up, lol.

CR, I agree. I love tropical locals.

Thanks Bish. I’ve never tried it, but I’d love to.

April 14, 2020 at 10:14 am

Excellent piece of writing, I especially liked how descriptive you had made the little bits and phrases for other aspiring writers to use. I’m much more of a fantasy writer but I needed this in order to do something, so it came in really helpful! I can hardly wait to get on with my assignment!

With endless ‘Thank You’s’, TheRandomizer

January 11, 2009 at 7:46 am

Great stuff! (As an aside…I saw breadfruit listed. I absolutely LOVE breadfruit. I wish I could get it here where I live.)

January 10, 2009 at 10:03 pm

hmmmm . . . makes me want to go on a rain forest adventure!

January 10, 2009 at 9:39 pm

Nice! I was about to say “wait, don’t these come on Saturdays” but then I realized it was Saturday 🙂

January 10, 2009 at 9:09 pm

YES! This is exactly what I need right now for my Amazon jungle scenes. 🙂 Thanks!

How to Describe the Wind in Writing (100 Words + Examples)

It can be a bit tricky to find the right words or phrases to make your readers see and feel the wind.

Here is how to describe the wind in writing:

Describe the wind in writing by using sensory language to evoke its force, sound, temperature, effect, direction, time of day, and personified traits. Each description should enhance the narrative, helping to set the scene, build atmosphere, and engage the reader.

In this guide, we’ll discuss all the different ways to describe wind based on its force, sound, speed, and more.

Describing Wind by Its Force

Table of Contents

The force of the wind can dramatically change the perception of a scene.

The contrast between a gentle breeze and a violent gale is not just a measure of intensity.

But can also signify changing moods, symbolize emotional shifts, or foreshadow significant events.

Here is how to do it:

• Gentle : A gentle wind softly touches, a delicate interaction with the environment. Example: “The gentle wind caressed the petals of the blooming flowers, their fragrance subtly wafting in the air.”
• Light : A light breeze is almost playful, just strong enough to stir the leaves. Example: “A light wind tugged at her hair as she sat by the river, the tranquil scene filling her with peace.”
• Calm : A calm wind denotes tranquility and serenity, ideal for peaceful settings. Example: “The calm wind moved lazily through the tall grass, making it sway like waves in a calm sea.”
• Whispering : A whispering wind is quiet, giving a sense of intimacy and closeness. Example: “The whispering wind carried the melody of the distant lullaby, lulling the town to sleep.”
• Soothing : A soothing wind provides relief or comfort. Example: “The soothing wind was a balm against the harsh summer heat, its gentle caress reviving his spirits.”
• Blustery : A blustery wind is strong and cold, often associated with the autumn and winter months. Example: “The blustery wind cut through his jacket, making him shiver as he trod the leaf-strewn path.”
• Howling : A howling wind is fierce, invoking images of storms or tempests. Example: “The howling wind made the old house creak ominously, its eerie tune setting the mood for the night.”
• Fierce : A fierce wind indicates a wild and uncontrolled force. Example: “The fierce wind shook the window panes, a testament to the storm’s power.”
• Wild : Wild wind suggests a sense of chaos and lack of control. Example: “The wild wind tossed the ship like a toy, waves crashing over the deck.”
• Gusty : Gusty winds are strong and sudden, capable of causing brief moments of disarray. Example: “The gusty wind snatched the papers from his hands, scattering them in every direction.”

Describing Wind by Its Sound

The sound of the wind is often used to set the atmosphere of a scene.

From the silent rustling of leaves to the ominous howling in a storm, the sonic quality of wind can bring your writing to life.

• Soft : A soft wind might be barely audible, adding a sense of tranquility. Example: “The soft rustle of the wind through the trees was a soothing backdrop to their quiet conversation.”
• Hushed : A hushed wind is a secret whisper, barely noticeable. Example: “A hushed breeze stirred the silent forest, the only sign of life in the deep wilderness.”
• Silent : A silent wind might not make any sound, but its effects can be seen or felt. Example: “The silent wind danced with the dunes, shifting the desert landscape as if alive.”
• Quiet : A quiet wind does not overpower other sounds, acting as a subtle background note. Example: “The quiet wind murmured through the leaves, a soft accompaniment to the chorus of singing birds.”
• Noisy : A noisy wind is boisterous, drawing attention to its presence. Example: “The noisy wind rustled the newspapers, alerting the alley cat of someone’s approach.”
• Roaring : A roaring wind has a deep, loud sound, often associated with storms or extreme weather. Example: “The roaring wind was deafening, drowning out all other sounds.”
• Screaming : A screaming wind gives the impression of high intensity or danger. Example: “The wind screamed around them, a chilling prelude to the approaching hurricane.”
• Howling : A howling wind is loud and sorrowful, invoking a sense of loneliness or fear. Example: “The howling wind seemed to voice the loneliness of the old mansion, its chilling song echoing in the empty rooms.”
• Whistling : A whistling wind creates high-pitched sounds as it passes through narrow spaces. Example: “The wind whistled through the bare branches, a lonely melody in the frigid winter air.”
• Moaning : A moaning wind can suggest discomfort or eeriness. Example: “The wind moaned through the ruined tower, its ghostly sighs stirring tales of lost battles and ancient sorrows.”

Describing Wind by Its Speed

The speed of the wind can influence the rhythm and pacing of your writing.

Slow winds might suggest a leisurely pace, while fast winds can bring energy and excitement.

• Slow : A slow wind suggests a relaxed or languid mood. Example: “The slow wind moved lazily across the field, the daisies bending and swaying in a slow dance.”
• Lazy : A lazy wind has a lackadaisical quality, perfect for a calm, sunny afternoon. Example: “A lazy wind drifted through the orchard, the scent of ripe apples carried in its wake.”
• Languid : A languid wind is slow and relaxed, hinting at tranquility and leisure. Example: “The languid breeze that wafted from the sea brought a sense of calm and serenity.”
• Meandering : A meandering wind takes its time, as though it’s enjoying the journey rather than rushing towards a destination. Example: “The meandering wind played amidst the autumn leaves, carrying them on a leisurely dance.”
• Drifting : A drifting wind is unhurried and aimless, adding a dreamlike quality to the scene. Example: “The drifting wind carried the scent of lilacs, its sweet perfume invoking memories of past summers.”
• Fast : A fast wind is full of energy, ideal for scenes of action or urgency. Example: “The fast wind whipped her hair around her face as she raced down the hill.”
• Quick : A quick wind might signal an abrupt change or a breathless moment. Example: “The quick wind brought the first hint of the storm, the air suddenly heavy with tension.”
• Swift : A swift wind brings movement and flow to the scene, emphasizing speed and motion. Example: “The swift wind carried the fallen petals, creating a blizzard of cherry blossoms.”
• Rushing : A rushing wind suggests urgency or turmoil. Example: “The rushing wind tore through the narrow streets, a harbinger of the tempest to come.”
• Speeding : A speeding wind signifies rapid movement and can be used to convey a sense of excitement or danger. Example: “The speeding wind roared in his ears as he plummeted towards the ground, his parachute trailing behind him.”

Describing Wind by Its Temperature

The temperature of the wind can greatly influence the overall feeling of a scene.

Whether a warm summer breeze or a frigid winter gust, the wind’s temperature can evoke a range of emotions and sensations in the reader.

• Warm : A warm wind suggests comfort and the promise of balmy weather. Example: “The warm wind, heavy with the scent of blooming jasmine, hinted at the approaching summer.”
• Hot : A hot wind can be oppressive, often associated with desert or drought conditions. Example: “The hot wind carried the sting of the sand, searing any exposed skin.”
• Cool : A cool wind is often refreshing, a welcome relief from the heat. Example: “The cool wind that rustled the palm leaves brought momentary relief from the tropical heat.”
• Cold : A cold wind might suggest discomfort or harsh weather conditions. Example: “The cold wind gnawed at their cheeks, turning them a rosy pink.”
• Chilling : A chilling wind often connotes something ominous or foreboding. Example: “The chilling wind blew through the graveyard, making the mourners shiver uncontrollably.”
• Icy : An icy wind is not only cold but also piercing, cutting through layers of clothing. Example: “The icy wind cut through her coat like a knife, making her shudder with cold.”
• Frigid : A frigid wind can suggest extreme cold, often associated with winter or high-altitude settings. Example: “The frigid wind howled across the snow-covered mountains, stinging any exposed skin.”
• Scorching : A scorching wind is intensely hot, like being in an oven or near a fire. Example: “The scorching wind was like a wall of heat, making the mere act of breathing a challenge.”
• Refreshing : A refreshing wind is cool and invigorating, often associated with spring or morning breezes. Example: “The refreshing wind stirred the wildflowers, carrying their sweet scent across the meadow.”
• Biting : A biting wind is harsh and painful, carrying an insinuation of discomfort or hostility. Example: “The biting wind whipped around them, making every step a battle against the elements.”

Describing Wind by Its Effects

Another way to describe the wind is by the impact it has on the surrounding environment.

This can provide a vivid, indirect way of conveying the strength or character of the wind.

• Rustling : A rustling wind gently stirs leaves and grass. Example: “The rustling wind stirred up the autumn leaves, creating a colorful whirlwind.”
• Whipping : A whipping wind moves with force, capable of causing disarray. Example: “The whipping wind tore at their clothes, making it hard to move forward.”
• Caressing : A caressing wind moves gently, like a lover’s touch. Example: “The caressing wind played with her hair, sending shivers down her spine.”
• Tugging : A tugging wind pulls at things, providing a sense of its strength. Example: “The tugging wind pulled at his hat, threatening to send it flying.”
• Stirring : A stirring wind causes slight movement, especially in water or loose particles like sand or dust. Example: “The stirring wind created tiny ripples across the pond, disturbing the otherwise mirror-like surface.”
• Sweeping : A sweeping wind suggests broad, fast movement over a large area. Example: “The sweeping wind cleared the fog, revealing the breathtaking vista of the valley below.”
• Roaring : A roaring wind gives an impression of intensity and might. Example: “The roaring wind stripped the trees of their autumn leaves, leaving the branches bare and exposed.”
• Dancing : A dancing wind moves unpredictably, swirling and changing direction. Example: “The dancing wind swirled the snowflakes into intricate patterns, as if orchestrating a ballet of the elements.”
• Carrying : A carrying wind can transport scents, sounds, or smaller objects over distances. Example: “The carrying wind brought the distant sound of church bells, drifting on the air like a sacred melody.”
• Buffeting : A buffeting wind strikes repeatedly and forcefully, causing everything in its path to shake or rattle. Example: “The buffeting wind rattled the old window frames, their constant clattering a testament to the storm’s fury.”

Describing Wind by Its Direction

The direction of the wind can have significant implications for your narrative, from determining the movement of clouds to hinting at changes in weather or seasons.

Here is how to describe the wind by its direction:

• North : A north wind, often cold, can signify the arrival of winter or a cooling trend. Example: “The north wind carried the scent of snow, a chilling harbinger of the approaching winter.”
• South : A south wind is typically warm, often suggesting the onset of spring or summer. Example: “The south wind, laden with the heady fragrance of blooming roses, heralded the arrival of a sultry summer.”
• East : An east wind can be seen as bringing change or new beginnings. Example: “The east wind brought the first light of dawn, casting long shadows on the silent town.”
• West : A west wind often carries the connotation of ending or closure. Example: “The west wind carried the last notes of the song, echoing the sun’s farewell as it dipped below the horizon.”
• Upland : An upland wind moves uphill, suggesting effort or challenge. Example: “The upland wind whispered encouraging words in her ear as she climbed the steep hill.”
• Downland : A downland wind moves downhill, hinting at ease or relaxation. Example: “The downland wind guided the fallen leaves on their journey to the valley.”
• Seaward : A seaward wind moves towards the sea, often evoking a sense of longing or adventure. Example: “The seaward wind filled their sails, drawing them towards the vast, unexplored ocean.”
• Landward : A landward wind moves towards land, typically associated with feelings of safety or return. Example: “The landward wind carried the familiar scent of pine and woodsmoke, a promise of home.”
• Incoming : An incoming wind moves towards the observer, indicating the approach of something. Example: “The incoming wind carried the distant rumble of thunder, a stark warning of the storm’s approach.”
• Outgoing : An outgoing wind moves away from the observer, often signaling departure or relief. Example: “The outgoing wind took the last traces of the forest fire, the air finally clear and breathable.”

Describing Wind by Its Time of Day

The time of day can also influence how the wind is perceived, adding an additional layer of nuance to your descriptions.

• Morning : A morning wind suggests freshness and the beginning of a new day. Example: “The morning wind, cool and crisp, breathed life into the sleepy town.”
• Noon : A noon wind often conveys the intensity of the midday sun. Example: “The noon wind, hot and dry, made the mirages dance on the distant horizon.”
• Afternoon : An afternoon wind can signal a gradual easing of the day’s heat. Example: “The afternoon wind brought welcome relief, stirring the lethargic summer air.”
• Evening : An evening wind often indicates the transition from day to night. Example: “The evening wind carried the twilight song of the birds, an enchanting serenade as day gave way to night.”
• Night : A night wind is typically associated with mystery, calm, or the unknown. Example: “The night wind whispered tales of forgotten times, its hushed voice blending with the rustle of the ancient trees.”
• Dawn : A dawn wind implies new beginnings or hope. Example: “The dawn wind stirred the sea into a shimmering canvas, painting the first light of day in vibrant hues of orange and gold.”
• Dusk : A dusk wind carries the end of the day and the onset of the evening. Example: “The dusk wind rustled the falling leaves, echoing the sun’s farewell as it dipped below the horizon.”
• Midnight : A midnight wind can evoke the depth of the night and the mysteries it holds. Example: “The midnight wind carried the eerie howls from the distance, its chilling message clear in the silent night.”
• Daybreak : A daybreak wind suggests renewal or a fresh start. Example: “The daybreak wind carried the scent of dew-kissed grass, a subtle hint of the world awakening to a new day.”
• Twilight : A twilight wind signifies transition or change, often bringing a sense of calm. Example: “The twilight wind stirred the lavender fields, their soothing scent bringing a serene end to the day.”

Describing Wind by Its Smell

Scents carried by the wind can help set the scene and evoke strong emotions and memories in your readers.

Here are a few ways you can describe wind by its smell:

• Salt-tinged : A wind that carries the smell of the sea. Example: “A salt-tinged wind swept across the deck, instantly transporting him back to his childhood summers by the ocean.”
• Pine-scented : A wind carrying the aroma of pine forests. Example: “The pine-scented wind was a refreshing balm, cleaning the city smog from her lungs.”
• Smoky : A wind that carries the smell of smoke, indicating a fire. Example: “The smoky wind stung their eyes and throats, a cruel herald of the approaching wildfire.”
• Floral : A wind filled with the scent of flowers. Example: “A floral wind drifted through the open window, the intoxicating perfume of the garden mingling with the crisp linen sheets.”
• Dusty : A wind that carries the smell of dust or dry earth. Example: “The dusty wind was a tangible reminder of the long, parched summer.”
• Rain-soaked : A wind carrying the fresh smell of rain or an approaching storm. Example: “The rain-soaked wind promised a respite from the relentless heat.”
• Herb-laden : A wind filled with the smell of herbs, indicating a nearby garden or meadow. Example: “The herb-laden wind carried notes of lavender and rosemary, a comforting reminder of home.”
• Citrusy : A wind carrying the zesty aroma of citrus fruits. Example: “A citrusy wind drifted from the orange groves, filling the afternoon with a tangy sweetness.”
• Decaying : A wind that carries the smell of decay, indicating rot or death. Example: “The decaying wind held the grim scent of the battlefield, a chilling testament to the day’s losses.”
• Spicy : A wind filled with the scent of spices, indicating a nearby marketplace or kitchen. Example: “The spicy wind was thick with the promise of delicious meals, making her stomach growl in anticipation.”

Describing Wind by Its Feeling

Describing the wind by its physical sensation on a character’s skin can help immerse the reader in the scene.

• Stinging : A wind that is harsh and biting. Example: “The stinging wind battered his face, each gust like a slap of cold, wet canvas.”
• Tickling : A light wind that playfully brushes against the skin. Example: “The tickling wind teased her bare arms, leaving goosebumps in its wake.”
• Caressing : A gentle wind that softly touches the skin. Example: “The caressing wind was a tender lover, its soft touch bringing comfort to her weary body.”
• Slapping : A strong, abrupt wind. Example: “The slapping wind caught her off guard, its sudden force nearly knocking her off her feet.”
• Grazing : A gentle wind barely noticeable on the skin. Example: “The grazing wind was a soft sigh against her cheek, a barely-there touch that hinted at the storm’s retreat.”
• Biting : A cold, harsh wind that feels as though it’s biting into the skin. Example: “The biting wind gnawed at his fingertips, the relentless cold seeping through his gloves.”
• Scratching : A wind carrying sand or tiny debris that feels abrasive on the skin. Example: “The scratching wind was a desert beast, its sandy claws scraping against his exposed skin.”
• Soothing : A wind that brings relief or comfort. Example: “The soothing wind was a welcome respite from the stifling heat, its gentle caress cooling her sunburnt skin.”
• Clammy : A wind that is damp and cold. Example: “The clammy wind clung to her clothes, the damp chill seeping into her bones.”
• Prickling : A wind that makes the skin tingle, often due to cold or static. Example: “The prickling wind was a ghost’s touch, its chilling caress raising goosebumps on her skin.”

Here is a video on how to describe a windy day:

How Do You Personify Wind?

Personification is a powerful literary device that gives human characteristics to non-human entities.

When it comes to the wind, personification can be an excellent tool to create vivid imagery, build atmosphere, and engage readers on a deeper level.

Consider these techniques to personify the wind:

• Whispering : Giving the wind the ability to whisper can make it seem secretive or intimate. Example: “The wind whispered through the treetops, carrying secrets from one part of the forest to another.”
• Laughing : A laughing wind can express joy, freedom, or mischief. Example: “The wind laughed in the open fields, playfully rustling the wildflowers as it passed.”
• Singing : When the wind sings, it creates a sense of harmony or melody. Example: “The wind sang a lullaby, its soothing hum gently lulling the world to sleep.”
• Mourning : A mourning wind carries an impression of sadness or loss. Example: “The wind mourned through the empty streets, a sorrowful echo of the town’s former life.”
• Dancing : A dancing wind implies movement, celebration, or unpredictability. Example: “The wind danced through the autumn leaves, twirling them in a whirl of gold and red.”
• Roaring : A roaring wind can depict anger, might, or wildness. Example: “The wind roared across the desolate plains, venting its fury on the barren landscape.”
• Caressing : If the wind is caressing something, it gives a sense of gentleness or affection. Example: “The wind caressed the waves, leaving a trail of shimmering ripples in its wake.”
• Teasing : A teasing wind suggests playfulness and lightness. Example: “The wind teased her hair, tossing it this way and that in a playful game.”
• Sighing : A sighing wind can convey disappointment, relief, or resignation. Example: “The wind sighed through the abandoned corridors, echoing the despair left behind.”
• Chasing : A chasing wind implies speed, pursuit, or play. Example: “The wind chased the fallen leaves, their rustling flight a merry chase across the park.”

Final Thoughts: How to Describe the Wind in Writing

When you describe wind in your story, try to link your description to the plot, theme, characters, and specific scene.

Everything should tie into the same knotted storyline.

Here are some tools that I think will help you level up your writing skills:

Related posts:

• How To Describe a House in Writing (21 Tips for Beginners)
• 400+ Words to Describe a Flower Garden: Best Writers Guide
• How to Describe a Sunset in Writing: 100 Best Words & Phrases
• How to Describe a Ghost in Writing (Tips, Words, Examples)

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10 Words to Describe the Sky in a Storm

By Ali Dixon

Does your novel have a scene in which a storm puts some characters in danger? Do you need assistance in explaining this scene? The following 10 words to describe the sky in a storm will help you.

Lacking in light ; black or partially black.

“They had expected a clear day that day, but now as they looked out at the  dark  sky, they knew that they were about to have a big storm on their hands.”

“Aside from what little light the moon could cast through the clouds, the sky was completely  dark .”

How It Adds Description

As heavy rainclouds come in, this is going to make the sky during the storm in your story appear dark. This darkness could also serve to reflect any internal struggles that a character could be going through at this point in the story.

Overcast with clouds ; a sky that is filled with clouds; unclear.

“The  cloudy  sky threatened rain later.”

“She stared up at the  cloudy  sky through the rain, wondering when this storm was ever going to end.”

A stormy sky will naturally be cloudy, so it makes sense to  use the word  in this context. Cloudy can also mean unclear. If a character in your story is struggling to make a decision or to figure something out, then describing the sky during the storm as cloudy could reflect your character’s own state of mind.

Partially or completely dark ; depressing; lacking in promise or hope.

“He looked out the window towards the  gloomy  sky and wondered if his plan was worth trying at all.”

“The sky hung dark and  gloomy  overhead, and she pulled up her hood as the rain started to fall.”

Gloomy is one of those words with a little flexibility. You can use it to describe the literal darkness of the stormy sky. You can also use it to describe how depressing the sky may appear, and might make your characters feel in turn.

Showing listlessness or discouragement ; having nothing to provide comfort or cheer.

“The clouds had moved in quickly and as the rain started to pour, a  dreary  feeling began to sour the day.”

“She had planned on going out for a walk, but the storm and  dreary  sky made her feel much more inclined to stay in.”

Something that is dreary is gloomy or dismal. A stormy sky can be quite dreary because it makes it much more difficult to go outside and enjoy the day.

Having no hope or encouragement ; cold or lacking in warmth and life.

“She suggested a walk when they woke up, but then they took a look at the  bleak  sky and decided otherwise.”

“The storm clouds hanging overhead made it clear that they would have to expect a  bleak  day.”

Storms usually bring about a lot of cold and darkness, so it makes sense to use the word bleak to describe a stormy sky in your story. A character might also feel pretty bleak if they expected a sunny day and instead get a storm.

6. Tenebrous

Having no or little light ; causing gloom or dreariness.

“The  tenebrous  sky hung above them, and at the sound of thunder, they knew they had to get somewhere safe quickly.”

“Lightning cracked in the  tenebrous  sky and a few seconds later thunder sounded, startling all of them.”

Want to describe your stormy sky in a way that’s going to stand out to your readers? The word tenebrous doesn’t get used frequently, so it will catch your reader’s eye. This can be especially effective if there’s something particularly unusual about the storm itself.

7. Pitch-Black

Completely dark or black ; very difficult to see in.

“The clouds were dark and gray and soon the entire sky was  pitch-black .”

“She wanted to get back to the house, but she knew that navigating the winding trails in the rain and  pitch-black  sky would be next to impossible.”

Is the storm in your story making it almost impossible for your characters to see? Try describing it as pitch-black. If one of your characters is stuck in this storm, describing it as pitch-black and difficult to see through can make the scene feel much more dangerous.

Marked by or bringing rain.

“The sky was dark and  rainy , and she knew instantly that all of her plans to work on the garden would have to wait.”

“The  rainy  sky would make it impossible for him to walk all the way over to her house that afternoon.”

Storms and rain tend to come hand in hand. If there’s a storm, you can count on there being rain too. Describing the sky in your story as rainy could also help to increase an overall feeling of doom and desolation.

Lacking in or having no warmth ; marked by a temperature that is uncomfortably low.

“The sky was  cold  and unwelcoming, and she wondered if she would be able to take her bike to work that day after all.”

“The  cold  sky hung above them, and they all shivered as the rain began to fall heavily.”

The stormy sky in your story could literally cause sensations of cold. You can also use it to describe the way the storm can cause the sky to appear unwelcoming or even threatening to your characters and readers.

Shaded to the extent of darkness and gloom ; serious, dismal, or melancholy.

“The sky appeared quite  somber , and only a few minutes later it started to rain.”

“She had been so excited when she woke up to go on a long hike, but looking at the  somber  and rainy sky now, she knew that her plan wouldn’t be possible.”

Using the word somber to describe the sky in your story can make the overall atmosphere feel rather depressing. It can also help to add feelings of doom or claustrophobia.