description of bad weather creative writing

101 Words To Describe Weather

Writers know that using the weather in their descriptions is a great way to make stories more relatable. Use this comprehensive list of words that describe weather when you write.

Writers Write is a resource for writers and we have written about words that describe taste , smell , sound , and touch in previous posts. (We even have one for words that describe colours .) In this post, I have included words that describe weather.

Weather is a wonderful tool for writers. We can use it to foreshadow , create a mood , complicate a plot , show a character , and increase or decrease the pace of a story. We can even use it as a motif .

A setting without the weather is like a character without a wardrobe.

Remember that we need to describe weather through our characters’ interactions with their environments. We should not describe it like a weather report. You could show how cold it is by the clothes they choose to wear or mention the weather in dialogue.

Whatever you do, don’t leave it out. There are unintended consequences to a lack of setting , including a static character, a lack of atmosphere, an inability for the reader to relate to the place and time in the story, and a lack of details.

What Is Weather?

According to Oxford it is ‘the state of the atmosphere at a particular place and time as regards heat, cloudiness, dryness, sunshine, wind, rain, etc.’

Words To Describe Weather

General words describing weather.

climate – the type of weather that a country or region has
climate change – changes in the earth’s weather, including changes in temperature, wind patterns and rainfall, especially the increase in the temperature of the earth’s atmosphere that is caused by the increase of particular gases, especially carbon dioxide
meteorology – the scientific study of weather
seasonal – suitable or typical of the time of year it is now
spell – a period when there is a particular type of weather
weather forecast – a report on likely weather conditions for a period of time in the future
zone – one of the large areas that the world is divided into according to its temperature

Words Describing Warm Weather

balmy – warm and pleasant
blistering – extremely hot in a way that is uncomfortable
dog days – the hottest days of the year
heatwave – a continuous period of very hot weather, especially when this is unusual
Indian summer – a period of warm weather in autumn
scorcher – an extremely hot day
sunny – not stormy or cloudy
thaw – ice and snow turns into water
the heat – very hot weather
tropical – like weather near the equator, climate that is frost-free

Words Describing Cold Weather

bleak – very cold and grey
biting – so cold that it makes you feel uncomfortable
brisk – fairly cold and a fairly strong wind is blowing
crisp – cold and dry
fresh – fairly cold and the wind is blowing
frosty – cold enough to produce frost
hard – a very cold winter
harsh – extremely cold and unpleasant
icy – very cold, like ice
raw – cold and unpleasant
snowy – covered with snow

Words Describing Pleasant Weather

calm – very little wind
clear – no clouds, rain, etc.
clement – pleasant because it is neither very hot nor very cold
cloudless – no clouds in the sky
equable – does not change very much
fair – pleasant and not raining
fine – sunny and not raining
pleasant – dry and neither very hot nor very cold
still – without wind
temperate – a temperate climate or region is never extremely hot or extremely cold
windless – without any wind

Words To Describe Unpleasant Weather

bone-dry – completely without water or moisture
fierce – very strong or severe
foul – unpleasant, with rain, snow, or wind
gale-force – an extremely strong wind
gusty – the wind blowing in gusts
humid – hot and wet in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable
muggy – warm in an unpleasant way because the air feels wet
murky – dark and unpleasant because of fog, clouds, etc.
severe – extremely unpleasant and likely to cause harm or damage
sultry – the air is hot and slightly wet
threatening – clouds, skies, or seas show that the weather is likely to be bad
torrential – rain falling in large amounts
unseasonable – not the type of weather that you expect in a particular season
windy – with a lot of wind

Words To Describe Wet & Cloudy Weather

bank – a large mass of cloud or fog
billow – a cloud that rises and moves in a large mass
blizzard – a snowstorm with very strong winds
cirrocumulus – small round clouds that form lines high in the sky
cirrostratus – a thin layer of cloud found very high in the sky
cirrus – a type of thin cloud found very high in the sky
cloudy – full of clouds
column – something that rises up into the air in a straight line
cumulonimbus – a mass of very tall thick cloud that usually brings rain and sometimes thunder
cumulus – a large low white cloud that is round at the top and flat at the bottom
dull – when there are a lot of clouds and it is rather dark
fog – a thick cloud that forms close to the ground or to water and is difficult to see through (fog is thicker than mist)
fogbound – not able to operate normally because of thick fog
foggy – full of fog or covered with fog
gather – if clouds gather, they start to appear and cover part of the sky
grey – when it is not very bright, because there is a lot of cloud
hurricane – a violent storm with very strong winds
inclement – unpleasantly cold or wet
lower – if clouds lower, they are very dark, as if a storm is coming
mist – small drops of liquid in the air
misty – lots of mist in the air
nimbus – a dark grey rain cloud
overcast – a sky completely full of clouds
pall – cloud that covers an area and makes it darker
pea souper – thick low cloud that prevents you from seeing anything
scud – clouds moving quickly
sea mist – a thin low cloud that comes onto the land from the sea
steam- the wet substance that forms on windows and mirrors when wet air suddenly becomes hot or cold
storm cloud – a very dark cloud
squall – a sudden violent gust of wind or localized storm, especially one bringing rain, snow, or sleet.
thundercloud – a storm cloud producing thunder
tsunami – an extremely large wave in the sea
typhoon – a violent tropical storm with very strong winds
vapour – very small drops of water or other liquids in the air that make the air feel wet
vog – smog that contains dust and gas from volcanoes

Words To Describe Changes In Weather

break – if the weather breaks, it changes unexpectedly, and usually becomes worse
break through – if the sun breaks through the clouds, it appears from behind them
brighten up – if the weather brightens up, it becomes sunnier
clear up – if the weather clears up, the clouds or rain go away
close in – if the weather closes in, it becomes unpleasant
cloud – to become darker because grey clouds are forming in the sky
ease – if bad weather such as wind or rain eases, it becomes less strong
fickle – weather that is fickle changes often and unexpectedly
lift – if something such as cloud or fog lifts, the weather improves and you can see clearly again
melt away – if ice or snow melts away, it changes into water as it gets warmer
thaw – if the weather thaws, it becomes warmer and causes ice or snow to change into liquid
track – if weather tracks in a particular direction, it moves in that direction