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
fiery sun
fierce sun
glaring sun
baking in the sun
sun-drenched
scorching heat
extravagant heat
relentless sun
muggy air
dank air
like a suana
steamy
sticky
dense tropical heat
sultry
dusty heat
arid 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 fine day
a clear day
a mild 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
crisp air
refreshing air
stimulating cool air
invigorating cool air
bracing cool air
a nip in the air
a brisk day
a chilly day
weak sunshine
clammy air
damp air
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.)
bleak day
gloomy sky
dreary day
colorless sky
a soft gray sky
a dove-gray sky
a gray day made for books and tea
steel-gray sky
stony sky
granite sky
cement-gray sky
threatening clouds
foreboding clouds
COLD WEATHER
frosty air
icy air
Arctic air
glacial air
bitter cold
brutal cold
cruel 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
WIND
like a blast from a hair dryer
icy blast
a gust of wind
wild wind
raw wind
stiff wind
insistent winds
heavy winds
strong winds
cutting wind
whipping winds
biting wind
harsh wind
angry wind
wintry squall
violent gale
howling wind
shifting winds
restless wind
blustery
fresh breeze
soft breeze
balmy breeze
perfumed breeze
slight breeze
hint of a breeze
stirring breeze
wind rustling through the trees
RAIN
fine drizzle
gray drizzle
pebbles of falling rain
spitting rain
stinging rain
steady rain
rain falling in torrents
cascades of rain
deluge
downpour
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
FOG
clouds of mist
dense fog
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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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.
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.
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!
This list is fabulous. Thank you for sharing it. I will be consulting it when incorporating weather elements into writing my next picture book.