Discover the Sounds of the Weather, where Nature and Music Sing Together

Singing in the sky - Did you ever listen to the weather? Have you really listened to the sounds of the weather? The sky hums, the rain drums, and the wind whispers old stories. There's a rhythm to every storm and to every sunbeam.

Examples of Onomatopoeia

This page explores weather onomatopoeia, the sounds of the sky, water, wind, and earth that make weather something we can hear, feel, and sometimes even see. It aims to immerse adults and kids in the living music of the atmosphere, using evocative words, vivid imagery, and even a touch of synesthesia, where sounds, colors, and sensations meld. You'll also see some historical popular songs you might recognize that might help you make these connections.

Sounds of rain and water

Rain has more voices than anything else. Every drop whispers, drums, hums, and hisses. 

• Pitter-patter - The classic of sounds of the weather is rain dripping on roofs or leaves, like fingers tapping on a drum. I can almost see the silvery droplets bouncing around.
• Splat, Pelt, Drumming - Heavy rain thunders against metal roofs and pavement in rhythmic percussion. In a thousand tiny beats, each drop lands with determination.
• After the storm, the slow heartbeat of the world begins again: drops slipping from eaves and leaves, falling into puddles.
• Gurgle, babble - Streams gurgle through ditches, brooks, and gutters. It's a friendly, liquid chatter that suggests movement.
• Sizzle, Hiss - When rain meets something hot, like an engine, a barbecue, or desert sand, it turns into vapor. Summery sounds of the weather.
• Splash, slush - Boots meet puddles. Rain meets joy. Mud and soaked shoes mix with a child's laughter.
• Ripple, Tinkle - Small raindrops hitting still water send circles of sound outward, delicate and musical.
• Torrent, Rush, Surge - When the clouds release their fury, gutters overflow and streets turn into rivers. A deep, constant roar vibrates the air -- the storm's pulse.

Sounds of the weather - wind and air

It was a dark and stormy night.

The wind is the voice of the unseen. Never the same twice, it speaks through trees, doors, chimneys, cliffs, and canyons.

• When gales tear through gaps and cracks, they sing eerie, powerful songs that echo like ghosts.
• Swoosh, Whoosh, Swish - A rush of air over wings, through tunnels, or past your ears on a mountain peak.
• Rustle, whisper - Leaves whisper like old friends sharing secrets. A light breeze can set a forest to whispering.
• Wind moaning through trees or eaves, deep and soulful like the ocean.
• Susurrus - The faint hum or whisper of moving air. Everything from sea breezes to sighing pines has been described this way by poets.
• A buffet, a thump, and a flap are the physical effects of wind: doors banging, flags snapping, tarps slapping.
• Air bursts, playful or mischievous, twirling hair and scattering papers.
• Psithurism, a fav, used to describe the rustling, whispering sound of air passing through foliage.

Sounds of thunder and electricity

Beautiful rain

Together, thunder and lightning make the sky come alive.

• Crack, snap - Lightning tearing through the air in a split second. It's sharp, electric, almost visual.
• Thunder rolling across mountains or across plains, like a great drum echoing through the clouds. It's in your chest.
• Thunder erupts when lightning strikes close - a single, violent note that startles even the bravest.
• Grumble, growl, mutter - The sound of distant thunder fading and returning.
• Zzzt, Crackle - Tiny sparks of electricity, sometimes heard before a storm as static builds up.

Sounds of snow and ice

It's quieter in the cold, but it's not silent. There's something delicate, crisp, and full of texture about snow and ice.

• Whish, Shhh - The near-silent sound of soft snow landing. There's a hush over the world.
• Hailstones fall like pebbles, rattling roofs and cars like pebbles thrown from the sky.
• Crunch, Squeak - Walking across fresh snow makes a dry, crackling squeak. It's a satisfying sound.
• Crack, Snap, Shatter - Ice underfoot or icicles breaking from eaves make sharp, brittle sounds. It sometimes echoes like glass.
• The sound of sleet or frozen rain clicking gently against a windowpane, like small fingers knocking.
• The eerie sound of a frozen lake shifting beneath its icy armor-a deep, haunting sound that vibrates through your boots.

Miscellaneous & Atmospheric Sounds

All weather sounds don't fit neatly into rain, wind, or snow. In between moments, the atmosphere itself breathes, settles, and reacts.

• It's the faint electrical tension before a storm or power lines vibrating in humid weather.
• Pop, Ping - Metal surfaces (like roofs or fences) expand when the temperature suddenly changes.
• Steam - When rain hits hot pavement or machinery, moisture turns to vapor.
• Wet branches shedding their burden, snow sliding off roofs, chunks of ice dropping in.
• Whump - The muffled collapse of snow from a branch or the low thud of an avalanche.
• Soldiers used crump and thoom to describe distant thunder or explosions, the kind that makes you hum.

"Colors of Weather" - Sounds of the weather & Synesthesia

A person with synesthesia can see color or hear sounds of the weather by blending their senses.

1. Thunderclaps might flash red-orange in synesthetes' minds, while drizzle sounds might shimmer silver-blue.
2. There's a chance clouds might hum in low tones, or lightning might "ring" like a high piano note.
3. The silence before a storm can feel like a color-purple, dense, and waiting.

Weather inspires so much art and poetry because it's never just heard or seen, but felt across all five senses.

The Orchestra of the Sky

Close your eyes and imagine you're outside:

• Rain becomes a lullaby with its pitter-patter.
• You feel invisible wings brushing your face when the wind whooshes.
• Thunder rumbles through your chest.
• In winter's stillness, snow crunches like your own heartbeat.
• The susurrus of air-the soft, ever-present whisper of the atmosphere-reminds you that Earth's always talking.

Don't just stay dry when it rains, storms, or snows. You're hearing the weather's living language.

Sounds of the Weather in Music

On a related note: Here's an encyclopedia of weather songs

See a more complete list of songs below

Did you ever notice how a rainy day makes you reach for a sad song, or a sunny afternoon makes you want something upbeat? Here's a musical meteorology map of the human heart, not just a playlist! (That's a good use for it, though, if you like 20th century music.)This Weather Songs Catalog tries to turn your list into a kind of musical meteorology chart, inspired by sounds of the weather and organized by weather or atmospheric phenomena. From sunny optimism to stormy heartbreak, each category captures not just the weather event but also the mood and metaphor those songs convey.

🌧️ Wet & Rainy Song Titles

Songs about rain often reflect emotion - cleansing, melancholy, renewal, or longing. Here are some classics:

• Taylor, James – Fire and Rain
• Peebles, Ann – I Can’t Stand the Rain
• Prince – Purple Rain
• Kelly, Gene – Singin’ in the Rain
• Cohen, Leonard – Famous Blue Raincoat
• Blind Melon – No Rain
• Creedence Clearwater Revival – Have You Ever Seen the Rain
• Grateful Dead – Box of Rain
• Creedence Clearwater Revival – Who’ll Stop the Rain
• Slayer – Raining Blood
• Guns N' Roses – November Rain
• Thomas, B.J. – Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head
• Dylan, Bob – Rainy Day Women #12 & 35
• Benton, Brook – Rainy Night in Georgia
• Nelson, Willie – Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain
• Cowsills, The – The Rain, The Park and Other Things
• Weather Girls, The – It’s Raining Men
• Beatles, The – Rain
• Carpenters, The – Rainy Days and Mondays
• Eurythmics – Here Comes the Rain Again
• Sedaka, Neil – Laughter in the Rain
• Rabbitt, Eddie – I Love a Rainy Night
• Hammond, Albert – It Never Rains in Southern California
• Milli Vanilli – Blame It on the Rain
• Hornsby, Bruce – Mandolin Rain
• Milsap, Ronnie – Smoky Mountain Rain
• Adele – Set Fire to the Rain
• Led Zeppelin – Fool in the Rain

Melancholy to passionate; the sound of emotion pouring down.

❄️ Snow & Ice

Beauty, stillness, danger, and clarity in frozen imagery.

Snow

• Zappa, Frank – Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow
• Murray, Anne – Snowbird
• Red Hot Chili Peppers – Snow (Hey Oh)
• Monroe, Vaughn – Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!
• Simon & Garfunkel – A Hazy Shade of Winter

Ice / Cold

• Ono, Yoko – Walking on Thin Ice
• Vanilla Ice – Ice Ice Baby
• Foreigner – Cold as Ice
• Van Halen – Ice Cream Man

The feel seems crisp, ironic, reflective - the chill of love and loss.

🌬️ Wind

There's something about wind songs that symbolizes freedom, fate, and the invisible forces that move us.

• Association, The – Windy
• Hendrix, Jimi – The Wind Cries Mary
• Dylan, Bob – Blowin’ in the Wind
• John, Elton – Candle in the Wind
• Kansas – Dust in the Wind
• Midler, Bette – Wind Beneath My Wings
• Cross, Christopher – Ride Like the Wind
• Scorpions – Wind of Change
• Seger, Bob – Against the Wind
• Swayze, Patrick – She’s Like the Wind
• Ian and Sylvia – Four Strong Winds

The tone in these is wistful and philosophical - where the air meets the spirit.

🌩️ Storms, Thunder & Lightning

Fear, power, and revelation. Songs about storms often reflect inner turmoil.

Storm / Hurricane

• Doors, The – Riders on the Storm
• Horne, Lena – Stormy Weather
• Dylan, Bob – Shelter from the Storm
• Young, Neil – Like a Hurricane
• Scorpions – Rock You Like a Hurricane
• Toots & The Maytals – Pressure Drop (using a storm metaphor)

Thunder / Lightning

• Springsteen, Bruce – Thunder Road
• AC/DC – Thunderstruck
• Imagine Dragons – Thunder
• Brooks, Garth – The Thunder Rolls
• Live – Lightning Crashes
• Jones, George – White Lightning
• Floyd, Eddie – Knock on Wood (lightning-luck metaphor)

The weather of human passion - electric energy, danger, awakening.

Fab 4

🌤️ Sun & Sunshine

Light, warmth, joy, or irony - the sun's presence or absence says everything..

• Beatles – Here Comes the Sun
• Cream – Sunshine of Your Love
• Kinks, The – Sunny Afternoon
• Donovan – Sunshine Superman
• Withers, Bill – Ain’t No Sunshine
• Jacks, Terry – Seasons in the Sun
• Artists United Against Apartheid – Sun City
• Kinks, The – Waterloo Sunset
• Soundgarden – Black Hole Sun
• 5th Dimension, The – Aquarius / Let the Sun Shine In
• John, Elton – Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me
• Lightfoot, Gordon – Sundown
• Belafonte, Harry – Island in the Sun
• Wonder, Stevie – You Are the Sunshine of My Life
• A-ha – The Sun Always Shines on TV

Songs about illumination, revelation, and the weather of the soul.

☀️ Summer & other Seasons

Rhythm of time, nostalgia, and the heat of life.

• Haymes, Dick – It Might As Well Be Spring
• Cochran, Eddie – Summertime Blues
• Lovin’ Spoonful, The – Summer in the City
• DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince – Summertime
• Henley, Don – The Boys of Summer
• Adams, Bryan – Summer of ’69
• Mungo Jerry – In the Summertime
• Queens of the Stone Age – Feel Good Hit of the Summer
• Sly & The Family Stone – Hot Fun in the Summertime
• Seals & Crofts – Summer Breeze
• Travolta & Newton-John – Summer Nights
• Nat King Cole – Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer
• Kid Rock – All Summer Long
• Bananarama – Cruel Summer
• Motels, The – Suddenly Last Summer
• Jo Stafford – Autumn Leaves

The golden mood of reminiscence, nostalgia, youth, and romance.

🌈 Rainbows, Sky & Weather as Metaphor

Weather becomes hope, mystery, or a bridge between emotion and imagination.

• Garland, Judy – Over the Rainbow
• Crowded House – Weather with You
• Vaughan, Stevie Ray – Couldn’t Stand the Weather
• Faith, Percy – Theme from “A Summer Place” 

The mood is often reflective, story-driven, and cinematic.

🌪️ Sea & Storms at Sea

• Gordon Lightfoot – The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
• Gilligan’s Island – The Ballad of Gilligan’s Isle

Maritime tragedy and adventure - weather as fate.

That's a lot of sounds of the weather. Search this site for more information now.

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Thunder's mighty roar connects nature's rhythm with ours, from rain's pitter-patter to gentle rain's pitter-patter.

This report explores how weather not only shapes what we hear outdoors but also inspires some of the most beloved songs ever written—from "Singin' in the Rain" to "Here Comes the Sun." This book lets readers feel the atmosphere through sound with vivid sound descriptions, onomatopoeia, and musical connections. Every raindrop, breeze, and rumble carries its own melody.

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Thank you to my research and writing assistants, ChatGPT and WordTune, as well as Wombo and others for the images.

OpenAI's large-scale language generation model (and others provided by Google and Meta), helped generate this text.  As soon as draft language is generated, the author reviews, edits, and revises it to their own liking and is responsible for the content.