Types of Weather Events

If so, you have likely seen lightning and heard thunder during a thunderstorm. A thunderstorm is a type of severe weather. Severe weather is weather that can be dangerous to people and the environment. The Bible talks about thunderstorms being so strong that they shook the earth!

The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook. Psalm 77:18

Have you ever seen the windows of your house shake during a thunderstorm? Thunderstorms and other severe weather might be a little scary for some people, but they can also remind us of how powerful God is! The Bible even describes God’s voice as sounding like thunder.

At this also my heart trembles and leaps out of its place. Keep listening to the thunder of his voice and the rumbling that comes from his mouth. Under the whole heaven he lets it go, and his lightning to the corners of the earth. After it his voice roars; he thunders with his majestic voice, and he does not restrain the lightnings when his voice is heard. God thunders wondrously with his voice; he does great things that we cannot comprehend. Job 37:1–5

The next time you see a thunderstorm and it seems scary, remember those verses that describe God’s amazing power, and rejoice that God made the lightning and thunder!

Thunderstorms can also bring tornadoes, which are another type of severe weather. Tornados are violent rotating columns of air that touch the ground. The wind is so strong during a tornado that it can cause trees to be completely uprooted or even blow houses down. The Bible doesn’t use the word tornado, but it does describe many instances of very strong winds (1 Kings 19:11; Psalm 107:25; Jeremiah 10:13; Jonah 4:8; Acts 27:14; Exodus 14:21).

Strong winds also happen during hurricanes. Hurricanes are tropical storms with a lot of rainfall and strong winds that form over oceans. Did you know that Jesus slept in a boat during a storm at sea?

And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him? Matthew 8:23–27

This verse reminds us that God is ultimately in control of the weather, and he has the power to calm the wind!

If you were in a boat in the middle of a storm, do you think you would be able to sleep through it like Jesus did? Probably not! This verse reminds us that God is ultimately in control of the weather, and he has the power to calm the wind!

The Bible also talks about another type of weather that occurred in the book of Exodus. When Pharoah was not letting the Israelites leave Egypt, God sent several plagues. One of the plagues was hail. Hailstorms are another type of severe weather. In them, balls of ice fall from the sky!

Then Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt. There was hail and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very heavy hail, such as had never been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. The hail struck down everything that was in the field in all the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And the hail struck down every plant of the field and broke every tree of the field. Exodus 9:23–25

Wow! The Bible talks about many different types of weather. Can you think of other types of weather in God’s Word?