Neither Rain, nor Snow, nor Sleet, nor Hail

This chapter explores what weather is, investigating the metaphysics and ontology of weather's various manifestations. It begins by raising familiar examples and then trying to bring these together to get at the concept behind weather. It first examines many instances of weather – rain, snow, sleet, hail, thunder, lightning, clouds, sun, wind, storms, cold snaps, heat waves, clear skies, tornadoes, hurricanes, etc. – and discusses the ways in which these examples of weather ultimately fall short of offering a suitable definition. It also covers the ways in which metaphors of weather appear in literature, film, and popular culture, often as indications of tumult or unpredictability. It concludes by bending toward a characterization of weather as a force that functions independently of our own willful activities.