Who has seen the wind? Neither you nor I but when the trees bow down their heads, the wind is passing by.
—Christina Rossetti (1830–94) English Poet, Hymn Writer
Some are weather-wise, some are otherwise
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
Certain accidents of the weather, for instance, were almost dreaded by me, because they woke the being I was always lulling, and stirred up a craving cry I could not satisfy.
—Charlotte Bronte (1816–1855) English Novelist, Poet
Typhoons are a sort of violent whirlwinds. Before these whirlwinds come on… there appears a heavy cloud to the northeast which is very black near the horizon, but toward the upper part is a dull reddish color. The tempest came with great violence, but after a while, the winds ceased all at once and a calm succeeded. This lasted… an hour, more or less, then the gales were turned around, blowing with great fury from the southwest.
—William Dampier (1652–1715) English Explorer, Adventurer
There will be a rain dance Friday night, weather permitting
—George Carlin (1937–2008) American Stand-up Comedian
Know how weather, especially humidity, can affect the movement of doors and windows
—Marilyn vos Savant (b.1946) American Columnist, Author, Lecture, Playwright
No one but Night, with tears on her dark face,
Watches beside me in this windy place.
—Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892–1950) American Poet, Playwright, Feminist
Major Barkinson had a sure method of foretelling weather, or anything else for that matter. He would, for instance, select a certain patch of sky and then count slowly to three; if, during that time, no sea gull crossed the patch of sky, the thing he wanted would come true
—Gore Vidal (1925–48) American Novelist, Essayist, Journalist, Playwright
All stable processes we shall predict. All unstable processes we shall control. Describing John von Neumann’s aspiration for the application of computers sufficiently large to solve the problems of meteorology, despite the sensitivity of the weather to small perturbations
—Freeman Dyson (1923–2020) American Theoretical Physicist, Author
Change of weather is the discourse of fools.
—Thomas Fuller (1608–61) English Cleric, Historian
A rainy day is the perfect time for a walk in the woods.
—Rachel Carson (1907–64) American Naturalist, Science Writer
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful.
—Jimmy Buffett (b.1946) American Musician, Author
Weather forecast for tonight: dark.
—George Carlin (1937–2008) American Stand-up Comedian
Nature is so powerful, so strong. Capturing its essence is not easy—your work becomes a dance with light and the weather. It takes you to a place within yourself.
—Annie Leibovitz (b.1949) American Photographer
Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.
—Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) Bengali Poet, Polymath
In the Spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
One need only think of the weather, in which case the prediction even for a few days ahead is impossible.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby.
—Langston Hughes (1902–67) American Poet, Fiction Writer, Dramatist
The weather and my mood have little connection. I have my foggy and my fine days within me; my prosperity or misfortune has little to do with the matter.
—Blaise Pascal (1623–62) French Mathematician, Physicist, Theologian
Sudden resolutions, like the sudden rise of mercury in a barometer, indicate little else than the variability of the weather.
—David Hare (b.1947) English Dramatist, Director, Film-Maker
If you don’t like the weather in New England, just wait a few minutes.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
What men call gallantry, and gods adultery, is much more common where the climate’s sultry.
—Lord Byron (George Gordon Byron) (1788–1824) English Romantic Poet
There is a muscular energy in sunlight corresponding to the spiritual energy of wind.
—Annie Dillard (b.1945) Essayist, Novelist, Poet, Naturalist, Mystic
External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill him. No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty.
—Charles Dickens (1812–70) English Novelist
I’ve never been one to bet on the weather.
—J. Paul Getty (1892–1976) American Business Person, Art Collector, Philanthropist
I’m a big follower and reactor to weather.
—Jimmy Buffett (b.1946) American Musician, Author
Pray don’t talk to me about the weather, Mr. Worthing. Whenever people talk to me about the weather, I always feel quite certain that they mean something else.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
During the next thirty years the pole-ward migration of populations continued. A few fortified cities defied the rising water-levels and the encroaching jungles, building elaborate sea-walls around their perimeters, but one by one these were breached. Only within the former Arctic and Antarctic Circles was life tolerable. The oblique incidence of the sun’s rays provided a shield against the more powerful radiation. Cities on higher ground in mountainous areas nearer the Equator had been abandoned, despite their cooler temperatures, because of the diminished atmospheric protection.
—J. G. Ballard (1930–2009) English Novelist, Short Story Writer
Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
For the man sound in body and serene of mind there is no such thing as bad weather; every sky has its beauty, and storms which whip the blood do but make it pulse more vigorously.
—George Gissing (1857–1903) English Novelist
WEATHER, The climate of an hour. A permanent topic of conversation among persons whom it does not interest, but who have inherited the tendency to chatter about it from naked arboreal ancestors whom it keenly concerned. The setting up of official weather bureaus and their maintenance in mendacity prove that even governments are accessible to suasion by the rude forefathers of the jungle
—Ambrose Bierce (1842–1913) American Short-story Writer, Journalist
What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps me in a continual state of inelegance.
—Jane Austen (1775–1817) English Novelist
You have of late stood out against your brother, and he hath taken you newly into his grace; where it is impossible you should take true root but by the fair weather that you make yourself; it is needful that you frame the season for your own harvest.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
Black are the brooding clouds and troubled the deep waters, when the Sea of Thought, first heaving from a calm, gives up its Dead
—Charles Dickens (1812–70) English Novelist
Barometer: An ingenious instrument which indicates what kind of weather we are having
—Ambrose Bierce (1842–1913) American Short-story Writer, Journalist
May is a very early time in the year and the weather is usually bad. You cannot run a fast mile race if there is a strong wind, because it makes your running uneven.
—Roger Bannister (1929–2018) British Athlete, Neurologist
We should expect the best and the worst of mankind, as from the weather.
—Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues (1715–47) French Moralist, Essayist, Writer
There’s always a period of curious fear between the first sweet-smelling breeze and the time when the rain comes cracking down.
—Don DeLillo (b.1936) American Novelist, Short Story Writer
the spring, the summer,
The chilling autumn, angry winter, change
Their wonted liveries; and the mazed world
By their increase, now knows not which is which.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
Weather forecast for tonight: dark. Continued dark overnight, with widely scattered light by morning.
—George Carlin (1937–2008) American Stand-up Comedian
One can find so many pains when the rain is falling.
—John Steinbeck (1902–68) American Novelist, Short Story Writer, Journalist
The poet may be used as a barometer, but let us not forget that he is also part of the weather
—Lionel Trilling (1905–75) American Literary Critic
The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
All was silent as before –
All silent save the dripping rain.
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–82) American Poet, Educator, Academic
My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky:
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!
—William Wordsworth (1770–1850) English Poet
Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
We may achieve climate, but weather is thrust upon us.
—O. Henry (William Sydney Porter) (1862–1910) American Writer of Short Stories
Under this window in stormy weather I marry this man and woman together; Let none but Him who rules the thunder Put this man and woman asunder.
—Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) Irish Satirist
For there is no friend like a sister
In calm or stormy weather;
To cheer one on the tedious way,
To fetch one if one goes astray,
To lift one if one totters down,
To strengthen whilst one stands.
—Christina Rossetti (1830–94) English Poet, Hymn Writer
Spring is the season of gaiety, and winter of terror; in spring the heart of tranquility dances to the melody of the groves, and the eye of benevolence sparkles at the sight of happiness and plenty: in winter, compassion melts at universal calamity, and the tear of softness starts at the wailing of hunger and the cries of the creation in distress
—Samuel Johnson (1709–84) British Essayist