I started thinking about weather after reading Javamaven’s thread about rain over in MPSIMS. I have seen, lived through so many different types of weather phenomenon. I am curious as to what other peoples favorites are and why. I just love LIGHTNING, I can sit and watch for hours. I used to be terrified of the thunder and my Dad had me sit on his lap and just watch. After I while I forgot about the noise and noticed the beauty. I watch storms with my daughter in the same way. I once saw a snow storm that had lightning, that was really cool.
I am terribly fascinated with tornados. I have never seen one in person, although I did see a waterspout when I was in Galveston once. I think my fascination stems from The Wizard of Oz. I used to have a recurring dream that a tornado was coming. They frighten me, but what awesome power in one of those storms! I watch a lot of TV shows on the subject. I tell myself that I would love to be a tornado chaser, but in reality, I think I would be too scared. BTW, I love to watch lightning, too.
Having grown up on the Canadian prairies, I’d have to say that a good blizzard is my favourite weather phenomenon. I’m talking “shut the city down for two days” type of blizzard. I remember as a kid being sent home early from school as blizzards approached - nothing like it. White out conditions, howling winds, and NO WAY SCHOOL CAN OPEN FOR TWO DAYS!
I’m living in southern Alberta right now, and looking forward to my first chinook.
Seen quite a few tornados. They are awsome, and terrifying.
I love rain. LOVE IT!!! Except when baseball games are on. I foolishly chose to live in L.A. Hey, it’s a great town, but it’s a freakin desert. No rain from April to November.
People tell me Seattle sucks 'cause it rains so much, and it’s grey and cloudy a lot. Sounds like heaven to me.
Ever since I lived in Florida for a couple years, I have been interested in hurricanes. There’s just something about their size, power, and menacing qualities. Plus, each one can provide a couple weeks worth of watching (I was going to say entertainment, but then I thought about the various peoples of the Carribbean whose lives are destroyed every year). The big suckers come off the African coast and just slowly churn westward. And nobody knows what they are going to do – the top meteorologists are reduced to guessing where they will strike land. I really love the tracking maps you can see on the Weather Channel or the website, and the red and yellow bands of landfall probability. Little dots inching across the flat blue map-ocean, giving no indication of the power of the real thing.
I am entralled by any and all types of severe weather. Severe Thunderstorms, Tornados, Torrential Downpours, Lightning, Hail, Extremely Strong Winds, Blizzards, Heat Waves, Frigid Temperatures, you name it. Here in Wisconsin we usually get to see all of them at some time, but it seems like it’s been awhile since we had any truly severe weather. 
I used to like blizzards, until I had to shovel snow :(. I guess my favorite current severe weather phenomena (boy that’s a turgid sentence) is a good thunderstorm. I like watching heat lightning in the distance.
Keith
Anything cold, anything stormy, anything grey and wet. I love snow, rain, sleet, fog, thunder, lightning, hail, and hurricanes. The only weather I can’t stand is hot, sunny weather. I can’t wait for summer to be over.
Back in NH I never really saw fork lightning and the storms were really kinda wussy compared to the stuff they put on down here. It’s fascinating to watch all the bolts and listen to the noise, especially when it’s right overhead. I like to turn off all the lights and just watch out the window.
That having been said, I remember a couple of times when I lived in a studio apartment with my dog, and it was great just to sit in my darkened bedroom in my easy chair, next to the window, with the dog and a blanket, and just watch it snow in the night. sigh
I find really major thunderstorms exhilirating–strong, gusty winds, lightning, torrential rain. Some of my favorite childhood memories are of watching magnificent afternoon thunderstorms boiling up, anticipating all the wonderful, awesome power of the display to come. I could always smell it coming long before the clouds appeared, and would turn off the TV or put down my book just to go to the door and wait for it.
I also love the aftermath of ice storms (we don’t get blizzards in Louisiana). They make roads impassable and often down power lines–but they make the world look like some crystalline fairyland, sparkling in the sun.
I’m with Black12. I love heavy rains and thunderstorms, and I love it when it’s so cold you need wear your pajamas.
I gotta go with Audrey and Black12. I love thunderstorms, they’re very relaxing. I have a CD of thunderstorms. Definitely helps me sleep.
There is a rare event that I’ve only seen 2 or 3 times. The sky is BLACK with low-lying rain clouds, though it’s not raining at the moment. However, because it’s part of a front, the horizon is clear. Now, the sun dips down below the clouds. Everything is just lit up the brightest green you can imagine under that black sky. It’s absolutely spectacular–you just have to see it.